Planting the trees, yes, but commissioning the installation is, I think, a huge waste of money that would have been better spent on, say, more trees. I shouldn't think they'll thrive for long, will they?
The spinning gum (eucalyptus) is so-called because some spent juvenile leaves remain partly attached to the stems and spin around them in the wind. Spinning gum is perhaps the most successful eucalypt in local gardens, known to have even been reseeding in at least one Seattle site prior to the punitive 1990 winter.
I am afraid trees don't do enough to call attention to themselves. I think art installations can be a great boon to a garden or arboretum because they remind people they need to take notice. If the architects hadn't performed this tour de force feat, they would have found something glitzier. This is a much nicer way of showing off.
I want to know how this was done! How deep are the rotating parts? These are not saplings---these trees must have some fair-sized roots. ??? How is the mechanism protected from water and dirt? Amazing! Yes, all this must have cost a mint of money (another question: who paid for all this?) but it is way cool and, as the man in the video says, modestly joyful. I'm all for that, as opposed to the loud, in-the-face style that is so prevalent today. Here in Columbus, at our Franklin Park Conservatory, we now have several Dale Chihuly glass pieces permanently installed. When this idea was first tried out several years ago, there were folks who felt that it was crass commercialism, contradictory to the whole purpose of the place, etc. Now, I am no iconoclast---if anything, a stick-in-the-mud as far as innovation goes---but after visiting the Conservatory (several times) and seeing how beautiful and appropriate the glass pieces are, I understand how combinations like this can work to the benefit of both plants and public. More people come to the Conservatory, more money is raised for the plants' care---and more peoples' eyes are opened to the beauty of the world's flora. I like the spinning trees!
Not so artistic, but no less bizarre, are the upside down trees at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. All these pieces attract attention, piques interest. Whether we like the works or not, more interest is always a "good thing".
Isn't it the point of art to make the viewer think? Liking or not liking the work is secondary; the point is to provoke a reaction. Thus, although some of you don't particularly care for the spinning trees, it was successful in making you decide, one way or the other. Personally, I'm fascinated at the idea and I'm really curious to know what the magic is behind it. The upside down trees are also pretty neat.
