Garden/Art: The Nature-Based Sculpture Program of the South Carolina Botanical Garden

Abstract

This essay discusses an art program developed to engage viewers in environmental thought through unexpected experiences. Spread over 300 acres, the 15 nature-based sculptures of the South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG) are creative interventions developed with local natural materials to suit their separate unique sites. Since its inception in 1995, the SCBG's sculpture program has worked with artists of national and international prominence to create a world-renowned collection of nature-based site-specific sculptures. Placed in various terrains, without explanation, visitors to the garden experience the art outside of the more common context of gallery or museum space. The sculptures blur distinctions between nature and culture, as well as disrupt the presuppositions attached to public spaces, natural spaces, and artistic expression.