Existing comment:
John Grade
born Minneapolis, MN 1970; resides Seattle, WA
Middle Fork (Cascades), 2015
reclaimed old-growth western red cedar
Courtesy of John Grade
To commemorate the Renwick's reopening, Grade selected a hemlock tree in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle that is approximately 150 years old -- the same age as this building. His team created a full plaster cast of the tree (without harming it), then used the cast as a mold to build a new tree out of a half-million segments of reclaimed cedar. Hundreds of volunteers assisted Grade, hand carving each piece to match the contours of the original tree. After the exhibition closes, Middle Fork (Cascades) will be carried back to the hemlock's location and left on the forest floor, where it will gradually return to the earth. Grade's second tree, Middle Fork (Arctic), is on view downstairs in the Palm Court.
Middle Fork (Arctic), 2015
Shortly after completing Middle Fork (Cascades) -- the larger of his two trees, on view upstairs -- Grade traveled to northern Alaska, where he was dropped by bush plane at the fringes of the tree line to search for the elusive balsam poplar. After several days' travel by raft and foot, he located and cast a specimen using the same technique as for the Cascades hemlock. Astonishingly, given its stunted size, the balsam poplar used as a model is the same age as the hemlock re-created upstairs, about 150 years old. The difference in its scale is attributable to the harsh climate in the rocky plains just below the Beaufort Sea. |