{"id":632,"date":"2017-01-19T20:43:27","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T20:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/photos.sltrib.com\/projects\/?page_id=632"},"modified":"2017-01-19T23:33:20","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T23:33:20","slug":"artists-planned-museum-aims-to-ensure-tree-of-utah-lives-on","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/photos.sltrib.com\/projects\/artists-planned-museum-aims-to-ensure-tree-of-utah-lives-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Artist\u2019s planned museum aims to ensure \u2018Tree of Utah\u2019 lives on"},"content":{"rendered":"

Art<\/b> \u2022 Sculptor of the famed monument 26 miles east of Wendover announces plans for a museum and interpretive center to accompany it by 2020.<\/p>\n

By Eric Walden<\/b>
\nThe Salt Lake Tribune<\/i><\/p>\n

I<\/span>f you\u2019ve ever been issued a citation by the Utah Highway Patrol for pulling off Interstate 80 and illegally parking on the shoulder about 26 miles east of Wendover to take a picture of the famed \u201cTree of Utah\u201d sculpture, Karl Momen is deeply sympathetic.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Karl Momen, famed artist, sculptor and creator of the “Tree of Utah” sculpture \u00a0near the Bonneville Salt Flats off I-80, is working with the state on building an interpretive center at the site to help ensure the piece’s legacy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He wasn\u2019t the one handing you the ticket, but, in a way, it\u2019s his fault you got it.<\/p>\n

Momen is the sculptor who decided to plant his \u201cTree\u201d in that very spot.<\/p>\n

Now, though, the Iranian-born resident of Sweden has a plan that not only will ensure the legacy of his 31-year-old sculpture, but also will guarantee that, a few short years down the road, no more curious motorists will incur a fine for stopping to take in the 87-foot-tall, 875-ton masterpiece.<\/p>\n

Momen was in Salt Lake City this week to finalize the establishment of the nonprofit Tree of Utah Foundation, Inc., whose primary goal is to raise tax-deductible donations sufficient to build a museum and interpretive center of his own design near the sculpture.<\/p>\n

The internationally acclaimed 83-year-old artist and architect\u2019s renderings of the facility bear an \u201cApril 2011\u201d timestamp, and he said news footage from around that time about travelers\u2019 willingness to risk a slight dent to their bank accounts in order to get a closer look proved the catalyst for the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a gentleman with a big Cadillac, and they asked him, \u2018Why did you park here knowing you\u2019d have to pay a ticket?\u2019\u200a\u201d Momen recalled. \u201cAnd he said, \u2018I\u2019ll pay whatever they charge me, because I want to have a photograph with my daughter and my wife with this sculpture.\u2019\u200a\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Tree of Utah Museum and Interpretive Center<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2022 Will cost an estimated $2.5 million (with funding for an off-ramp to it bringing the total price tag to an estimated $6 million), to be raised by the nonprofit Tree of Utah Foundation Inc. via private donations.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The state will involve UDOT in the construction of the off-ramp once the private funding has been secured.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The museum is intended not only to tell the history of the \u201cTree of Utah\u201d sculpture, but to host an annual international art festival.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Karl Momen, the sculptor of the \u201cTree of Utah\u201d and the museum\u2019s architect, projects a 2020 dedication.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Planting the seeds<\/b> \u2022 On Wednesday, Momen and Herman du Toit, the former head of the Brigham Young University Museum of Art and now the executive director of the Tree of Utah Foundation, met with the governor\u2019s chief of staff and representatives from the Attorney General\u2019s office, the Department of Heritage and Arts, and the Division of Facilities Construction and Management.<\/p>\n

They came away with the message that when the foundation has acquired the money necessary to build the museum and an off-ramp from the interstate to it \u2014 which Momen estimated at a total cost of $6 million \u2014 they can proceed with the project.<\/p>\n

Artistic rendering<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe governor\u2019s office is supportive of getting better access to the site, but right now it\u2019s not a priority for the state to contribute any sort of funding to it,\u201d said Josh Loftin, spokesman for the Department of Heritage and Arts. \u201c\u2026 If they raise all the money, it would then be up to [the Utah Department of Transportation] to build an off-ramp, and that\u2019s the point where the state would become involved in the planning and participate in the building process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Momen, who is targeting a 2020 date for the museum\u2019s dedication, \u201chas some significant donors who will come on board now that approval has been given,\u201d according to du Toit.<\/p>\n

And he can\u2019t wait to get things going.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmediately, when we get enough money to start the project, we\u2019re going to start,\u201d Momen said.<\/p>\n

