This commission by Art Omaha in memory of Roberta Rogers depicts ten Omaha trees in a dynamic configuration of bold, free-standing sculptural fabric prints. Visual artist Florence Neal enriches the Omaha Public Library's role as an important site for the presentation of visual art in conjunction with literature by presenting library visitors with her "different forest", a virtual arboretum where readers can pause and reflect on the connection between images and language.
The twenty text segments are drawn from a novel and two collections of short stories by Wendy Walker, The Secret Service, Stories Out of Omarie, and The Sea Rabbit (Sun & Moon Press).The text suffuses each tree print with an additional layer of meaning whose leaflike unfolding seduces the observer into undertaking a journey through an artistic forest of images and words, metaphors and images.
The ten banners were exhibited as a group for one month at the W. Dale Clark Library. The banners then become part of the Library's public art collection, circulating in groups of three among the nine branch libraries and the main library, permitting readers to experience "... a different forest" in their own neighborhoods. The images were originally produced as 4 x 8' linoleum block prints. The prints were then scanned and digitally printed on 24 x 88" fabric banners. The trees chosen are all common to the Omaha region. The hues of the four leaf prints on each side of the banners refer to the Spring and Fall seasons, the times of transition in the life cycle of trees.
The following trees are included in the series: Bur Oak, Sugar Maple,
Osage-orange, Redbud, Plum, Walnut, Cottonwood, American Elm, Ironwood,
and Black Willow.
Editioned forests and individual trees
are available.
Each tree is 88 x 24", printed on fabric, with a banner stand and
two prints.
For more information contact:
Art Omaha /Gallery 72
gallery72@novia.net
2709 Leavenworth, Omaha, Nebraska 68105
... a different forest
Florence Neal
Text by Wendy
Walker
Omaha
Public Library
Omaha, Nebraska
November 2003
Public Art Commission by Art Omaha
in memory of Roberta Rogers
TenTrees, (20 prints total), 8' x 2' each
