Untitled Document

Olive Columns
( 1987 - 1991 )

Location: Ramat Rachel – Jerusalem .On a hill overlooking the cities of Jerusalem & Bethlehem , the Dead Sea and the Judean desert.

Materials: 80 year old olive trees, steel columns covered with basalt stone aggregate, concrete structure, Jerusalem stone boulders, drip nozzle irrigation system

Dimensions: 15.80 m' high (including olive trees)

Project History :

1984 first maquette - New York,
1986 foundation of the Olive Columns non profit assoc., building permit.
1987 transplanting of the olive trees, acclimatization.
1988 construction of the northern entrance, foundations.
1989 construction of the central sculpture.
1990 planting of the concentric olive tree garden.
1991 final works, opening

Key Meanings : harmonies of the number three, rootedness-disconnection from the earth, natural existence in artificial conditions, border zone, Genius Loci, 'creative preservation' of an ancient landscape, monumentality and fragility.

Artist Statement : The artistic project deals with mathematical & spiritual harmonies of the number three, and with its mysterious power to create a mean between opposing forces. Concepts of rootedness and disconnection which mark the complex relation of our civilization with the earth are central to the world of oppositions manifested in the sculpture's plastic form. Olive trees, ancient symbol of strength, fertility and peace, continue their life in a transplanted and disconnected state.

Olive columns Ramat Rachel

Ran Morin environmental sculpture and planning

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