Where Art Has Taken Root - Topiary Garden at Deaf School Park, Columbus, Ohio - Brief Article

Parks & Recreation, Jan, 2000 by Gary Fenton

Columbus, Ohio. Home of the Ohio State Buckeyes, James Thurber, and Jack Nicklaus. No ocean to speak of, but a life-size riverfront replica of the Santa Maria. A massive trails initiative, riverfront project, and golf courses galore. And, of course, the Topiary Garden at Deaf School Park.

Topiary. Sculptures of living shrubbery. An art form that's been around for ages. Edward Scissorhands gave it a bit of recognition. The Topiary Garden at Deaf School Park does it one better.

The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department's topiary garden encompasses more than 50 individual sculptures and brings to life the neoimpressionist landscape painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat. A topiary recreation of the artist's 1886 Paris masterpiece -- primarily in Taxus cuspidata (hardy yew) -- the garden is an extraordinarily remarkable attraction that changes with the seasons, and seems to have a strong impact on those who invest the time to visit it.

The garden was the brainchild of Jim Mason and his wife, Elaine. A sculptor who teaches at the department's cultural arts center, Mason developed the idea in the late 1980s, and he and Elaine -- also a parks employee at the time -- were instrumental in providing the expertise and bringing the project to fruition.

Mason designed and welded the armatures for each figure in Seurat's painting, which includes eight boats, three dogs, a cat, a monkey, and people in a variety of poses. An assortment of groundcovers was added to depict the shading in Seurat's work, an irrigation system was installed, a pond was built to represent the River Seine, and the yews were planted. Year by year -- with a little help from its many friends -- the "painting" continually improves. Clearly it's an artwork in progress.

Creating a three-dimensional topiary from a two-dimensional painting presented a unique challenge. Those experiencing the painting have but one vantage point from which to do so: from the outside looking in. However, visitors to the topiary would be able to view the work from all sides by simply walking around and among the figures, and would have perspectives not available to those simply looking at the picture. But Seurat's two-dimensional figures offered no opposite sides upon which Mason could rely to create their three-dimensional topiary counterparts.

What to do? Punt, thought Mason. Engage the imagination. Get creative. Use the artistic license. He could, and did, and as a result his topiary figures have details on their opposite sides -- a wine bottle, perhaps a loaf of bread -- which the artist may not have envisioned. But who's to say?

The garden is a treasure, made possible solely by a three-component partnership of which some communities could only dream.

The Corporate Component

Motorists Insurance, whose headquarters overlooks the park from the north, has been an instrumental player from the beginning, serving as the park's "big brother." Always willing to be part of the solution, the company has worked to ensure that the park remains viable. In 1995 Motorists Insurance was honored for its ongoing support of the project with the National Recreation and Park Association's Corporate Humanitarian Award. A caring and generous partner, Motorists Insurance believes in the project, promotes it, supports it financially, and watches over it from its perch 21 stories above.

The Community Component

The Friends of the Topiary is the nonprofit volunteer group dedicated to supporting the Deaf School Park and its topiary garden. Members raise money, promote the park, and contribute their time and skills by giving tours, producing the park newsletter, Yewtopia, working in the gift shop, weeding, and planning and hosting special events. With 150 members, the group is essential to the ongoing success of the park.

The City Component

Through its recreation and parks department, the city of Columbus adds staffing and financial support to the resources provided by the other partners. The city's administration, its city council, and the members of the recreation and parks commission all recognize and appreciate the uniqueness of the topiary and consider it a good investment for the people of Columbus.

The result is a very special place. The park does require extensive care, but the value exceeds the investment. There are visitors with every season, and many come from great distances, often armed with easel and canvas, intent on creating a painting of a landscape of a painting of a landscape. One imagines that Georges Seurat would be pleased.

Although photographs are often used to promote the park and tell its story, viewing a photograph of a painting doesn't provide the three-dimensional experience of a visit to and through the park. It's like stepping into a picture.

The garden occupies a 10-acre site, originally the home of the Ohio Deaf School, which comprised several 19th-century buildings. The school was moved to another city location in 1953 and, in 1981, the main building was destroyed by fire. The west structure, which boasts French, Jacobean, Gothic, and Dutch architectural elegance, remains on site, serving as an attractive and befitting backdrop to the garden.