{"id":3459,"date":"2016-12-08T13:21:14","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T12:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sculpture-nature_local.test\/en\/?p=3459"},"modified":"2016-12-15T10:11:14","modified_gmt":"2016-12-15T09:11:14","slug":"the-baltimore-museum-of-art-sculpture-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sculpture-nature_local.test\/en\/the-baltimore-museum-of-art-sculpture-gardens\/","title":{"rendered":"The Baltimore Museum of Art Sculpture Gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"

To let you discover new sculpture parks around the world, Sculpture Nature had the pleasure to ask a few questions to Oliver Shell, Associate Curator of European Paintings and Sculpture, and Brad Pudner, Chief Gardener, both working at the Baltimore Museum of Art<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sculpture Nature<\/b>: The Baltimore Museum of Arts was originally founded in 1914 but the Wurtzburger Sculpture Garden opened only in 1980, followed by the adjoining Levi Sculpture Garden in 1988. Why did the museum decide to create not one but two sculpture gardens?
\n<\/span>Oliver Shell<\/b>: The Wurzburger and the Levi families were both involved with the Baltimore Museum of Art and they each had a sculpture collection in their private gardens in different towns here in Maryland. While a few works were purchased with museum guidance the collections are\u00a0<\/span>essentially formed by the collectors. These were gifted to the BMA\u00a0 <\/span>at different times. In each case a plot of land had to be acquired or, in the case of the Levi Sculpture Garden, leased from our neighbor, Johns Hopkins University. <\/span><\/p>\n

ScNa:<\/b> Could you describe the curatorial choices that define the Wurtzburger and the Levi Sculpture Gardens, home to 34 masterworks of modern and contemporary sculpture?
\n<\/span>O.S.: <\/b>Well the Wurtzburger collection was largely purchased by Alan and Janet Wurtzburger <\/span>between 1955-1973. The earliest works include a Rodin sculpture of Balzac<\/i> and a Bourdelle <\/span>allegorical figure of Fruit<\/i> or Pomona. The latest works include a Calder stabile and an abstract\u00a0<\/span>Noguchi piece in our mirror pool.\u00a0 <\/span>There is a general focus on post-World War II sculptures <\/span>including a Marini, a Lipchitz, and a Zadkine, that reference the war. The Zadkine for instance is The Destroyed City<\/i>,\u00a0<\/span>1957\u00a0<\/span>-a smaller version of the monument in Rotterdam.
\n<\/span>The Levi Sculpture Garden was collected between 1960 and 1988. Most of the sculptures are <\/span>abstract and a number of them are by American minimalist artists such as Michael Heizer and Tony Smith. Most of the works are constructed as opposed to being cast in bronze. One exception is a lovely owl head by Joan Mir\u00f3.<\/span><\/p>\n

ScNa:<\/b> Do the outdoor sculpture collections evolve? If yes, how?
\n<\/span>O.S.:<\/b> In some ways there is a constant evolution because of the natural surroundings.\u00a0 <\/span>We were saddened recently to lose a great big oak tree, but at the same time we now have more light in part of the garden. We do occasionally move sculptures to enhance their visibility and to <\/span>recontextualize them. In the future we may be more involved with that and even perhaps adding or substituting works.<\/span><\/p>\n

ScNa: <\/b>What are the activities, tours, projects offered by the museum to keep the gardens lively year-round?
\n<\/span>O.S.:<\/b> We do give regular sculpture garden tours usually combining a curator and our head <\/span>gardner. We also have an annual summer jazz concert series held in the Wurtzburger Garden.<\/span>As Maryland has a somewhat mild but still seasonal climate the gardens are kept very <\/span>lively by the different floral plantings. Mainly we find that the public enjoys the beauty of the <\/span>gardens by themselves or in small groups as a sort of escape from the surrounding city. <\/span><\/p>\n

ScNa:<\/b> Museums, private and public institutions seem to be more and more aware of the cognitive benefits of a sculpture garden for patients with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. They create specific programs and activities aimed to promote wellbeing and quality of life through engagement with the visual arts. Are there any particular initiatives you have undertaken during the years to open the gardens to this specific public? If yes, could you describe them and briefly tell us how they have been received?
\n<\/span>O.S.:<\/b> I am not aware of any specific use of the gardens for patients with Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u00a0 <\/span>We have had regular Yoga classes that took place in the Levi Garden.<\/span><\/p>\n

ScNa:<\/b> Yorkshire Sculpture Park is currently restoring The Family Man<\/i> by Barbara Hepworth. In a recent article Laura Davies, Sculpture Conservator at the YSP, talks about this process in terms of how important and essential it is to stay faithful to the artist intent while renovating the color and the material. I suppose you have similar issues about outdoor sculptures.
\n<\/span>O.S.:<\/b> Yes, we recently repainted the large Calder stabile 100 Yard Dash<\/i> in the Levi Garden and it required very precise input from the Calder Foundation to find the matching color in a modern paint.\u00a0 <\/span>We have also needed to repair works that suffered frost damage and have had to remove graffiti from one work.\u00a0 <\/span>We are about to undertake a major restoration of our Mark de Suvero <\/span>sculpture Sister Lu<\/i>, 1978-1979, which will require lifting the work out of the sculpture garden by crane.
\n<\/span>
\nScNa:<\/b> Sculpture Nature<\/i>: what does this association evoke for you?
\n<\/span>O.S.:<\/b> While some sculpture is deliberately anti-naturalistic, such as our Futurist Horse<\/i> by\u00a0<\/span>Raymond Duchamp-Villon, the experience of seeing sculpture in outdoor light with plants and <\/span>nature is far more satisfying aesthetically than seeing the same works in a gallery.<\/span><\/p>\n

