Logo
  • Home
  • Visit
    • Back
    • EVENT CALENDAR
    • TICKETS
      • Back
      • Admission & Tickets
      • Group Sales
      • Visitor FAQ
      • Calendar
      • Seasonal Festivals & Public Events
      • Plan Your Visit
      • Dining
    • PLAN YOUR VISIT
      • Back
      • Featured Discounts
      • Hours
      • Map
      • Our Story
    • VISIT
      • Back
      • All Gardens
      • Rory Meyers Children’s
  • Buy Tickets
  • Calendar
  • Events & Education
  • Support & Volunteer
  • Shop
  • About
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets
  • Join
  • Shop
  • Discounts
  • Call (214) 515-6615
  • (17)
  • Account
DALLAS ARBORETUM and botanical garden
  • Home
  • Visit
    • EVENT CALENDAR
    • TICKETS
      • Admission & Tickets
      • Group Sales
      • Visitor FAQ
      • Calendar
      • Seasonal Festivals & Public Events
      • Plan Your Visit
      • Dining
    • PLAN YOUR VISIT
      • Featured Discounts
      • Hours
      • Map
      • Our Story
    • VISIT
      • All Gardens
      • Rory Meyers Children’s
  • Buy Tickets
  • Calendar
  • Events & Education
  • Support & Volunteer
  • Shop
  • About
  • Contact
    Behind the Scenes :: Kinetic Art Comes to the Dallas Arboretum, Courtesy of Lyman Whitaker

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden Blog

Categories

  • Awards
  • Behind the Scenes
  • Education
  • Events
    • Garden Tips
  • Food
  • Garden Weddings
  • Gardens
  • Horticulture
  • News
  • Shopping
  • Tips

Tags

12 Days of Christmas 12 Days of Christmas Night Activities ArtScape at-home activities A Tasteful Place Autumn at the Arboretum Behind the Scenes blog Children's Adventure Garden Children's Education Children's Garden Cool Thursday Concert Dallas Arboretum Dallas Blooms DeGolyer dining Education Fall Fall Pumpkin Display flowers Food Garden Gardening Holiday at the Arboretum Horticulture Mother's Day Music pansies Photography Pumpkins Pumpkin Village Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden Science Spring Summer Summer Activities Summer at the Arboretum Summer Camp Summer Camps Tea The Dallas Arboretum The Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden Tulips winter

Kinetic Art Comes to the Dallas Arboretum, Courtesy of Lyman Whitaker

Monday, April 16 by Krista

We recently had the pleasure of welcoming artist Lyman Whitaker to our gardens for a few days while he installed 122 of his pieces for our summer art exhibit, “Wind Sculptures in Motion: The Kinetic Art of Lyman Whitaker,” presented by Reliant. These stunning sculptures move with the wind, bringing a new element of motion and nature to the gardens, and they are the product of years of passionate work by Whitaker.

As a child, he was fascinated with wind, galaxies, Ferris wheels and objects that turn. He learned classical and contemporary sculpture from Avard Fairbanks and Angelo Caravaglia at the University of Utah, and has spent the last 30 of his 50 years as a sculptor focused on the creation of Wind Sculptures.

Inspiration for Kinetic Art

Whitaker hand produces each sculpture, and all the pieces at the Dallas Arboretum are made from either copper or stainless steel. He says he takes his inspiration from nature and plant forms, which may explain why these magnificent pieces, ranging in height from five to 27 feet tall, feel so at home in the gardens.

They also move at the slightest hint of a breeze, much like a tree’s leaves, because of the way he learned to work with these materials to manipulate how aerodynamic each surface is – one side of each sculpture is more aerodynamic than the other, so they can respond to the changing currents of the wind.

Lyman’s Process

Lyman explains that his process for each piece is iterative. Each new work may begin as an evolution from previous designs, whether directly or indirectly, and it changes and evolves many times as he’s working on it.

“When sculpting, I have my tools, materials and myself. They all have equal say,” says Whitaker. His favorite piece, piece of art “depends on his mood” and his sculptures, but he’s very excited with how all of them fit so nicely at the Dallas Arboretum. “They’re really informed by nature. That’s why it feels like they were coming home when they got here,” he added.

 

“Wind Sculptures in Motion: The Kinetic Art of Lyman Whitaker” runs through the end of the summer at the Dallas Arboretum and can be seen free with the purchase of general admission.

Related Posts

  • Artscape at the ArboretumArtscape at the Arboretum
  • Horticulture’s Summer Prep at the Dallas ArboretumHorticulture’s Summer Prep at the Dallas Arboretum
  • The Return of the Most Beautiful Blog in DallasThe Return of the Most Beautiful Blog in Dallas
  • Behind the Scenes at Dallas Blooms: Deep in the Hearts of TexansBehind the Scenes at Dallas Blooms: Deep in the Hearts of Texans
  • Nine steps for planting spring bulbsNine steps for planting spring bulbs
Loading Facebook Comments ...
logo

Discover

  • Visit
  • Gardens
  • Join
  • Support
  • Volunteer
  • Education
  • Private Events
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

Hours

Open Daily 9am - 5pm

Wednesday 9am - 8pm (through 10.26.16)

We are Closed

Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day

Parking:

Parking is located in front of the main entrance or just a couple blocks north at our new parking garage.

Get Directions >

Contact

  • Customer Service: (214) 515-6615
  • Administration: (214) 515-6500
  • Education: (214) 515-6540
  • Membership: (214) 515-6615
  • Press & Media: (214) 515-6523

Main Entrance:

8525 Garland Road
Dallas, Texas 75218

Get Directions >

Sign Up

Get notified about the
latest events and activities

Social

  • 2020 Dallas Arboretum All Rights Reserved.
  • FAQs