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Description:
Six concrete tree-of-life uprights, formed in adobe molds and
toned with integral color and placed within a canopied patio on the
north bank of Tempe Town Lake, feature reliefs depicting the Tree of
Life legend. Recessed areas in the tree canopies are, and continue
to be, filled with adobe leaves, carved with the names of donors to
the
Adopt-A-Tree program.
Funding:
The
project was funded through City of Tempe Capital Improvement Project
Percent for Art funds.
Artist biography:
Marilyn
Zwak is a self-taught artist whose background involves design of
environmentally related sculptures, painting exhibitions, book
illustration and film production in conjunction with environmental
support groups. Her numerous public works include an award winning
three-bridge design project for the Squaw Peak Parkway in Phoenix
and a Navajo bridge project in Marble Canyon. Zwak has served as a
panelist for the Arizona State Commission on the Arts and the
Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture. She has facilitated lectures and
workshops for the general public, artists, engineers and other
design professionals interested in public art.
Artist
statement:
The
foundation of my work is in painting, which, over years of
experimentation, I developed highly worked surfaces. The etched
surfaces in my paintings found their way into hand-sculpted adobe
sculptures. My underlying belief – that all people have potential to
express creatively – involved me in public art. I am committed to
using my art to humanize city environments. My concept is based on a
myth known as “The Tree of Life,” in which three goddesses -
representing the past, present and future of mankind - attend and
nourish the “tree of life” from a well of perpetual wisdom. This
powerful image of universality and connection unites all people and
links us to the center of our world. |
