Turns out, the Museum is well worth seeing in its OWN right--and the gardens on the roof were more than a little interesting. It had to be around the turn of the Millennium that Karla Dakin (a highly respected local Landscape Architect who's co-authored Professional Design of Green Roofs) called me to ask me to help her with this very project. I passed the baton to Mark Fusco, my colleague who I'd coaxed into designing Green Roofs, and the two of them created these gardens at the Museum. They'd been pleased, and both urged me to visit--which now (almost two decades later) I finally have done. Better late than never. This I would characterize as a relatively major oversight.
The miracle is that these gardens are quite striking and successful and full of plants I'd have planted myself if I'd done the project on my own: enormous cushions of spikethrifts (Acantholimon), that massive green Daphne (probably 'Lawrence Crocker'), pussytoes and buckwheats to boot--major players in my personal palette of favorites...
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| Yes, that's Jan admiring the panels... |
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| Self portrait of Flora Mayo |
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| Alberto Giacometti |
Flora essentially disappeared from Art history until James Lord mentioned her briefly in his 1985 biography of the now famous Swiss artist. Lord's brief passage about Flora inspired Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler (a duo who undertake fascinating collaborations like this) to research flora Mayo's life and work, culminating in the exhibit for the Biennale which is now occupying the second floor of the Contemporary Art Museum.
How fitting that I should have corrected my own personal omission and discovered that Hubbard and Birchler transformed the major omission of Flora Mayo from Art History into their own work of art. Which if you visit this exhibit you will see is something of a miracle in and of itself.
It is not surprising that the Art Museum has interesting cube like planters for their roof top garden. What a jewels in their crown. It is also interesting about Flora Mayo. I will have to look up her works.
ReplyDeleteAlas, I believe the only two sculptures of hers that exist are the ones in the exhibit: the display was so poignant because it documents meticulously the life of someone deeply immersed in art whose life and work were obscured by the times (Great Depression, Wars, circumstance) and especially perhaps due to her being a woman. Very thought provoking exhibit.
ReplyDeleteHi! We came across these planters unexpectedly when visiting an exhibition when we were in Denver with you two years ago! I never realised they had been there that long, they looked new, certainly a new 'angle'! I miss Denver :)
ReplyDeleteIf I had taken pictures of these gardens, without showing the artistic planters, when they were new and posted them on a rock garden forum saying they were from my yard then people would have said snide remarks about me. The reason I know, is this is exactly what happened when I posted photos of the gravel beds on the side of my house. Now that the contemporary museum of art is doing it, where are all the haters? When a big institution does it, and calls it “art,” it gets labelled a “Jewel.”
ReplyDeleteIt’s a good thing you waited to showcase this garden. However, I agree that waiting almost twenty years is an oversight. You’ve circled the globe numerous times, but while doing it you’ve surely missed some great things happening in the city where you live.
You touch a nerve, James! You have to give me credit for visiting you, your garden and the wonderful nature reserves west of Chicago--having known you for less than half the time the Denver green roof existed! I could easily dedicate my whole life to the Colorado Rockies and not begin to exhaust them--it's true. And Denver's a vast urban wilderness. But carbon footprint aside, few have had the extraordinary opportunities presented to me to careen, Tarzan like, across the globe: there's value in that too I believe. The globe needs a bit of positive connection.
ReplyDeleteThe world does need more positive connections. This does have value. Being the person who does this comes at a cost. The highest costs are often the ones that are of a very personal nature.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for having touched a nerve. After getting five hours of sleep and getting up early to spend my Saturday applying herbicide to Morrow's honeysuckle, multi-flora rose, and other invasive species at a preserve an hour and a half away. Then coming home and having to wash a pile of clothes because I unknowingly backed into stems that someone else had treated. Of course, I did not realize this until after I put my pants on my dresser and contaminated all my clothes on it. This kind of weekend rather puts a person in a foul mood.
James,James,James you silly goose! My nerves need the occasional twanging! I didn't mind your comment at all! I welcome authentic and sincere criticisms and the occasional tussle! Working forty years in a public institution has hardened my constitution and made my soul practically pachydermous. Sorry about your brush with herbicide--and thank you for all you do to restore wildness: I'm taking a page from you and plan on gettinga force to eliminate the biggest stand of garlic mustard in the state. Have a great New Year!
ReplyDeleteExcellent-- I especially like the combination of geometric planters with naturalistic informal plantings-- relevant to a lot of modern architecture and design, which often goes back to the same old boring and species poor geometric plantings..
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