The Neukom Vivarium | Guildford Cycads

As mentioned in Wednesday’s blog post I spotted the Neukom Vivarium en route to my friend’s shop, in downtown Seattle. I had no time to stop, plus I noted the closed sign on the front of the building. Later research told me the vivarium is part of the Olympic Sculpture Park, which I visited back in 2011 during the Seattle Fling.

The open hours I found online were listed as Saturday and Sunday only, maybe, “check to be sure volunteers are there to open the building.” On a whim I drove by the next day, a Friday afternoon and as luck would have it the building was open! I even scored free (!) parking just a 5 minute walk away.

Here’s the view that had me wanting to see more, leaves pressed up against the inside of the building, what crazy plant shenanigans were going on in there?

I’ll admit when I walk by a house and see plants up against the windows, moisture accumulating all around, it makes me a little queasy. I want to open a window and get some ventilation in there.

For some reason I wasn’t having that reaction here.

I only wanted to get inside and see more.

Here’s the info plaque out front. I’m assuming the three-year timespan was how long it took to start and finish the installation? That means it’s all been sitting here, doing it’s thing for around 19-20 years.

So what exactly is the Neukom Vivarium? From Wikipedia… “The work features a 60-foot Western hemlock that fell outside of Seattle in 1996, acting as a nurse log within an 80-foot greenhouse. According to the Seattle Art Museum, which operates the park, the tree “inhabits an art system” consisting of bacteria, fungi, insects, lichen and plants…The installation was donated by Bill and Sally Neukom, American Express Company, Seattle Garden Club, Mark Torrance Foundation and Committee of 33, in honor of the Seattle Art Museum’s 75th anniversary. It was Dion’s first permanent public work of art in the United States. The architect for the structure was Owen Richards Architects.”

The Wiki article also references magnifying glasses for visitors “wanting a closer inspection,” I saw no such thing. “The greenhouse includes a cabinet designed by Dion that supplies magnifying glasses, allowing visitors to inspect the log for various life forms. Field guides are present in the form of blue and white tiles, depicting bacteria, fungi, insects, lichen and plants that may be found on the log.“
The cabinet did have some interesting artifacts…

By now you’ve certainly noticed the green tint created by the green glass roof. I was shocked when I downloaded my photos and they were so green. I think in person my eyes just accounted for the odd coloration and it wasn’t a big deal.
There wasn’t any signage explaining the tanks, and I didn’t ask the volunteers. I’m guessing it’s water captured from the roof and used for irrigation?
There’s the long Western hemlock log…
And some of the plant life that’s grown up from it.
One of the articles I found online mentioned the plants between the log and the tile wall were brought in from the original site and planted with the log.

From another online source (click on the link for great photos): “ART21: It’s almost like seeing a tree hooked up to a life support system.

DION: As I said, this is not exactly a feel-good work of art. You should look at this and get the impression of someone in the hospital under an oxygen tent. There should be pangs of melancholy when you see this. Of course, it is in some ways a celebration, but at the same time, it’s full of mourning and melancholy. This tree is something fantastic that has been ripped out of its context. So, there is something monstrous and violent about the very nature of this work. Like, in a natural history museum, you find this feeling of awe toward the skill of the reproduction and, at the same time, a feeling of terror at the tragedy of people killing animals and reproducing them for an urban audience. That’s very much the kind of logic that I’m playing with here.”

My eyes saw these leaves as brown, curled up, dead.
I wonder if the green tint wasn’t as strong in person and is just a camera trick?
More process photos and a poem if you follow this link.

The Neukom Vivarium’s open

when it wants to be

when train traffic

the slowest ever train traffic

when train traffic

shuts down Broad at Alaskan

a volunteer docent may be winding their way there.

I’m glad I was able to see the exhibit. It’s a little bit of odd Seattle right in the heart of it all.

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