Conservatorium, 2005 by Cesar Trasobares

Through March 31st, 2006Commissioned by The Wolfsonian-FIU for its historic 1939 Art Moderne-style Bridge Tender’s House, located at the corner of 10th and Washington, the project fuses the building’s form and large glass windows with works made from dollar bills. The interior of the space will be set up as a working greenhouse with live and manufactured trees, as well as tools and other objects. Trasobares will be working inside the space occasionally and will produce works-in-progress with changing components. Many of the tree sculptures allude to the proverbial money tree, anchoring a series of smaller works, including Money Tree Rings and sculptures. Manufactured plants decorated with lights will be connected to timers and photo cells. The live plants will be watered regularly and will be lit at night. Trasobares broadly defines his practice as an artist: in the art world, he serves as art activist, curator, educator and performer; in the studio, he produces series in various media; in the institutional field, he works in education and art administration. Addressing multi-cultural audiences, he has often focused on the social territories that welcome the involvement of creative individuals, continuing to do whatever he can to bring dignity and recognition to the status and roles of artists in society. A group of money tree finger rings will be on sale at The Dynamo, the museum’s shop, with part of the proceeds being donated to Miami-Dade County’s Adopt-A-Tree program. For more information, please visit: www.cesartrasobares.com