Faigin, Gary. “Review of Nine Spaces, Nine Trees at University of Washington.” Gary Faigin. Gary Faigin, May 2008. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
http://www.garyfaigin.com/reviews/2008/2008-05.html
Developed by artist Robert Irwin, “Nine Spaces, Nine Trees” juxtaposes the natural and the man-made in an engaging composition. Originally placed in downtown Seattle, the work is an odd square of greenery in the middle of a city. The trees are sectioned off into rigidly devised rooms, as if they are foreign objects on display in the midst of a concrete jungle. Viewers are permitted to walk through and spend time with the trees as they wish, in an experience that feels much more constructed than organic.
I saw this piece in person at its new location at the University of Washington this past summer. I agree with Faigin that it worked better in its original setting, where the heart of the city emphasized the rapid urbanization that speaks through this piece. But it still works in its strangeness. It offers an exaggerated, artificial approach to viewing nature. It’s off-putting in its resemblance to construction sites and manufactured visions of a technologically developed society.
