Found object — Lagerstromia indica
Size varies 70"– 93" X 49' X 4'
Two of the five Crepe Myrtles on the northwest corner, before I started sculpting Symbiosis, — summer of 2020.
The first thing I did was release the stakes supporting the trees. Just like humans trees become strong from movement, thickening their trunks and stimulating root growth.
The Crepe Myrtles were generously donated to the garden before I started sculpting Symbiosis. Donations are the lifeblood of Lawndale — it is crucial I not clip off that support. Planted in a row on the Travis street side, the treasured trees are the west border of the space next to the fence; they are a significant element of the work, objets trouvés, ready-mades. They anchor, frame and end the assemblage. They are stage left from the parking lot. Many of their characteristics will change every year; they are moving targets, living found objects. I will use them to create the above-ground kinetic components of the sculpture.
detail of the found objects
They are stage left from the parking lot. summer of 2020
There is a symmetry in Symbiosis that balances the needs of the Lawndale Art Center's artists, exhibitions, neighbors, urban wildlife, and the soundscape of urban sculpture gardens. As I prune the Crepe Myrtles, I have to weigh the impact of these elements with every extraction; most features are not physically part of the garden but are part of the whole. Like all sculptures, they have components you can't see; the armature supports everything and the welds that give strength.
The Crepe Myrtles are planted in a row on Travis Street, at the far west end of the garden.
This work requires considerable online research and quiet observations: listening, seeing, and questioning; I continue to learn and observe what wildlife these Lawndale treasures will benefit, symbiotically balancing the needs of the living organism in the heart of the arts district on the Coastal Prairie. What would the arts be without the influence of the natural world?
I took this image through the Crepe Myrtles at the Fall 2020 opening. There was plenty of room for social distancing. It was the first COVID event for Lawndale and for me.