Digital mockup of a “stained glass” window for The Chapel of Natural Intelligence. 10’ x 6.5’ (composed of twenty-seven digital photographs, each 12”x 20”).
The Chapel of Natural Intelligence started on a walk when I was at a residency in rural France. Field Maple trees lined the small road I was on; I asked if they would collaborate with me.
The answer was not what I expected or wanted. “Grind up our leaves! For once, we would want to be the medium, not the subject.”
Ripping leaves off healthy trees felt barbaric. While the irony was not lost on me (we grind up leaves on a regular basis and call it salad), I told them it wasn’t happening and asked for another idea. About ten days later it came: “OK, then. How about you take our leaves and stack them.”
Digital mockup of a “stained glass” window for the Chapel of Natural Intelligence 10’ x 6.5’ (composed of twenty-seven digital photographs, each 12”x 20”).
Then something extraordinary and wholly unexpected happened. An extreme heatwave seized France and we catapulted into a wildly accelerated autumn. It was late July, but leaves were changing color–and dropping–all around. And so, the Field Maples got both wishes. I did stack their leaves (which led to this project) and, in a parallel project, ground their leaves (which proved to be sheer joy).
As I stacked, I realized I was making a piece named “The Chapel of Natural Intelligence” (the name did not come from me). I could visualize the fully realized project and I also understood the methods I would have to develop to get there.
Details from “The Chapel of Natural Intelligence”