Human + Nature: Reintroducing the Basics Of How Humans Can Interact With Art
I've been waiting to pay the Human + Nature exhibition a visit. Of course, giant sculptures resonating with my spirituality and personal philosophy sound intriguing. However, I was curious about how these sculptures would interact with the surroundings. After all, "human + nature" is a quite high-level concept — and sculptures playing with natural symbols alone sound slightly insufficient to fully unfold the symbiotic relationship between the two.
Now… If you're looking for commentaries on the installations, plenty of articles are written by more experienced, authoritarian critics and journalists than myself. For example, the Thursd review provides a great overview of the exhibition. Alternatively, I also find the article in Lion Newspaper quite inspiring. Meanwhile, this podcast episode with the artist will let you directly hear Daniel speak — if that's what you're into.
No. Human + Nature caught my attention for a different reason. While most are swept away by the scale and intricacy of his sculptures or hooked by the holistic, oriental philosophies and subject matters the artist explores, I find the placement of these sculptures and the overall viewing experience (if done in what my humble opinion considers, the appropriate way) far more intriguing.
Without technology meddling, I believe Human + Nature reintroduces how ordinary people can and should) view and experience public art, and that traditional art can be just as, if not more, engaging, interactive, and thought-provoking compared to digital art.
From Tulum, Mexico, to Fort Lauderdale, FL, while Daniel's installations always manifest certain subjects and beliefs, his materials, design, and composition vary to resonate with the installation's environment. For example, the sea sculpture was created with a rocky surface and greeneries in Florida, whereas the variation at The Morton Arboretum created a wooden surface with small metal roses inside. The former brought greeneries into a marble building, whereas the latter presented itself like a sand dune, channelling into the bare ground.
To understand this installation, we must remember:
Human + Nature significantly differs from many of Daniel's past projects since it is an installation of eight sculptures in a large, public space, instead of a circumstantial festival installation (e.g., A-Fest), an indoor installation at a pre-existing architecture (e.g., Florida), or a single sculpture in a natural space (e.g., Compton Gardens in Arkansas). Therefore, the viewing experience of Human + Nature is destined to be unique and unconventional.
And unconventional is possibly the most accurate way to describe this public art experience. The eight sculptures are not the easiest to find as they scatter across the 16 miles of trails throughout The Morton Arboretum. Of course, most of us probably drove along the main route and parked following the viewing map. But imagine turning off your phone, filling your backpack with water bottles, and diving into the nature trails throughout the arboretum.
It's quiet in the woods, and the sun barely hits your skin. Everywhere you see, it's green, and suddenly, you emerge into an open space.
And gasp! There stands one of these fabulous sculptures.
I could only imagine the bewildering joy someone would experience if they weren't aware of this exhibition but instead simply decided to take a hike through the arboretum. It's almost like the sculptures are placed there unintentionally. The whole point is that even if you miss one or two of them because of the hiking course you chose, it won't damage your exploration of the human-nature relationship a single bit.
And that, for me, is the charm of public art, and the significance of this specific installation. Unlike art restricted to paper or canvas, public installations truly have unlimited possibilities as they could leverage the entire space as the artist's playground and incorporate every detail into the audience's viewing experience.
To me, Human + Nature is a fresh breeze after the recent buzz over digital art, specifically, NFT, VR/AR buildouts, and the "immersive experience" where no physical artwork or artifact was even present. While we so desperately search for immersive art, it seems that we forget that humans have been interacting with art since the early times and that we never needed fancy technologies to become bewitched, bewildered, and bedazzled by art.
There’s something majestic about outdoor art. Against landscapes, cityscapes or seascapes, sculpture can take on an entirely new life. (Harriet Lloyd-Smith from Wallpaper)
If we take away the fast entertainment aspect of today's public art, we are again left with the difficult question: what makes good public art? For me, good public art stimulates the space it belongs to and brings new meanings to the viewer and its surroundings. If a public installation takes us out of our daily routine and makes us pause and think for a second, it’s done the job. And if a public installation helps us discover new aspects of the space we have visited in the past, it is more than valuable.
And these installations don’t need to be a bold statement or a controversial display like the Banskys. Who says a public installation that lets you have fun at the plaza you walk through to get to work isn’t just as valuable? Just like how Human + Nature sculptures change your hiking experience through The Morton Arboretum even if you live only 15 minutes away and hike here every weekend.
However, with all that’s been said, I’m not here to judge. For example, I also came here during a limited timeframe. My boyfriend and I drove through the paved path to “check the sculptures” off the map, and I never realized there could be a more appropriate way to experience these sculptures until afterward.
But I do believe these sculptures are meant to be discovered on a hiking day.
Ask yourself, when was the last time you turned off your phone and hiked a few miles of trail on a whim? When was the last time you went to a restaurant without photoshopping the food before taking a bite? The last time you went somewhere "trendy," did you go for an Instagram photo-op, or did you go for the simple joy?
Therefore, I will return with the proper gear and supplies to hike through the trails and revisit these sculptures the right way. Because it is my true belief that only then can I fully experience and connect with the theme of "Human + Nature." Meanwhile, I cannot wait to see more of these public art experiences that utilize their surroundings as part of the project returning to our world.
Come See The Installations!
Human + Nature is an installation at The Morton Arboretum, a 1700-acre public garden and outdoor museum with a library, herbarium, and program in tree research, including the Center for Tree Science. GA tickets can be purchased in advance via their website. The installation will run through March 2023.
Protecting over 100 endangered species, The Morton Arboretum's mission is to collect and study trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world, to display them across naturally beautiful landscapes for people to study and enjoy, and to learn how to grow them in ways that enhance our environment.
