Standing Frame was commissioned by the Walker Art Center in 1987. The work was created from two white oak trees found growing near the Mississippi River in Taylor's Falls, Minnesota. Nash uses a geometric shape, the square, to create Standing Frame. He contrasts this geometric frame against the natural organic shapes of the three legs of the sculpture. Nash built a frame so viewers can create their own personal pictures of the cityscape and other artworks in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden by shifting their viewing position. The wood of Standing Frame grew gray with age and Nash was not pleased with the result. He returned recently and blackened the surface with a propane torch, creating more of a contrast between frame and "picture." This burning also completes a circle for Nash. "Wood," he says, "is a weave of earth, air, fire and water."

Vocabulary Terms

environment--All the conditions, circumstances, and influences surrounding and affecting the development of an organism.

environmental or ecological art--Art that focuses on human interaction with their environments such as pollution and land use.

geometric shapes--Shapes with regular contours, and straight edges such as squares, triangles, or circles.

organic shapes--Curving, free-form, irregular shapes echoing nature.

work-in-progress--An artwork that is not yet finished.

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