Bruce Munro at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville, Tennesse

Although I was traveling to Nashville to see Alt J perform at the legendary Ryman Auditorium, I got to experience the added wonder of Bruce Munro's light installation at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens.  This is the second time that a concert at the Ryman has also provided me an opportunity to see a spectacular show at the Cheekwood Gardens - the last time was in 2010 for Arcade Fire when I saw a massive outdoor Chihuly installation there.  The Chihuly exhibit was incredible, but there was something magical and sublime that made Munro's installation even better - it was designed to be viewed at night!

There were many highlights.  For my traveling companion, it was Light Reservation, an assembly of the teepee-like structures made of brightly colored spent fluorescent lights.  It's stark simplicity created a hauntingly silent Native American camp.  The reflecting pool nearby multiplied the visual impact. 

“The installation is about my enthusiasm for the imagination; but I also hope that Light Reservation presents people with an opportunity to ponder both the good and bad aspects of our recent history.”
– Bruce Munro 

photo from Cheekwood website

photo: Mark Pickhall from www.designboom.com

Please visit Design Boom to see all Mark Pickthall's excellent photos of Light Reservations and also Fagin's Urchins.


For me, the definite highlight was off the beaten path, to the right side of the old Cheekwood mansion, near the Burr Terrace Garden.  Munro had created another Field of Light, a signature installation that he has done before.  After going through all the other parts of the exhibition, it was a total relief to find peace and tranquility far from the crowd in this expansive Field of Light.  A thunderstorm that almost forced us to cancel our trip to the gardens was just starting to roll in, adding natural electric energy to the calm but charged field of artificial lights.

The Field of Light requires video to understand the super subtle "waves of grain" effect by the computer programmed lights.  This time-lapse video shows the complex set-up and illumination of the Field of Light.


Bruce Munro discusses the installation in this Creator's Project video below.  My favorite part of this interview is were Munro cheerily discusses the teepees - I don't think he fully understands the weight and the depth of the destruction of the Native American cultures by European settlers.  His story of using "redundant" fluorescent lights to protect his wife's chickens demonstrates the often winding road from observation to application in an artist's mind.