This collaboration with Dan Snow won the design competition for an art installation in front of the new Science building at Central Oregon Community College in Bend, Oregon. It consists of cribbed granite and basalt “pillow” boulders arranged over a series of terraces with medicinal plants as the ephemeral elements of the sculpture.
The integration of plant with the stone evolves at each terrace level, as though in concert with a student’s rising knowledge and understanding. As one ascends the steps from the road to the science building, the clinical uses of the plants become more complex, as do the relationships between the plant forms and stone. The Honeysuckle vine and Indian Rice Grass are constants through the installation providing unifying elements to the installation, while highlighting their applicability to all levels of plant-based medicine. An environment of ephemeral plants and eternal rocks is a living metaphor for finding ones path to a profound understanding of healing. Education is a transformative experience. New-found awareness and resulting change will become a reoccurring theme expressed by the sculpture from moment to moment and over the span of years.
Plants create a dynamic relationship with the rock through seasonal change, motion and texture. Springtime and summer will see foliage growing and blooming, creating a cushioned topography and leafy backdrop. In autumn, the skeletal remains of stalks and vines will cast a web of shadows. In winter, the feature stones will be capped with snow and the voids under them turned to soft, white hollows. The look and feel of the piece will change with the seasons. The sculpture will have an inviting presence, attracting the viewer’s eye to explore its details of color, form and texture, and at the same time, offer an overall sense of welcome to those entering the building. The piece will offer surprises upon first visit, something a little different with each repeated viewing, and a feeling of grounded comfort to those who pass by it every day ascending and the other for descending.
Text by Dan Snow and Todd Lynch
