Heartwood
For my final image of 2023, I present perhaps my favorite of the year. It is the afternoon of New Year's Eve 2023 as I type this. This is the sculpture named "Hallow" and until it's removal in early March of this year, it was the largest of the eight sculptures spread around the Morton Arboretum grounds in Lisle, IL, by South African artist Daniel Popper. Popper's exhibition, "Human+Nature," ran for two years and was the latest in an ongoing series of two-year long exhibitions at the Arboretum. It was preceded by the world-renowned "Trolls" exhibition, and was followed by a rather lackluster and disappointing follow-up called "Of The Earth" in May 2023. While still impressive, "Of The Earth" lacks the heart that "Trolls" had, and the power that "Human+Nature" had.
"Love"
This image is being submitted as part of the #Flickr21 Photo Challenge, celebrating Flickr's 21st anniversary on February 10, 2025. The theme for the 19th day of the 21 day photo challenge is "Love." Daniel Popper's "Hallow" was my favorite all the sculptures at Morton Arboretum's "Human+Nature" exhibit, and this image was my favorite of all of them from the four trips I took to the Arboretum during the exhibit's run. To me, it is the ultimate expression of "opening your heart." However, at the time I took the photo, I did not even notice the tree right in the center of the chest. I only noticed that when I sat down to sort and edit the photos.
I like to interpret this as a particular "love of nature," hence the title. So it was certainly ironic then that the sign describing this sculpture had this following tagline:
"Trees and nature are the heart of
The Morton Arboretum's Mission,
work, and vision for the future."
Heartwood
For my final image of 2023, I present perhaps my favorite of the year. It is the afternoon of New Year's Eve 2023 as I type this. This is the sculpture named "Hallow" and until it's removal in early March of this year, it was the largest of the eight sculptures spread around the Morton Arboretum grounds in Lisle, IL, by South African artist Daniel Popper. Popper's exhibition, "Human+Nature," ran for two years and was the latest in an ongoing series of two-year long exhibitions at the Arboretum. It was preceded by the world-renowned "Trolls" exhibition, and was followed by a rather lackluster and disappointing follow-up called "Of The Earth" in May 2023. While still impressive, "Of The Earth" lacks the heart that "Trolls" had, and the power that "Human+Nature" had.
"Love"
This image is being submitted as part of the #Flickr21 Photo Challenge, celebrating Flickr's 21st anniversary on February 10, 2025. The theme for the 19th day of the 21 day photo challenge is "Love." Daniel Popper's "Hallow" was my favorite all the sculptures at Morton Arboretum's "Human+Nature" exhibit, and this image was my favorite of all of them from the four trips I took to the Arboretum during the exhibit's run. To me, it is the ultimate expression of "opening your heart." However, at the time I took the photo, I did not even notice the tree right in the center of the chest. I only noticed that when I sat down to sort and edit the photos.
I like to interpret this as a particular "love of nature," hence the title. So it was certainly ironic then that the sign describing this sculpture had this following tagline:
"Trees and nature are the heart of
The Morton Arboretum's Mission,
work, and vision for the future."