Graft: Knoxville | U.T. GATOP Arboretum & Education Center

The extraction of marble in Knoxville, Tennessee has shaped the natural, economic and cultural landscape of the city and the region. In an effort to make disused land available to the public, old quarry sites have been re-signified into historic and culturally valuable places that are activated through art and recreation. Graft Knoxville is sited at the former Morrow’s Quarry, located on the western portion of the recently established University of Tennessee GATOP Arboretum & Education Center (UTGA&EC), in East Knoxville. The sculpture is one part of Graft; a series of artistic and architectural interventions that reference elements known as rejas – which are found prominently in the artist’s native country of Puerto Rico. For Graft Knoxville, the artist responded to the rolling topography of the proposed site with a work that anticipates visitors and offers a space of contemplative rest.

The sculpture consists of three interrelated Corten steel bench modules that sit on a slightly sloped terrain. Each module sits at a different elevation and contains a white marble seat, cut from an abandoned block from the old Morrow’s Quarry. The modules height increases in accordance to the terrain slope which, along with the materiality, make it look like the sculpture is raising from the ground.

The design, the fabrication and the installation of the sculpture consisted in a multidisciplinary collaboration between local consultants and collaborators who donated their time and resources for the project’s execution. The Corten steel panels patterns were water jet-cut at the University of Tennessee’s Fabrication Lab. The panels were welded together at the University of Tennessee School of Art workshop. There they were assembled into three modules that were subsequently transported individually to the site. The site was prepared and a foundation was installed by the contractor, where the three modules were then brought together to complete the sculpture. The team of collaborators worked closely with the artist to create an adaptation of the Graft series - one that is specifically suited to the unique history of this East Knoxville site.

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