(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Tippet Rise installing Ai Weiwei sculpture – Daily Montanan [1] ['Keila Szpaller', 'More From Author', '- July'] Date: 2022-07-18 A crew at Tippet Rise Art Center was installing last week a piece of art, “Iron Tree,” by internationally renowned artist and human rights activist Ai Weiwei on a landscape celebrating the link among art, music, architecture and nature. “The founders, Peter and Cathy (Halstead), the trustees of Tippet Rise, became aware that this particular work was going to be available,” said Pete Hinmon, co-director of the cultural center, in a phone call. “The owner was going to sell it. So we of course jumped at the opportunity. Ai Weiwei is an incredible artist and activist.” Set on a working sheep and cattle ranch on 12,500 acres in Fishtail, Tippet Rise hosts musical performances and offers outdoor sculpture tours along 13.25 miles of trail. The piece by the Chinese artist who has protested human rights abuses and the refugee crises is among several new artworks being installed at Tippet Rise this summer (see below). “Being in the presence of a tree recreated from iron I think definitely makes you think about the environment and the importance of thinking about our actions and how they affect the beautiful world and resources that we have here in Montana and also globally,” Hinmon said. In 97 different pieces, “Iron Tree” will stand in juxtaposition to the grassland landscape where it will live and connect to stories of the environment in the state. Montana has a well known relationship with Asia, and the installation is also part of the state’s connection to China. “We do have some substantial ties to China, even though our demographics may not show that,” said Hipólito Rafael Chacón, art historian at the University of Montana and director of the Montana Museum of Art and Culture. ‘Iron Tree’ at Tippet Rise Hinmon spoke to the Daily Montanan last week as he watched the 20-foot-by-23-foot-by-23-foot artwork being installed: “I’m right here as it goes up, so you might hear some noise in the background.” The piece was created in 2013, he said, and it had been on exhibition at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in England. Hinmon declined to disclose the purchase price, but he said when it became clear the owners were going to sell, the center jumped at the chance to buy it. The Yorkshire Sculpture Park described the piece as “the largest and most complex sculpture to date in the artist’s tree series, which he began in 2009. Inspired by the wood sold by street vendors in Jingdezhen, southern China, Ai’s trees are constructed from branches, roots and trunks from different trees.” Hinmon knows of no plans Ai Weiwei has of visiting Tippet Rise, although he said the art center has been in touch with Ai’s studio. Regardless, the tree will make a unique mark at Tippet Rise under the Beartooth Mountains. “Tippet Rise is mostly, naturally a grassland landscape,” Hinmon said. “There are not a lot of trees here.” Initially, the sculpture might appear to be a real tree, he said. He believes the piece magnifies the ideals of protecting landscapes that do have trees and the importance, especially in Montana, of supporting environmental and climate issues. “It becomes viscerally apparent of many of the roles that trees play in our lives and just really grounds many people’s deep appreciation for trees,” Hinmon said. “ The joints of the tree are connected in a physical way, and there’s no confusion that the pieces, casts of different pieces inspired by wood sold by street vendors in southern China, are bolted together, Hinmon said. Bringing different pieces together is a theme that reflects China bringing together different ideologies into one collective, and the distinct joints represent individualism. The visually apparent way the iron tree is built also raises an interesting question, Hinmon said: “If we’re continually utilizing our resources faster than we can save or replenish them, are we only going to be left with iron trees?” Montana to China Montana has historical and contemporary ties to China, said Chacon, professor of art history and criticism at the University of Montana. He said the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center and Baucus Institute at UM both play a role in ties to Asia, as does the history of the state. “We had a robust Chinese community in Butte and even Missoula,” he said. The more familiar connections may be political ones. As more recent examples, former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, namesake of the institute, served as ambassador to China, and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines worked in China in the early 1990s. As for the art connection, Chacon said UM faculty in visual and media arts have worked in China, such as ceramicist Trey Hill, and Tu Baixong of China was among the key figures from Asia who worked in Montana and at UM. “He held a torch for Chinese art in Missoula,” Chacon said. “So we have had our share, I think, of Chinese artists involved in the life of this town (Missoula) and the state.” The Montana Museum of Art and Culture describes itself as being home to one of the oldest and largest art collections in the Rocky Mountain Northwest, and construction on an $8 million building for the museum is underway at UM. The museum is slated to open in fall 2023. “China will figure prominently in the new Montana Museum of Art and Culture’s permanent collection,” Chacon said. “We have lots of Chinese art, we have wonderful Chinese art. That collection is only getting better as we take in these incredible donations that are coming in.” So as the sculpture by Ai Weiwei goes up on the east side of the Continental Divide, the museum is “preparing for a big reveal” of a “knockout piece” from China upon its opening in Missoula. Chacon said it will be the core of its display of Asian art in the new collection. “There is a singular masterpiece of Chinese art that will be unveiled at that point in the new gallery, and I think people will be very excited to see what this thing is, but it’s spectacular,” Chacon said. “It’s a special gift to the museum of imperial Chinese art.” Visit Tippet Rise 96 South Grove Creek Road Fishtail, MT 59028 Tippet Rise will open for self-guided hiking and biking tours of our 13.25 miles of trails on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays beginning June 10, 2022. Advance registration is required for all visitors and will be available on the hiking and biking page beginning April 13, 2022. On open days, hikers and bikers may arrive anytime after 9 a.m., and must return to the main campus by 4 p.m. Sign up for the e-newsletter to receive the latest updates. To learn more about the 2022 season, please click here. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/07/18/tippet-rise-installing-ai-weiwei-sculpture/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/