The Wood Turning Center’s Challenge Series
Exhibition Prospectus
Challenge VIII: Bartram’s Boxes Remix
New Perspectives on John Bartram’s Legacy
Application due August 30, 2011.
Challenge VIII: Bartram’s Boxes Remix (“BBR”) is a collaborative project between the Wood Turning Center (Center) and Bartram’s Garden, Philadelphia (home of famed 18th century explorer and botanist John Bartram). The title of this project, Bartram’s Boxes Remix, references the boxes containing seeds, plants, and curiosities that John Bartram began sending to his colleagues in England in 1735, making Bartram’s Garden an international hub of plant knowledge and sharing.
In the spirit of John Bartram’s desire to share his passion for trees and other plants, BBR will bring together artists who will create works in wood and other materials from Bartram’s Garden. Artists will be able to select from 13 types of wood from the Garden felled by a recent storm. BBR celebrates John Bartram’s legacy of discovery and will provide a unique opportunity for artists to “remix” the history, materials and inspiration of one of America’s oldest gardens in their work.
Submissions are not limited to wood turning artists; this call includes furniture makers, sculptors, painters, printers, video, instillation, performance, and multi-media artists. Collaborations are welcome. Jurors will consider all submissions incorporating in some manner the wood and materials available at Bartram’s Garden.
Bartram’s Garden
John Bartram (1699–1777) was a Quaker farmer lit with a “Botanick fire” which, over time, made him America’s first great botanist. A self-taught man, Bartram was blessed with profound curiosity and energy. So, he set himself a staggering goal: to make a Compleat Discovery of the Native Growth in America or perish in the attempt. His life-long explorations, plant collection, and correspondence with eager collectors in Europe made his Garden an international center for botanic discovery.
Today, the John Bartram Association protects and enhances the landmark Bartram’s Garden and House, advances the Bartram legacy of discovery, gardening and art, and inspires audiences of all ages to care for the natural world. The Garden is a 45-acre National Historic Landmark operated by the Association in cooperation with the City of Philadelphia.
It encompasses a historic botanic garden, reclaimed meadow, public dock, natural and man-made tidal wetlands, 18th century farm buildings, and open parkland. The grounds
are free and open to the public daily. Bartram’s Garden offers guided tours, workshops, and public programs on such topics as seed saving, botanical illustration, and native plants. Bartram’s Garden also provides hands-on science lessons to 8,500 Philadelphia students each year, with free visits for children in our immediate community. For further information about Bartram’s Garden please visit their website, www.bartramsgarden.org
Wood turning Center’s Challenge Exhibitions
The Challenge series provides artists from around the world with a forum to push the frontiers of conceptualizing and executing their work while inviting the public to expand its understanding and appreciation of contemporary art in wood. The Challenge series includes works from both established and emerging artists.
Schedule
August 30, 2011: Application due.
By September 15, 2011: Artists notified if selected to attend Bartram’s Garden Artist Retreat.
October 9 or October 22, 2011:
Bartram’s Garden Artist Retreat. Strongly Recommended.
January 30, 2012: Final Proposals from Artist due for Jury.
By February 29, 2012: Artists selected for Challenge VIII exhibition and given 14 months to produce work.
May 1, 2013: Deadline for delivery of finished work to the Center. The artist may drop off or be responsible for shipping the piece(s). The Center will insure and pay for the return of work at wholesale value.
February 3, 2014: Challenge VIII opens at the Center. The exhibition will be documented and may travel for up to two years.
Available Wood at Bartram’s Garden:
Tulip Poplar, Cucumber Magnolia
Bitternut Hickory, Honey Locust
Silver Maple, Yellowwood
Willow Oak, Silverbell
White Mulberry, Paper Mulberry
Osage Orange, Kentucky Coffee Tree
Boxwood
Entry and Selection Process
The jury process of Challenge VIII is divided into 3 phases.
Phase 1 — Submission
Submission to Challenge VIII includes the application form, application fee payable to Wood Turning Center, resume, artist statement and 10 digital images or up to 10 minutes of video. Please submit digital images in JPEG format at least 300 dpi with a preferred print size of 8" x 10". Each image file should be labeled as follows: “LastName_FirstName_Title of work_Date of work”. Applications must be received or postmarked by August 30th, 2011 to be considered. The Wood Turning Center’s Exhibitions Committee will consider individual and collaborative artists who submit work created within the last two years.
Phase 2 — Selection & Artist Retreat
Once the applications are selected for the second round by the Exhibitions Committee, the artists will be invited to an Artist Retreat held at Bartram’s Garden, Philadelphia. During this retreat, which is strongly advised, the artists will have a private tour from the Garden’s curator, view the available material and have first pick of their top 3 material selections. Artists will also have the opportunity to reflect, sketch and absorb the garden.
The Artist Retreats are scheduled on Sunday October 9 and Saturday October 22, 2011.
The Center is currently seeking funding for travel expenses for a limited number of grant honoraria to be given to artists to attend the Bartram’s Artist Retreat.
Phase 3 — Development & Proposal Submission
After the completion of the Artist Retreat, Artists will have 3 months to develop a final proposal to be submitted by January 30, 2012. The proposal can consist of drawings, miniature models, video, story boards, and/or photographs. The artists are encouraged to submit final statements, process, or description of inspirations with final proposal. A jury will make the final selection of proposals by February 29, 2012.
The artists are responsible for picking up or shipping the material from Bartram’s Garden and will have 14 months to complete the work and deliver it to the Center by May 1, 2013.
The Center reserves the right to use application materials for educational or publicity purposes. All applications become the property of the Center and will not be returned. Please supply all credit information and photographer for proper image credit if available.
Acceptance of work is subject to final review by the jurors for the Challenge VIII exhibition.
For more information click the “DOWNLOAD APPLICATION” link above
John Bartram’s Boxes
On left is a 1770 engraving showing several sorts of plant shipping boxes. This comes from a pamphlet from John Ellis, who was an amateur botanist in London and a sometime correspondent of John Bartram.
John Ellis, Directions For Bringing Over Seeds And Plants, From The East-Indies And Other Distant Countries In A State of Vegetation: Together With A Catalogue of such Foreign Plants as are worthy of being encouraged in our American Colonies, for the Purposes of Medicine, Agriculture, and Commerce. To Which Is Added, The Figure and Botanical Description of a new Sensitive Plant, called Dionæa Muscipula: or, Venus’s Fly-Trap. L. Davis, London, 1770.
This pamphlet also printed the first image and description of the Venus flytrap, which John Bartram had been growing since around 1762.
The Ellis engraving is illustrating shipping boxes for live plants, which becomes much more important after 1770. In John Bartram's lifetime he concentrated on shipping boxes of seeds, which were much more likely to survive the long shipping time. John Bartram's annual seed boxes were large, rectangular shipping boxes or crates, roughly sized 3' long x 1.5' x 1.5', nailed together from rough boards. The long rectangular plant box in the Ellis engraving is comparable to a Bartram seed box. (This was a customary size for many shipping boxes in the 18th c.)
The recreated boxes on the right were made for the 2009 Philadelphia Flower Show exhibit.