Heaven and Earth
1: 2009
Heaven and Earth 2: 2010
Heaven and Earth 3: 2011
Heaven
and Earth 4: 2012
Heaven and Earth 5:
2013
Heaven and Earth 6: 2014
Heaven and Earth 7: 2015
Heaven and
Earth 8: 2016
July 23 -
September 25, 2016
Carkeek Park
950 Carkeek Park Road
Seattle WA 98177
2016 Heaven & Earth VIII Artists:
Potential installation sites for 2017 and beyond.
Return to CarkeekPark.org
Sponsored by:
Carkeek
Park Advisory Council
Seattle
Parks and Recreation
Associated
Recreational Council
Office of Arts & Culture
Contact David Francis to help support this year's show and artists.
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Webmaster@CarkeekPark.org
Wild Germination: Heaven & Earth VIII
Opening Saturday, July 23,
5:00 pm
Carkeek Park
Environmental Learning Center at the
Gardens Meadow
Install Week: July 18 - 22
Guest-curated by Morgan McElfresh
Arts Instructor, Viewlands Elementary School
Curatorial Statement by
Morgan McElfresh
Art Exhibit Returns to Carkeek Park —Press Release
Curatorial Statement by Morgan McElfresh
Germination is the process by which growth begins. For Heaven and Earth 8, the idea of germination takes on a double meaning. The primary meaning, the process by which a plant grows from a seed, is evident in the how the selected works for the 2016 exhibit fit into and play against the natural surroundings of Carkeek Park. Their form takes shape the way a seed sprouts and begins to reach out into the world trying to find a home. Once the proposed artwork is selected and its specific site is chosen, foundations are laid down within the natural environment of the park as though they were roots digging ever deeper into the earth. Finally, their form takes shape and blooms into view as if a flower growing not only for beauty but purpose. In the natural world, this purpose would be a fruiting activity centered on spreading and promoting its gene line.
In the artworks presented this year however the blooming beauty of the completed works focuses not on reproducing a gene line but rather spreading a greater idea to those that take time to investigate the artworks. This leads us to the second meaning of germination because not only can seeds germinate but so can our ideas. An idea is a special thing and, like a seed, must be nurtured if it is to grow into something greater. Each artist has cultivated a seed of an idea to plant in the minds of the many visitors to Carkeek Park this summer. With the spread of these ideas, change and growth can be promoted within our community.
Each artist approached the theme of germination from a different perspective, with varying experiences, biases and a different creative mind. They have altered the way you will see the world around you and how you move through the park. Some artists have altered the physical space in grandiose ways while others have chosen to blend into their surroundings and camouflage themselves in their space. Some have focused on the communal development of ideas while still others focus literally on how plants and nature are affected by the germinated ideas of humanity. Each idea, large or small, individual or communal, is spread as seeds are scattered. Some ideas will immediately take hold and transform when nourished by the viewer, still others will lie fallow and remain dormant until a later time to take root.
The artists’ ideas have changed the landscape of Carkeek Park and will alter how people experience the park this summer. In this way the germinated ideas have as much impact as any seed that sprouts, grows, reseeds and dies back. Our artists’ inspiration burgeoned, bloomed, took shape and is an ephemeral experience bound by the time line of our show. Just as a plant’s lifecycle follows the season, this show must too follow a timeline and will ultimately be a fleeting experience for a lucky few to take in. The continued germination and growth of these ideas relies on the further thoughts and future actions of the park visitors.
Questions: art@carkeekpark.org
