Arboretum Sculpture

This artwork:
meta Metasequoia


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The Arboretum welcomes an exciting new art installation, meta Metasequoia, to the Madeleine K. Butcher Sculpture Garden. The Arboretum's Fine Arts Committee, led by Jane Korman, engaged local independent curator Julie Courtney to help identify an artist for a new site-integrated exhibit. The structure is the creation of artists John McQueen and Margo Mensing, who have collaborated previously on projects dealing with local history and ecology. It was designed by J. Shermeta of KSS Architects.

J. Shermeta/KSS Architects & Ross Stout/Taylor Photographics

From their very first visit to the Arboretum, Mensing and McQueen were fascinated by the Metasequoia glyptostroboides (dawn redwood) at the Arboretum, especially in the grove along the East Brook in the Butcher sculpture garden. Deciduous conifers, this group of trees stands as a beacon throughout the garden. The artists wanted to provide an opportunity to witness the beauty of these fast-growing living fossils, which currently stand over 100 feet tall.

Wooden benches on the perimeter of the basket will provide an opportunity for quiet contemplation of one of the most sculptural forms of nature. An auditory component will draw visitors into the trees still further. A narrative sound piece is installed on the observation platform with history and botanical insights on Metasequoia trees, told through a fanciful dialogue between two characters, a Metasequoia tree and a bird. Spoken voices are only one part of the sound; music and other sounds will complement the narrative. Sound projecting units are installed inconspicuously on the viewing platform so that visitors will hear sound amplified at several points on their journey up into the trees.

Constructed of steel and wood, meta Metasequoia will be a colorful and interactive icon in the garden. In the words of artist John McQueen, "Our art is about participation, not just an object sitting in the grass."

Artists Margo Mensing and John McQueen

Displaying art in the garden is a tradition that began with the Arboretum's founders, John and Lydia Morris, and we are grateful that we are able to continue this tradition today with individual support, as well as through the Madeleine K. Butcher Fine Arts Endowment which was established in 1990.

Established in 1988, the Madeleine K. Butcher Sculpture Garden is an outdoor gallery along the banks of the Wissahickon Creek, dedicated to featuring the temporary works of significant regional emerging artists and integrating sculpture and the fine art of garden design. Exhibits installed in the past include Stacey Levy's Wissahickon Food Web and most recently, Richard Torchia's Camera Obscura.

Plan to view the dawn redwoods as you never have before.

or to view the GIS study, click here