MIDDLE FORK
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA.
2017
-
Related articles:
World Economic Forum 2017
Smithsonian 2015
New York Times 2015
Seattle Times 2015 November
Washington Post 2015
NPR: All Things Considered 2015
Washingtonian 2015The sculpture is informed by a living tree that upon stands within a forest near the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River in the Cascade Foothills in Washington State. After the sculpture has completed its exhibition cycle, it will be laid at the base of the original tree to gradually moss over and disintegrate into the ground. The process of decay will be captured with time-lapse photography and motion sensor video. Over 4000 people have contributed to the creation of the sculpture. Each time Middle Fork has been exhibited, its length and width have been increased to specifically engage the new space.
IMAGES
Middle Fork, Seattle Art Museum, Brotman Forum, Seattle, WA. 2017 – ongoing. Salvaged western red cedar. The sculpture is currently 105’ long, with limbs radiating 30’ wide. In January 2017, it was exhibited in the central Congress Center at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland. More than 500 attendees participated in working on the sculpture while it was on display in Davos. From November 2015 through June 2016 Middle Fork was on exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art's Renwick Gallery in Washington DC. The installation was part of the museum’s exhibition titled Wonder. Prior to being exhibited at the Renwick, Middle Fork was on view at MadArt Studio in Seattle and at the University of Wyoming Art Museum in Laramie, WY.
MIDDLE FORK
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA.
2017 - ongoing
Related articles:
World Economic Forum 2017
Smithsonian 2015
New York Times 2015
Seattle Times 2015 November
Washington Post 2015
NPR: All Things Considered 2015
Washingtonian 2015
Middle Fork is inspired by a living tree that stands within a forest near the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River in the Cascade Foothills in Washington State. After the sculpture has completed its exhibition cycle, it will be laid at the base of the original tree to gradually moss over and disintegrate into the ground. The process of decay will be captured with time-lapse photography and motion sensor video. Over 4000 people have contributed to the creation of the sculpture. Each time Middle Fork has been exhibited, its length and width have been increased to specifically engage the new space.
IMAGES
Middle Fork, Seattle Art Museum, Brotman Forum, Seattle, WA. 2017 – ongoing. Salvaged western red cedar. The sculpture is currently 105’ long, with limbs radiating 30’ wide. In January 2017, it was exhibited in the central Congress Center at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland. More than 500 attendees participated in working on the sculpture while it was on display in Davos. From November 2015 through June 2016 Middle Fork was on exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art's Renwick Gallery in Washington DC. The installation was part of the museum’s exhibition titled Wonder. Prior to being exhibited at the Renwick, Middle Fork was on view at MadArt Studio in Seattle and at the University of Wyoming Art Museum in Laramie, WY.
PROCESS
Middle Fork was built at the MadArt studio in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. Part of the mission of MadArt is to make the process of creating art visible to the public through the 50-foot length of windows at the front of the space. Building upon this desire, a major goal of the project was to engage as many people as possible in the actual construction of the sculpture. People were invited directly off the street in front of the space to join in the process of building the sculpture. Over the course of one year, hundreds of people contributed their time. Some people helped once for a few hours, and many returned to help regularly. Some individuals dedicated weekly time to the project over the course of most of the year. By responding to the character of the molds made from the tree, along with the process of cutting and shaping each small part of wood and adding it to the sculpture, the hope was that people building the sculpture would develop an intimate connection to the particular form of this tree and experience a substantial connection to the finished sculpture.
Nicholas Dankers and David Bayard were consulting arborists for the project.