Northern Grove

Northern Grove. . , The Northern Grove acts as a gateway to the park, presenting a series of sculptural forms that combine both ancient and contemporary references. This area frames and is framed by the history of the Laumeier grounds providing an intellectual oasis for the park. Drawing inspiration from ancient architecture and literature, one of the key ideas introduced here is the growth of urban environment and questions about its sustainability., Specifically sited at this entry point, Richard Fleischner's St. Louis Project, 1989, is at once a barricade, gate, terraced step and a "drivethru" monument. Resembling the mysterious Neolithic dwellings unearthed in sites such as Skara Brae, Scotland, each set of stacked limestone slab elements offer a sequence of carefully considered views. The artist has given meaning to this knoll, and through careful analysis of topography, he presents a subtle critique on both the aesthetics and permanence of our built environment., Steve Tobin's sculpture Walking Roots, 2002, also converts facets of nature into sculpture. Drawing on his interest in history and the natural world, Tobin is inspired by the power and wonder of ancient structures at Easter Island, the Giza Pyramids and Stonehenge. Created when Tobin excavated a dead oak tree on his property, this work is a replica of its underground root system. Cast in bronze and then reassembled with the help of an archaeologist, Walking Roots exposes the active and wonderfully complex world that lies beneath the soil., House of the Minotaur, 1980, by Tony Rosenthal takes its name from the ancient Greek myth of King Minos of Crete who built a torturous labyrinth where a Minotaur, a creature half man and half beast, was held. Here, a series of prismatic steel panels are arranged to form a playful maze, creating a public, participatory sculpture. This work embodies the artist's feeling for human interaction with the built environment by way of endless visual variation, an architectural puzzle, meant to provoke the viewer into an ongoing dialogue with the work., Feel free to rest on the stone bench of St. Louis Project, play hide and seek in House of the Minotaur or explore the linear canopy of Walking Roots but please do not climb on any of these works.