It’s snow lovely
Wednesday’s sudden snow may have been inconvenient for an evening commute, but it sure was lovely. Members who turned out for their night got a real treat, as long as they enjoyed the snow. I popped out and grabbed a few shots before the flakes melted into my clothes.
Wednesday night was also the first time that Urban Nature has been on display for an audience. Congratulations to everyone who put that together! The artwork appears in these pictures, but they are too small to be seen clearly.
The falling snow evoked a sense of season in me, and of beauty through timing and place. It was a reminder that I am right here, in Denver, CO, and not Anycity, North America. It should feel good to have a place to explore and understand, to live in and to grow in.
Next week’s Bonfils-Stanton lecturer will delve directly into a sense of place and how it is formed. Topher Delaney is an artist and the founder of SEAM studio in San Francisco. Her website states “The place where we dwell… is not an abstraction. The sense of time is registered through light and shadow, the changing of the seasons, and the sense of place is our connection to the land… Time and place are intertwined, experienced simultaneously.” I have to admit I think of gardens as places, almost forgetting time. Even when I’m thinking about the four seasons, its easy to think that one spring day will blend into the next.
April 19, 2008 at 9:25 pm
[...] and bulbs, bursting buds and leafing limbs, everything downright wonderful. What a contrast from Wednesday night! I guess when the weather is so beautiful, the wisdom of carpe diem becomes obvious. Seize the [...]
April 22, 2008 at 9:11 am
[...] See how many new seedlings have started in a month’s time? It seems very dramatic even though its entirely natural. Even the soil has faded from the jet black to a more normal dark grey. Come see it firsthand on Earth Day, one of the Gardens’ free days this year. [...]
April 22, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Urban Nature: Juxtaposition and Meaning
The newly installed murals within the Gardens create pause for visitors and invite reflection on what constitutes “urban” and what constitutes “nature” in our lives. Is there really a distinct line that divides one concept from the other? Or, as with most ideas, are these two ideas part of a vast continuum?
I subscribe to the latter, and challenge people to seek out elements of nature within what we might call the “built environment” or an urban setting. (Or suburban, for that matter). Plants permeate spaces where concrete dominates; people intentionally create organic elements and vibrantly-colored visuals where none otherwise exist. Conversely, how must we work to preserve those spaces that do boast an independence from human impact?
Exhibits such as this challenge viewers to create meaning – and constructed meaning is often personal. I hope guests do take the time to read interpretive signage, as in many cases descriptions illuminate artist intent and motivation.
Great analogies are presented within the visual voices of Urban Nature . . . from comparing cities to beehive communities; to referencing Gaia, the Greek Earth goddess; to sending out a warning for environmental awareness . . . Urban Nature brings new perspective to all those who experience it.
April 23, 2008 at 9:42 pm
[...] Wow! That was a fantastic Earth Day. About 6000 people passed through the Gardens, seeing, learning and enjoying. It’s a chance for the Gardens to show its special strengths, like the Water-Smart garden (above). The Mayor visited to launch the Denver Daisy (Rudbeckia ‘Denver Daisy’) and many people took notice, including the Denver Post. 300,000 seed packets could mean that the city is covered in them by the end of summer. I also can’t wait to see the different ways people use them in their landscape. What will they be combined with?Speaking of combinations and juxtapositions, part of the Garden’s Urban Nature exhibit is to discover what is happening in neighborhoods and parks, business centers and back alleys. The Urban Nature photoblog is now up and running. Did you see something on Earth Day that captured the occasion? Is there a small green sample of really determined nature in your urban habitat? Share what you see, from the beauty of spring to the provocation of art. Its simple, and you could win tickets to the Chatfield World Music Festival. Posted in – Art in the Gardens, At the Gardens, Green Living, Urban Nature [...]