I have seen a great many exhibits in art galleries and museums around the world over many decades, but the exhibit, “Rhythm is Nature; It is Our Nature,” currently at The Francis Cope House on the grounds of Awbury Arboretum in Germantown through Aug. 27, is truly unique. I have never seen anything like it, and it is compelling and inspirational, especially for nature lovers.
A great time to see it would be this Friday, Aug. 9, 7 to 10 p.m., during an event that includes a concert and “A Walk to Honor the Trees.” Starting at 7 p.m., Mt. Airy artist Vivian Lehrer Stadlin, whose parents came to the U.S. from Chile in the 1970s, will lead a meditative walk/march with colorful tree “Flags for Other Nations” on poles, all created by Stadlin. She will walk around a lush trail to pay homage to the trees “as their own nations … It will be very festive and celebratory,” Stradlin said, “an activation of the exhibit.”
In one room of the indoor exhibit are flags on the walls whose fabric was pressed with ink onto the tree trunks of fallen trees, so what you see on the flags are cross-sections of actual trees. “I went to a lumber yard to get the trees,” Stadlin said. “The trees come from all over the place, including many local species. I never saw them printed onto fabric before. The idea of getting cross-sections of trees, I learned from people in other parts of the world in order to make art about the life of trees and from the book, 'The Overstory,' by Richard Powers (a 2019 Pulitzer Prize winner).”
The meditative walk/march will be followed by a danceable musical performance by the Dendê Percussion Ensemble, led by Dendê Macêdo, a percussionist, singer, composer, bandleader, teacher and multi-instrumentalist who has performed all over the world. A native of Brazil, he now lives in Mt. Airy with his wife and four children. “This music forces your body to dance,” Stadlin said. “You cannot listen to it without moving.”
In one room at the Francis Cope House, there are huge, three-dimensional creations exploding with color and made up of countless leaves that have been reinforced with duct tape on the backs to stay firm, alive and colorful. It took dozens of hours for Stadlin to make each work, created in sizes up to 7 feet by 7 feet. About 60 percent of the leaves have been painted to add color and help preserve them. Stadlin has been in group shows before, but this is her first solo art exhibit. Her art with natural materials calls into question human dominance over the rest of the natural world.
“I would love for people to buy them for homes and institutions,” she said. “I have sold one to a private collector so far. They should last indefinitely if not moved or handled too much. Some are still green, and some will change to brown, a combination of natural leaves and those I painted. This is my way to connect with nature.”
Tom Judd, himself a renowned artist from Germantown, told us, “Vivian's sculptural pieces with the leaves floating in front of the scaffolding in person actually make a sound like leaves blowing in the breeze and seem to be constantly moving. That's where the magic is.”
Stadlin grew up in Chicago, but she still travels to Chile periodically to visit relatives. She went to college and law school at Columbia University in New York City. She became a public interest lawyer, but she and her partner, Yoni Stadlin, whose family members had immigrated from Israel, were awarded a $1 million grant in 2008 from a Jewish foundation the day after they got married in New York. They ran a farm and arts sleepaway camp for young people, Eden Village Camp, for 15 years in New York, then leaving to come to Philadelphia in 2019, settling in West Mt. Airy after Vivian came down with a devastating case of Lyme disease.
“We got lived experience in a community close to nature (like an Israeli kibbutz),” Stadlin said. “It was like a farm team. Why did I leave the law? The camp felt so much more exciting than just putting band-aids on social problems, which I was doing as a lawyer. It was more empowering and exciting. It helped us nurture a profound sense of ecological and social responsibility.
“When we had the camp, I had the chance to live on the land. I felt more alive than ever before. I lived in the city and suburbs before. Living in the country was so correct for my soul. This tree art is a way to bridge the gap, a way of living aligned with the rest of the natural world. The leaves (in her installation) are real tropical, sturdy leaves, many from beaches in Costa Rica. They are used to tropical storms. This is an obsession with me, a labor of love.”
Another remarkable feature of the exhibit is the huge coffee and bistro tables, made from the trunks of real walnut and cherry trees by Stadlin, who added tiny printing on their surface about natural history. It took at least a dozen hours to make each one with sanding, finishing, wood burning, etc.
“These truths connect with something ancient,” said Stadlin, who has two children, ages 7 and 11, with Yoni. “Trees do everything we do but on a much longer time scale. They take care of their young; they compete and collaborate. I go into the Wissahickon often to commune with them. My collaborations with trees are prayers made with our greatest gifts, time and presence.”
Vivian is also a longtime bass player and part of an indie folk music duo, Gorgeous Porch, with Chris Wood of Mt. Airy, who plays several instruments at the same time. (Wood also works for Weavers Way Co-op.) They perform regularly at Malelani Cafe in Mt. Airy, Harmony Hall in Manayunk and events like Mt. Airy Day and house concerts.
For more information, visit awbury.org or call 215-849-2855. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.
