Stunning Sculpture and Statuary
Go beyond flowers and foliage: add statues and sculptures for a new
dimension to your garden.
Helen McKerral
admires the options.
Houses have furniture and carpets or polished floorboards, painted walls
or brick features… but it’s the personal touches that make it a home.
Family photos, paintings or prints, and that special vase or antique
basin set from grandma are the things that personalise your space and
make it uniquely yours.
Gardens, too, can be beautified in this way. Of course the plants and
paving surfaces you select will reflect your personality and taste, but
you can go further and choose garden ornaments that complement the mood
of your outdoor living areas in the same way that you decorate your
house.
Why
Statuary or Sculpture
Statuary and sculpture provide focal points and surprise. They add a
fresh element to the garden and delight or intrigue the viewer. They can
draw the eye away from less attractive views or features, or provide
interest in a spot where plants are difficult to establish.
Aesthetics and Scale
A sculpture or statue should complement the style of the garden and be
in scale – a huge Italian fountain would look rather silly in a tiny
city courtyard or plonked into the centre of an Australian bush garden!
In your garden, look for natural alcoves or framed views in which to
place sculpture, or for dull backgrounds that could be enlivened by
variety. Clip a shallow recess into a hedge to frame a statue, or trim
a tangle of overgrown shrubs to open up a space or create an arch. A
plain, uncluttered backdrop generally best sets off a sculpture.
Restraint
We’ve all seen them – gardens sprouting every possible garden gnome,
windmill, wishing well, pink flamingo plus cat, dog and even the
aborigine-standing-on-one leg ceramic. Please, unless you are a
collector of ceramics – don’t go there! Such gardens are almost
inevitably cluttered, busy and ugly – a forest of bad pottery rather
than plants. Use sculpture as a highlight, not as the main bulk of your
outdoor space.
Classical
Style
Cherubs, Michelangelo’s ‘David’ and other classic Greek-style sculptures
are available in every possible size and quality.
Though they are not to
my taste, they do suit many gardens and gardeners, and reproductions can
be bought quite cheaply. Use your imagination to site such sculptures –
the quirky approach can add originality to an otherwise clichéd piece. A
group of cherubs peeking out of a bush, a bathing lady under a fall of
weeping foliage, fish suspended amongst branches or an archer aiming at
an apple tree can bring a smile instead of a roll of the eyes!
Of course, in a more formal setting, quirky can look out of place, so
buy the best quality you can afford.
Modern
Style
Numerous reproductions are available in garden centres but, if it’s
within your budget, visit galleries and buy one special hand-crafted
sculpture. These are expensive, of course, but you will have a uniquely
beautiful piece that will enrich your garden for a lifetime. Quality
sculpture, whether it be in stone, ceramic, metal or glass, has the
ability to keep on giving – unlike poor-quality work, good original
pieces are rich in depth and meaning, and can be fresh on each new
viewing.
Installations, Found Objects and More
Those on a small budget need not be discouraged. Some of the most
interesting and memorable garden art I’ve seen has been created by the
owners from found objects arranged in interesting ways. The hebelstone
sofa on a hillside at Wyndbourne Park is a favourite – unexpected,
tongue-in-cheek and always brings a smile to the face.
Think about the
materials mouldering away down the back of your yard – can they be
arranged in an unusual way?
Here are a few quirky, fun and beautiful examples to get your
imagination fired:
. A cairn or pyramid of interestingly-shaped stones on a concrete base.
. Smooth, oval-shaped river stones stacked one atop the other.
. A giant sphere of densely-wound, rusty barbed wire, placed in an open
space like a giant, strange beach ball.
. Clear glass fishing buoys, suspended from tree branches like soap
bubbles, or coloured buoys like strange fruit.
. A circle of totem poles. Arrange straight tree limbs, pine posts, or
PVC stormwater pipe (the latter topped with endcaps) of different
heights and thicknesses in a circle or serpentine line, and paint them
different colours (bold primaries and secondaries are eye-catching).
. Sticks, stones or log rounds interwoven into a vertebra and snaking
through the grass or an open area.
. A single totem pole adorned with found metal objects (farm objects,
tools, engine parts, the rustier the better).
. A “curtained doorway” of beads, balls, curtain tassles, or lengths of
bamboo suspended from a low horizontal branch.
. Whippy garden prunings woven into large discs and placed atop poles,
or hung from branches.
.. and the list goes on, limited only by your imagination.
So this weekend, why not visit your local garden centre, gallery or
recycling depot for some materials?
WebWatch:
Google combinations of: garden outdoor art installation sculpture
statuary
http://www.noma.org/sgarden/thecollection.html