Location: Ramat Rachel – Jerusalem .On a hill overlooking the cities of Jerusalem & Bethlehem , the Dead Sea and the Judean desert.
Materials: 80 year old olive trees, steel columns covered with basalt stone aggregate, concrete structure, Jerusalem stone boulders, drip nozzle irrigation system
Dimensions: 15.80 m' high (including olive trees)
Project History:
1984 first maquette - New York,
1986 foundation of the Olive Columns non profit assoc., building permit.
1987 transplanting of the olive trees, acclimatization.
1988 construction of the northern entrance, foundations.
1989 construction of the central sculpture.
1990 planting of the concentric olive tree garden.
1991 final works, opening
Key Meanings: harmonies of the number three, rootedness-disconnection from the earth, natural existence in artificial conditions, border zone, Genius Loci, 'creative preservation' of an ancient landscape, monumentality and fragility.
Artist Statement: The artistic project deals with mathematical & spiritual harmonies of the number three, and with its mysterious power to create a mean between opposing forces. Concepts of rootedness and disconnection which mark the complex relation of our civilization with the earth are central to the world of oppositions manifested in the sculpture's plastic form. Olive trees, ancient symbol of strength, fertility and peace, continue their life in a transplanted and disconnected state.
Cloud-rock Pines, project for the Suzhou Museum of Modern Art
. The design recalls artificial rock islands in classical Chinese gardens yet surprises by the ‘weightless’ impression of the ‘rock’ and the seemingly impossible growing position of the trees. It brings to mind Shen Fu’s phrase “ ..to see the real in the illusory and to see the illusory in the real.”
Cloud-rock Pines – scale model with drawing, May 2018
Cloud-rock Pines, the pool
The elliptic shallow pool, 35.6 m long and 27.1 m wide (733 sq’ m) will include two ‘paths’ of stones allowing the experience of walking through the water towards the museum. In the center of the pool, seemingly hovering above the water, will rise a sculpture composed of two horizontally shaped Pine trees growing out of a cloud shaped ‘rock’.
“A warm climate, abundant water, long prosperity and a large population of scholars and artists have made Suzhou the most famous city in the country for gardens…”* . Suzhou is world famous for its classical Chinese gardens - some dating as far as the 11 cent. Shi Yuan – nominated world heritage site, was built in 1440 and restored in the 1940’s. “It is one of the most unspoiled of the old gardens”.*
Pine Tree at the Ou Yuan - The Coupled garden, Suzhou
Southern Chinese Pine Tree – Pinus tabuliformis , song shu
Pinus tabuliformis is a medium-sized evergreen with a flat top crown – whence the scientific name ‘table shaped’. The needle-like leaves are shiny green, the cones green, ripening brown. Aged Pines were essential to traditional Chinese gardens. Since they do not wither in the winter, they stood for friends who remained faithful in adversity.
The Structure
Due to its location in a pool, Cloud-rock Pines will require a stainless steel structure.
The structure will be covered by a stainless steel expanded net, and then with a covering material based on a stone aggregate and pigments – giving the general color of a dark jade stone. Sealing will be applied in the interior.
Cloud-rock Pines – Plans for the stainless steel structure
Cloud-rock Pines Plan and typical section
The stainless steel structure will be supported by three thin (40 mm) rods - reinforced to the pool’s concrete floor. The underwater position of the rods will make them invisible to viewers, creating the impression that the sculpture ‘hovers’ over the water.
