source: youhavebeenheresometime

“I like the idea that the piece takes the interior gallery wall, where you might see an image of nature on it, and instead places it in the tree itself where its flat plane and white wall sets off the amazing branches, leaves, and shadows created by the moving sunlight. ”

One of Letha Wilson’s latest works is a piece that is slowly changing as the summer heightens, and fades into fall.. The work is a site specific piece at Morton Arboretum and will be ongoing until late November, when winter creeps in. She has built a wall, bringing indoors into outdoors, and back around into a full circle.

“For this piece I have built an interior wall inside and alongside this Blue Ash Tree at the Morton Arboretum. This is second piece along these lines I have created, yet the most ambitious and the largest scale work thus far. First the frame of the wall was built with wood studs, resting on the ground close to the trunk of the tree. The structure was built as level as possible. The frame was overbuilt with many cross beams and in such as way that the tree itself has not been punctured at all by any screws or even any straps. This network of wood studs is on view from the back side of the piece, as it is open on that side. The front I then faced with ordinary interior drywall, and built as you would an interior wall around pipes.

I like the idea that the piece takes the interior gallery wall, where you might see an image of nature on it, and instead places it in the tree itself where its flat plane and white wall sets off the amazing branches, leaves, and shadows created by the moving sunlight. I have created several pieces using drywall outdoors and it is surprisingly resilient. Plus I like that the drywall will succumb to the movement of the branches, and will deteriorate a bit over the duration of the show. The wall faces almost due west so from about 12:30 on the sun casts shadows on the wall from the tree limbs and leaves. This particular tree is fairly late to leaf out, so the piece will change considerably throughout the season.”
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source: blogsergbe

« Née à Hawaï à la fin des années 70, c’est au milieu des grands espaces naturels du Colorado que l’artiste américaine Letha Wilson a passé sa jeunesse. Diplômée en Arts Plastiques et aujourd’hui installée à New-York depuis près de 15 ans, elle a gardé un goût pour l’Ouest américain et la nature, des thèmes forts qu’elle utilise comme point de départ de ses photos-sculptures.
« Je pense que la nature en tant que sujet est souvent considéré comme quelque chose de désuet ou de cliché dans l’art contemporain et particulièrement dans les photos de nature. J’estime pourtant qu’il y a encore beaucoup de possibilités de jouer et de repousser les limites » nous confie Letha Wilson. Elle dépoussière ainsi le sujet à travers des installations, vidéos et photo-sculptures et apporte un souffle nouveau en galerie.
Utilisant la photo comme matériau à part entière, elle bouscule les conventions et n’hésite pas à manipuler ses clichés et à les associer à d’autres éléments comme le bois, la peinture, la lumière ou plus récemment, le béton, leur insufflant une nouvelle dimension. Une façon pour elle de proposer au spectateur de s’interroger sur le désir d’être ailleurs et la représentation de la nature. Letha joue sur l’équilibre fragile qui existe entre la beauté de ses images et leur force sculpturale et crée ainsi des relations entre nature, objets, espace d’exposition et paysages sauvages. » Géraldyne Masson.