Gretchen Dietrich, executive director of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, said the sculpture\u2019s sizable presence within the state \u2014 literally and figuratively \u2014 warrants continued attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a well-known, beloved landmark in our state,\u201d she said in an email. \u201cLike so many creative people around the world, Momen felt drawn to our unique landscape and compelled to create in it. I respect his passion and vision, his dedication to seeing this work made, and I believe it deserves to be cared for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chris <\/a>
Chris Detrick \u00a0| \u00a0The Salt Lake Tribune Zi Ran, of Fremont, Calif., poses for pictures with part of the famed “Tree of Utah” on Saturday Jan. 14, 2017. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Chris <\/a>
Chris Detrick \u00a0| \u00a0The Salt Lake Tribune The “Tree of Utah” is photographed Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. The 87-foot-tall sculpture was created by the international artist Karl Momen in the 1980s and dedicated in 1986. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Chris <\/a>
Chris Detrick \u00a0| \u00a0The Salt Lake Tribune The “Tree of Utah” is photographed Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. The 87-foot-tall sculpture was created by the international artist Karl Momen in the 1980s and dedicated in 1986. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Chris <\/a>
Chris Detrick \u00a0| \u00a0The Salt Lake Tribune The “Tree of Utah” is photographed Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. The 87-foot-tall sculpture was created by the international artist Karl Momen in the 1980s and dedicated in 1986. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Chris <\/a>
Chris Detrick \u00a0| \u00a0The Salt Lake Tribune The “Tree of Utah” is photographed Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. The 87-foot-tall sculpture was created by the international artist Karl Momen in the 1980s and dedicated in 1986. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Chris <\/a>
Chris Detrick \u00a0| \u00a0The Salt Lake Tribune The “Tree of Utah” is photographed Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. The 87-foot-tall sculpture was created by the international artist Karl Momen in the 1980s and dedicated in 1986. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Chris <\/a>
Chris Detrick \u00a0| \u00a0The Salt Lake Tribune The “Tree of Utah” is photographed Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. The 87-foot-tall sculpture was created by the international artist Karl Momen in the 1980s and dedicated in 1986. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Chris <\/a>
Chris Detrick \u00a0| \u00a0The Salt Lake Tribune A detail of the “Tree of Utah” is photographed Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. The 87-foot-tall sculpture was created by the international artist Karl Momen in the 1980s and dedicated in 1986. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Form meeting function<\/b> \u2022 The sculpture \u2014 which Momen dedicated to the State of Utah in January 1986 \u2014 is, by its most simple description, a sheer vertical trunk featuring \u201cbranches\u201d suspending six multicolored spheres. Within that form, said du Toit, lies significant educational value.<\/p>\n

He cited its ability to teach students and tourists alike about everything from it serving as a metaphor for the preservation and survival of the natural order amid growing urbanization to \u201cthe styles that have defined modern architecture during the 20th and 21st centuries\u201d to the \u201cpre-stressed concrete techniques \u2026 used in the construction process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cAs people come to know more about it and discover its unique properties and characteristics,\u201d du Toit said in an interview, \u201cthey come to love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Momen said that, when approached from the west, the view of the museum will be \u201calmost like a cruiser that has [sunk] into the sea. \u2026 The building should also intrigue the fancy.\u201d Within the structure will be a cafeteria, a balcony, rooms for administration and the highway patrol, and a glass-encased \u201cmeditation room\u201d offering a view not of the \u201cTree,\u201d or even the highway, but only of \u201cthe Salt Flats and the mountains behind. Nothing else. \u2026 You can sit and be not bothered by anything civilization-natured.\u201d<\/p>\n

