Urbansai, (sculpture).

Urbansai, (sculpture).

Wertz, Robert, sculptor.

Urbansai, (sculpture).

Urban Bonsai, (sculpture).

Copyrighted Jan. 1986. 1987. Dedicated May 1993.

Sculpture: wood wrapped in blue nylon cable; Base: concrete.

Sculpture: approx. H. 12 ft.; Base: approx. 6 in. x 15 ft. 6 in. x 80 ft.

Five Chinese Elm trees stand wrapped in cobalt blue nylon cable.

Landscape -- Tree -- Chinese Elm

Outdoor Sculpture -- California -- San Diego

Located Intersection of Mission Road and Mission Center Court, San Diego, California

Five Chinese Elm trees were planted where the sculpture presently stands. All five trees expired due to the termination of the supporting irrigation. However, new growth eventually developed from the root systems, which has been selectively pruned and nurtured into "second generation" trees. The second generation trees are supported by skeletal tree forms which have been wrapped with a cobalt blue nylon cable to produce the "Bonsai" effect. The intent of the sculpture is to stimulate public interest regarding the trees' condition and eliminate urban blight by aesthetically reclaiming the site. IAS files contain related article from the San Diego Union Tribune dated 1986.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, California, San Diego survey, 1994.

Butler, John, Mrs., 1997.

City of San Diego, Commission on Art and Culture, 2007.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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