About 601 Tully

Check out our new website! 601Tully.syr.edu

601 Tully is a center for engaged practice in Syracuse, NY developed by artist and professor Marion Wilson with a rotating collaborative team of 54 students and neighbors and Anda French of French 2Design. It's a site for meaningful exchange between artists, community members, and scholars in the co-production of culture.

601 Tully includes a contemporary art space, a public events space, a bookstore, a teaching garden, and Recess Cafe West.

In 2009, Wilson purchased the condemned two-story home and local drug hub, and throughout five semesters, Wilson's design/build class re-zoned, designed, renovated and now sustains the physical and programmatic aspects of 601 Tully. The collaborative team has consisted of artists, architects, environmentalists, Fowler High School students, Green Train Workforce, neighbors, and the occasional passerby.

601 Tully is made possible by the generous support of the Syracuse University School of Education, The Kauffman Foundation, The Near West Side Initiative, Imagining America, Home HeadQuarters Inc., Say Yes to Education, and National Grid.

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Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Garden Design: Wolfgang Laib



















Wolfgang Laib is an artist interested in the materials of nature: pollen, milk, marble, beeswax-- materials he did not create. He uses these materials in concentrated forms, and by doing so, he abstracts them; he calls attention to them not as they are in nature, but as they are outside of the context of nature. In this way, his art honors the purity and beauty of the natural substance. He is also interested in serenity, in ritual. The collection of pollen for his pieces is both painstaking (taking months for a small bottle) and meditative. Similarly, his milkstones (white marble with a slight depression that is filled with milk) have to be emptied and refilled slowly each day, a ritual that endures in the hands of museum staff when he is gone.

A garden in and of itself, the human ordering of organic materials for beauty and peace, and the ritualistic care a garden needs, matches up with Laib's principles. So we can't really go wrong. In designing a conceptual garden that aligns a little more specifically with Laib, I was interested in creating that sense of serenity. Rather than having many loud colors, I suggested committing to a very simple color palette for both our flowers and the structures we have in the garden, e.g. the boards for the raised beds, the fence, and planters. I suggested that we paint as much as we can white in an attempt to create the equivalent of an outdoor gallery space. One concentrated area of color at the heart of the garden (I was thinking of a monochromatic raised garden bed, possibly yellow) would then create a focal point, inspiring calm contemplation. Paths and seating around the bed would encourage people to use the garden as a place of respite. In future years, the white structures could be repainted by the neighborhood children or the next group of students. This concept for the garden, like many of Laib's pieces would be fragile, ephemeral, and could give way to future visions of the garden.

I also suggested an area where children could play with some of the materials Laib would approve of--whether it's sand or rice or dried beans.



1 comment:

  1. Garden design is an important part of home design. The better your garden looks, the more welcoming your house is. There are many benefits of maintaining a garden like contributing in to the environment protection, having a good hobby, creating a healthy atmosphere for your home, and a good place to spend your leisure time. Nowadays more importance is given to the designing of gardens. Garden design includes the type of plantings, positioning of the plants, garden chairs and tables, umbrellas, the walkway, and so on. Sometimes we also install a pool inside the garden to make it look good. It gives a good look to our garden. So it’s very important to provide water to your garden as well as to have a pest’s control.
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