by Marla Hochman
Art often imitates nature. However, in Columbus, Ohio, there is an example of art imitating nature imitating art. Sculptor James Mason recreated the Georges Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884) in the form of a topiary garden. Mason, an art teacher for the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, and his wife Elaine Mason began the project in 1987. Mason felt the passive, rigid qualities of the figures in Seurat's painting would translate well as topiaries, and began the process of building a three-dimensional topiary garden. It was conceived as a place where visitors could move through the "painting" and become part of a famous work of art. In addition to setting this inert sculpture into motion, visitors also have the opportunity to view the topiary from perspectives not present in the original painting.
Mason spent many months welding bronze armatures that would be used to embrace the yew plants. Fifty-four figures, eight boats, three dogs, and a monkey were erected at the Old Deaf School Park in downtown Columbus. A pond was created to represent the Seine River. At one end of the park is a nineteenth century building, once a school for the deaf, now a backdrop for the sculpture of a nineteenth century painting. The parallel relationship between the armatures of the topiaries and the preliminary sketches of a painting give visitors a glimpse of a work in progress, a work "painted" by nature, with a little help from pruning shears, into a finished work of art.
The subject matter of the topiary is in stark contrast with its surrounding environment. The abandoned school in the background enhances one's feeling of being frozen in a different time and place, away from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan life just footsteps away. The topiary figures, dressed in 1880s fashions, leave behind the working world in favor of a calmer, more relaxed atmosphere. The serene, peaceful quality of events depicted in the topiary garden are juxtaposed against the urgent, fast pace of city life. The scene is suspended in time, leaving the visitor to place him or herself in another era. The encounter between art and nature creates a balanced exchange of art and admirer, where one can engage in and become part of art. However, regardless of its interactivity, the purpose of this urban art project remains at issue. Environmental design, public art, and urban regeneration are topics of a heated debate between those who believe in the benefits public art provides to the regeneration of a city and the critics who regard it as a mask, concealing the social problems that plague urban communities by substituting aesthetics for ethics (Hall, 1995, p. 122).
The Old Deaf School Park, although located in an urban area, is somewhat secluded from the more metropolitan areas of downtown Columbus. Therefore the practicality of the project's environmental design is brought into question. Its location off the beaten path from the everyday activity of the downtown area renders it less accessible to those who might otherwise frequent the park. Those who do visit with frequency often are homeless, raising the question of who was meant to view the art in the first place. The work unfortunately does little to meet the needs of these people and cannot be expected to help them attain a better appreciation of fine art.
The issue of sustainability is at the forefront of environmental design.The yew plants used in Mason's topiaries are certainly sustainable. Thetopiaries must be maintained by humans but are otherwise capable of growing indefinitely. One wonders whether,over time, the beauty and purpose of the topiaries will be lost and the garden itself will become merely something that once was rather than something that still is. Stewardship is another important aspect of environmental design. If the surrounding community is willing to take responsibility for keeping the topiary garden in good condition and for educating its members about the garden's meaning, perhaps its location could bring about a positive change in its environment.
Clearly art plays a crucial role in all human societies. It bridges the gap between reality and imagination, specific and universal (Hobbins, 1994,p. 28). Art brings us closer to understanding ourselves and the world in which we live. In our society we must search for a method of resolving the conflict between art for art's sake and art for the benefit of people. Only when we are able to define the role of environmental art will we be able to provide the public with tools to understand and appreciate the art that surrounds them.
Hall, T. (1995). Public art, urban image. Town & Country Planning, 64(4), 122-123.
Hobbins, B. (1994). Art for whose sake? Landscape Design, 230,26-28.
Lankford, E. L., & Mims, S. K. (1995). A landscape of a painting.School Arts, March,16-17.
Rosen, M. J. (1992). Evergreen Seurat: A painted masterpiece branches out into three dimensions in a Columbus park. House & Garden, 164(4), 32, 41.
Sullivan, R. (1995). An American Place. Life, 18(5), 100.