His ultimate purpose for the museum goes beyond a day-to-day ability to educate. A 2,000-square-foot outdoor showroom plaza, he said, \u201cis the most important part.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year in September, for two weeks, the foundation of this building is going to finance an international sculpture and art festival,\u201d Momen said. \u201cEvery year, 15 days in September, world artists doing shows. That is the reason I\u2019m building it. Can you imagine the artists coming with their sculptures and paintings from around the world and experiencing the desert? I\u2019ve walked so much around this desert. I know how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Paul <\/a>
Paul Fraughton | The Salt Lake TribuneKarl Momen and Neal Hadlock during the construction of the “Tree of Utah.” <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Al <\/a>
Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake TribuneKarl Momen with a 13 foot sphere during the construction of the “Tree of Utah.”. <\/div> <\/div>
\"File <\/a>
File Photo | The Salt Lake TribuneKarl Momen during the construction of the “Tree of Utah”, August 26, 1984. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Al <\/a>
Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake TribuneThe foundation of the “Tree of Life”, October 2, 1985. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Tim <\/a>
Tim Kelly | The Salt Lake TribuneKarl Momen during the construction of the “Tree of Utah.”, November 22, 1985. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"File <\/a>
File Photo | The Salt Lake TribuneKarl Momen, Colleen Bangerter, Governor Norm Bangerter, Carol Nixon at the Unveiling and Dedication of the “Tree of Life”, January 18, 1986 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"File <\/a>
File Photo | The Salt Lake Tribune The Unveiling and Dedication of the “Tree of Life”, January 18, 1986 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\nVisions of and in the desert<\/b> \u2022 It is Momen\u2019s reverence for Utah\u2019s desert landscape that initially inspired his \u201cTree\u201d sculpture \u2014 the largest work of his art career \u2014 and that now inspires the museum project to accompany it.<\/p>\n

Though the \u201cTree\u201d resides mere miles away from a town built on casinos and hotels, the artist said that particular bit of art will remain entirely noncommercial.<\/p>\n

\n

\u2018Tree of Utah\u2019 by the numbers<\/b><\/p>\n

Some facts and figures about the famous sculpture about 26 miles east of Wendover and 75 miles west of Salt Lake City:<\/p>\n

Permit granted<\/b> \u2022 January 1984
\nCompleted<\/b> \u2022 September 1985
\nDedication<\/b> \u2022 January 1986
\nHeight<\/b> \u2022 87 feet
\nWeight<\/b> \u2022 875 tons
\nSpheres<\/b> \u2022 Six total, the largest of which measures 13 feet, 6 inches in diameter and weighs 60 tons
\nFoundation<\/b> \u2022 Eight feet of concrete, supported by 25 steel-encased concrete piles
\nHours of labor<\/b> \u2022 21,000
\nCost<\/b> \u2022 Sculptor Karl Momen has revealed only that he spent more than $1 million on the project
\nMaterials used<\/b> \u2022 100 tons of chrysocolla rock, 4 tons of epoxy, 160 tons of steel, 15 tons of colored cement and sand, 18,000 imported ceramic tiles, 5 tons of welding rods, 7 tons of timber for mold formers, and 20 tons of plaster<\/p>\n

Source: \u201cThe Tree of Utah: One Man\u2019s Dream\u201d by Herman du Toit<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cJust in the last months, I\u2019ve got five or six companies looking to make T-shirts. Toyota wants to put a logo of the company on the tree. I said, \u2018No,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI could make a lot of cash \u2014 unbelievable money. But I\u2019ll never do it. \u2026 I have no intention to take a penny. I don\u2019t need it. I have a rich soul and empty pockets!\u201d<\/p>\n

After taking a four- or five-year break from producing any new pieces while fighting off cancer he acknowledges \u201cshould have killed me,\u201d Momen returned to work this past summer, renting a catacomb studio \u201c20 stairs below the ground\u201d from a Swedish-Italian colleague, from which he ultimately emerged with 10 paintings.<\/p>\n

One, titled \u201cCherry Orchard,\u201d was inspired by a play from 19th-century Russian author Anton Chekhov. Another, \u201cEvening Red,\u201d was based upon \u201cIm Abendrot,\u201d one of the famed \u201cFour Last Songs\u201d by late Romantic-era German composer Richard Strauss.<\/p>\n

A third, though, featuring a pair of orbs hovering over a barren desert highway, is titled \u201cDancing Comets Over the Salt Flats: Karl\u2019s Dilemma.\u201d The theme, he said, was a reflection of the \u201cpolitical dance\u201d necessary three decades ago to finish a project that, while celebrated internationally, caused confusion and \u201coutrage\u201d locally.<\/p>\n

Momen, with his international roots, has earned the \u201cvagabond\u201d moniker the world\u2019s art community has bestowed upon him. But he said Utah will forever pique his interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people never experience the desert when they travel. You must go someplace alone \u2014 sitting and looking \u2014 and digest the atmosphere,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I came the first time, driving through in August 1981, I didn\u2019t know anything about the desert. Over this, there was the angel of craziness, who immediately sent a signal to me, \u2018You should make something here.\u2019 I could have done what the devil told me, but the devil is not very good!\u201d<\/p>\n

ewalden@sltrib.com<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter: @esotericwalden<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n