Granite Garden

Granite Garden is a large sculpture installation created by Jesús Moroles in 1987 for the Blount Plaza at the entrance to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The installation was funded with a gift from Arnold and Rose Steiner and supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. It was dedicated, along with the renovated plaza, in 1988.

Moroles was born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1950, studied at North Texas State University, and trained in Italy. He opened his professional sculpture studio in Rockport, Texas in 1981. The Birmingham commission came in 1985 and took two years to complete. "Granite Garden" consists of 45 separate sculptural elements, constructed of Texas Premier Rose granite. The stone was split into large blocks for the paved circles and cut into slabs which were then split into square blocks and stacked to form columns.

The sculpture consists of granite columns which are formed and grouped to symbolize different levels of human interactions with the natural world. Along the entrance drive, Moroles designed granite bollards with deep incisions at the top, sitting on split granite bases. Just beyond that row, seeming to have "escaped" into the plaza, a few individual bollards demonstrate individuality with varying cuts and heights.

Next, a cluster of short columns emerging from a circle of split-faced blocks symbolizes a balance between human interaction and the natural context. Moroles imagined a group of youngsters being lectured at the entrance about staying with the group and not picking flowers.

The third grouping, comprised of much taller and more sinuous forms, with water flowing down their faces, evokes the natural world, stretching and twisting toward the sun. It is this third grouping which receives the most interaction from visitors who touch the wet surfaces or play between the columns.

References

• Cordova, Cary (July 19-20, 2004) Oral history interview with Jesús Moroles. Archives of American Art. Smithsonian Institution.

External links

• Blount Plaza at bbgardens.org
• Moroles' bio at moroles.com