Influences

Having roots in the Pacific Northwest, James Fitzgerald pays homage to his formative years through his work, being intimate with the ecology of the area. We are surrounded by towering evergreens and eccentric deciduous maples and cherry blossoms, accompanied by the full, bright undergrowth taking up all the extra empty spaces in the landscape. Our rain brings life to our special corner of the planet and exemplifies ideas of life and rebirth. Taking a walk through the Arboretum enlightens all the previous thoughts, along with other new ones: tall cedars reaching towards the sun rays even on the grayest of days, the fallen soldiers of trees with deep cuts and gashes giving up their lives in ordinance towards new life and civilization, as well with all the coexisting plants that help serve various biological functions for neighboring plants and animals inhabiting the area.

With these visions in mind, James depicts and works with the visualization and textural concepts from all around him to characterize much of his works. Getting further into the main idea of this post, we are looking into one of the focal points of Fitzgerald’s career: the sculpture Rainforest. The strong bronze structure was constructed in 1959 to exhibit a paramount of nature’s beauty and vitality.

The Sculpture

There is a small plaque adorning Rainforest saying that it is in honor of World War II. Something that doesn’t fully line up is the time difference between the war and the assembly of this art; this makes it hard to draw a fully-concluding line between the two. Honestly, the correlation between nature and the destruction of it during the wars is the best link that makes the most sense, in how it is not just in honor of the dead (the fallen tree), but also the ones left alive and standing (the vertical installment) for both nature and people.

Artist’s History

James Fitzgerald isn’t necessarily a household name, but he was a prominent artist and architect in his time. He was born in Seattle, Washington in 1910 and died in 1973, living through a very influential era of the United States’ growth and development. His artistic endeavors began with watercolor paintings, along with backpacking trips accompanying renowned artist of the time, Jose Clemente Orozco in Mexico. After a fire erupted in his studio and destroyed much of his art, he learned to prefer more durable mediums, in turn, sculpting with bronze.

Fitzgerald is known as an artist of the Pacific Northwest, although his influence wasn’t limited to the PNW. He worked with Jackson Pollock in New York before the beginning of World War 2. He has received a degree in architecture at the University of Washington and worked at the Spokane Art Center for a period of time. In 1940 after returning to his home state of Washington, he married abstract painter Margaret Tomkins. When World War 2 began in 1939, the war-ravaged period undoubtedly made an impression on the artist and his work, like our Rainforest. In 1933 Fitzgerald would live in CCC camps (Civilian Conservation Corps) in Idaho and Washington, where he worked under the Treasury Department Art Program to depict the landscape of the West during the time of FDR’s new deal plan. Rainforest has been dedicated to WW2 veterans. Although we do not know if that was Fitzgerald’s intention for the sculpture, he would no doubt be proud of the legacy it honors.

Allison’s Initial Reaction

Being placed by the Recreation Center and walking by this sculpture up to three or four days a week, it never really meant anything to me, besides the wondering of when the fountain portion would be turned on. It just kind of looked like an abstract metalwork fountain without much more purpose, because, you know, it is Western. Until starting on this project, I probably wouldn’t have put much more thought into it.

Going through the many topics of discussion and information we have gathered, I may have found a new insight into this piece. It has many different ties to nature and history through its shape and color and detail and interactions with water. I am impressed by James’ ability to capture so many of the elements that he did, along with his determination to spread his work around so more people have the ability to enjoy it, even if they don’t know the artist or meaning. I surely didn’t know anything before this research began!

Combat’s Initial Reaction

It was a funny coincidence that I was paired with Rainforest for this assignment because I had been passing the sculpture on my way to Zumba in the mornings. I gave the art piece a few interested glances but never got close enough to inspect it. I didn’t realize it was a tree at first, although it certainly resembled some kind of plant-like structure (with the large flat water-catching projections looking like floating lily pads). One of the first thoughts I had was that the sculpture looked like it would be very easy (and fun!) to climb. There is a vertical portion of the sculpture and a horizontal portion. Since the sculpture seems to be reminiscent of tree trunks, I see that one is a standing tree and the other is fallen. There are two plaques giving information about the piece. One has the name of the piece and the artist. The other says that Rainforest is meant to memorialize soldiers who fought in WW2. I wonder what the significance of a rainforest is to that time-period. Is it supposed to be reminiscent of soldiers marching through rainforests in foreign countries? Or is it an homage to the rainforest-like environment of the Pacific Northwest? There could be multiple interpretations of the work and that certainly adds to the beauty of it.

Bryant’s Initial Reaction

The very first time I saw the rainforest sculpture, to be very honest, I thought it looked pretty gross. My first few encounters with the sculpture were while walking to the rec center, which it is located right next to, giving it only a slight glance while walking inside. From this perspective, the sculpture looks quite strange. It’s made of an unattractive dark green color, tall oddly shaped pillars of metal, and does not elicit any immediate symbolism.However, upon further review and some closer examination, one can begin to appreciate the uniqueness of the Rainforest. When I approached the sculpture in this new way, it appeared very intriguing, almost mysterious. The main section is a very tall conglomerate of multiple metallic strands connected together. There is a second section of similar a similar length, but it is rested on its side horizontally instead. I also noticed that there were several straggler metallic chunks here and there around the two main pieces, along with fountain spickets placed randomly around the piece.

Group Participants: Allison Bonney, Bryant Hill, Hannah (Combat) Hendrickson

Shamir, Ilan. “Advice from a Tree.” Spirit of Trees, spiritoftrees.org/poetry/advice-from-a-tree.