ScNa<\/strong>: Could you recommend a sculpture park to our readers?
\n<\/span>O.S.:<\/b> I would have to say that <\/span>Storm King<\/span><\/a> in New York state is my favorite. Be sure to bring good shoes if you go\u00a0!<\/span><\/p>\n

ScNa:<\/b> How\u00a0were\u00a0the\u00a0two\u00a0gardens\u00a0designed\u00a0?\u00a0What\u00a0are\u00a0their\u00a0major\u00a0highlights?
\n<\/span>Brad Pudner:\u00a0<\/b>The\u00a0Wurtzburger\u00a0Garden\u00a0includes\u00a0a\u00a0series\u00a0of\u00a0bluestone\u00a0plazas\u00a0for the display of sculptures\u00a0with\u00a0a focal point of a\u00a0fountain\u00a0and pool\u00a0with\u00a0a\u00a0stepping\u00a0stone bridge. The\u00a0planted\u00a0areas\u00a0soften\u00a0the\u00a0concrete\u00a0and\u00a0bluestone. The Levi Garden is a more naturalistic wooded dell, featuring a grand entrance balcony which offers a bird\u2019s eye view before descending the staircase to a loop path around the base of the garden. It also features a beautiful pergola covered in wisteria which offers a nice shaded seating area in the summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sculpture Nature:<\/b>\u00a0Is there any\u00a0particular\u00a0relation between the sculptures and the surrounding\u00a0flora\u00a0and how\u00a0does this dialogue evolve\u00a0throughout\u00a0the\u00a0year\u00a0with\u00a0the\u00a0changing\u00a0seasons\u00a0?\u00a0Are new trees or plants introduced from time to time?
\n<\/span>B.P.: <\/b>Since the sculptures are the focal point of the gardens, the plantings mostly serve as a backdrop for them, but there are some exceptions such as a large flower bed near the restaurant and pool and flower pots to accent entrances and benches (both in the Wurtzburger Garden). While the plantings mostly serve as backdrops, they still include flowering plants with the belief that they can still be nice gardens <\/i>as well. Plant characteristics that mark all good garden design are applied here as well\u2026 evergreens offer winter anchors, and more ephemeral perennials and flowers offer a softer evolving texture and color backdrop that changes throughout the seasons. New plantings are introduced thoughtfully as areas call for refreshing.<\/span><\/p>\n

ScNa:<\/b> How\u00a0many\u00a0gardeners\u00a0does\u00a0the\u00a0museum\u00a0employ? Any seasonal workers during summertime or wintertime? Could you tell us briefly about their main tasks?
\n<\/span>B.P.:<\/b> I spend a lot of time out doing garden tasks when not doing planning and communications. I also have the equivalent of 1.5 gardeners (one half-time), and I hire landscape companies for larger projects. The gardeners do everything from new plantings to all areas of maintenance (mulching, weeding, pruning, mowing, watering, leaf removal). <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ScNa:<\/b>\u00a0What\u00a0is\u00a0the\u00a0relationship\u00a0gardeners\u00a0enjoy\u00a0with\u00a0the sculpture\u00a0collection, in\u00a0terms\u00a0of appropriation of the\u00a0artworks?
\n<\/span>B.P.:<\/b> Since the sculptures are mostly fixed, my interaction with sculpture curators is mostly in interpretation. One recent development that I\u2019ve enjoyed is doing co-tours with Oliver where he talks about the artwork and I talk about the garden design and plantings. We also frequently work with sculpture conservators, mainly about how to take appropriate precautions when trimming plants that grow near sculptures, etc.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ScNa:<\/b>\u00a0Sculpture Nature\u00a0<\/i>: what does this association evoke for you?
\n<\/span>B.P.: <\/b>I enjoy learning more about the art and also considering how to tweak the plantings to offer a maximized experience for the sculptures\u2019 viewers and enjoy considering this ongoing question with curators and conservators and the family trustees.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ScNa:<\/b>\u00a0Could you recommend a sculpture park to our readers?
\n<\/span>B.P.:<\/b> While the BMA\u2019s gardens are a unique treasure, a couple others that I\u2019ve enjoyed are Hirshhorn<\/a> in Washington, D.C. and while it is more than a sculpture park, Millenium Park<\/a> in Chicago is amazing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baltimore Museum of Art<\/b><\/span>
\n<\/span>10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218-3898
\n<\/span>Telephone: (443) 573-1700
\n<\/span>The Janet and Alan Wurtzburger Sculpture Garden and Ryda and Robert H. Levi Sculpture Garden are open year-round Wednesday-Friday 10am to dusk, and Saturday-Sunday 11am to dusk. They may close during inclement weather or for private events.<\/span><\/p>\n

artbma.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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