A Spirit of Placeâ€
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Peer-review response to Challenge submission “A Spirit of Place”, a Viewpoint article by author Ava Carney.
This is an excellent submission with extraordinary art. The author provides a thoughtful description of her work, and why it matters to wider discussions of ecological citizenship.
Since the article is a Viewpoint/Editorial style submission, it could be accepted for publication as is; however, I would recommend two minor revisions to strengthen the case made by the author, and potentially capture a wider audience.
- Although powerful, I can’t help but wonder if the author is shortchanging herself in the submission. The ideas behind the author’s effort and the realized work (evidenced in the color images) are remarkable. Human have been taking the garden indoors through art for centuries; the author’s efforts are working in the opposite direction, bringing art into the garden (and not by the art of landscaping, which has been well discussed in the literature). My recommendation would be to remind the reader that bringing the garden into the home has been a common practice for centuries. To that end, a sentence or two from Michel Conan’s article cited below could help.
Michel Conan (1986) Nature into art: gardens and landscapes in the everyday life of Ancient Rome, The Journal of Garden History, 6:4, 348-356
- Either in the Introduction or Conclusion (or both) sections I would recommend a few sentences or a paragraph describing what gardens mean to humans. The deeper meanings. The 1990 book “The Meaning of Gardens” (MIT Press, Edited by Mark Francis and Randolph T. Hester) has a brief preface entitled “The Garden as Idea, Place and Action”. The opening of that preface begins like this:
“Gardens have special meaning. They are powerful settings for human life, transcending time, place, and culture. Gardens are mirrors of ourselves, reflections of sensual and personal experience. By making gardens, using or admiring them, and dreaming of them, we create our own idealized order of nature and culture. Gardens connect us to our collective and primeval past. Since the beginning of human time, we have expressed ourselves through the gardens we have made. They live on as records of our private beliefs and public values, good and bad”
Some sort of paraphrasing of this quote (or even a direct block quote with appropriate citation) would help magnify the importance of the author’s work. The author’s sculptures entered the space described in that quote, and in the opinion of this reviewer, that makes the work even more remarkable. It also helps to reinforce the author’s concluding sentences regarding space.
Author Response
This is an excellent submission with extraordinary art. The author provides a thoughtful description of her work, and why it matters to wider discussions of ecological citizenship.
Since the article is a Viewpoint/Editorial style submission, it could be accepted for publication as is; however, I would recommend two minor revisions to strengthen the case made by the author, and potentially capture a wider audience.
- Although powerful, I can’t help but wonder if the author is shortchanging herself in the submission. The ideas behind the author’s effort and the realized work (evidenced in the color images) are remarkable. Human have been taking the garden indoors through art for centuries; the author’s efforts are working in the opposite direction, bringing art into the garden (and not by the art of landscaping, which has been well discussed in the literature). My recommendation would be to remind the reader that bringing the garden into the home has been a common practice for centuries. To that end, a sentence or two from Michel Conan’s article cited below could help.
Michel Conan (1986) Nature into art: gardens and landscapes in the everyday life of Ancient Rome, The Journal of Garden History, 6:4, 348-356
Response 1: I really appreciated your comments for providing further context around the work by pointing to the history and deeper meanings of gardens. I will absolutely consider these sources if I have another opportunity to create works for a natural space. I've given some thought to trying to make additions to the essay based on your suggestions, but ultimately, as some time has passed between when I created these pieces and wrote about them, I don't feel like I am in the position to rework themes present in the introduction or conclusion of the essay.
- Either in the Introduction or Conclusion (or both) sections I would recommend a few sentences or a paragraph describing what gardens mean to humans. The deeper meanings. The 1990 book “The Meaning of Gardens” (MIT Press, Edited by Mark Francis and Randolph T. Hester) has a brief preface entitled “The Garden as Idea, Place and Action”. The opening of that preface begins like this:
“Gardens have special meaning. They are powerful settings for human life, transcending time, place, and culture. Gardens are mirrors of ourselves, reflections of sensual and personal experience. By making gardens, using or admiring them, and dreaming of them, we create our own idealized order of nature and culture. Gardens connect us to our collective and primeval past. Since the beginning of human time, we have expressed ourselves through the gardens we have made. They live on as records of our private beliefs and public values, good and bad”
Some sort of paraphrasing of this quote (or even a direct block quote with appropriate citation) would help magnify the importance of the author’s work. The author’s sculptures entered the space described in that quote, and in the opinion of this reviewer, that makes the work even more remarkable. It also helps to reinforce the author’s concluding sentences regarding space.
Response 2: In the conclusion, the "silence" I mention is the silence that can occur when someone is appreciating both art and nature (together or separately) - not limited to the natural as contained in the space of the garden, but any natural setting. I think for this essay, I'd like to keep the emphasis on the act of appreciation, the silent appreciation/meditation that serves as a valuable exercise against consumerist tendencies.
Thank you for all your suggestions.
Reviewer 2 Report
I have the highest regard for this offering including the photos of the sculptures in situ and the interplay of personal narrative with scholarly and place-based insight.
My only concern is with the abstract. It leads the reader to expect some exposition of community response or impact which doesn’t materialize. The phrase in the last line, ‘interdisciplinary discovery,’ suggests interaction between various academics, scientists or artists. I think that what you eloquently describe here are the effects of community and transdisciplinary interactions on your own process and therefore the sculptures in their places (which are stunning and evocative!).
I suggest minor revisions to the abstract to signal clearly to the reader what is coming.
Author Response
I have the highest regard for this offering including the photos of the sculptures in situ and the interplay of personal narrative with scholarly and place-based insight.
My only concern is with the abstract. It leads the reader to expect some exposition of community response or impact which doesn’t materialize. The phrase in the last line, ‘interdisciplinary discovery,’ suggests interaction between various academics, scientists or artists. I think that what you eloquently describe here are the effects of community and transdisciplinary interactions on your own process and therefore the sculptures in their places (which are stunning and evocative!).
I suggest minor revisions to the abstract to signal clearly to the reader what is coming.
Response 1: Thank you so much for your comments and suggestion about the abstract! I have made changes to the abstract as follows:
"This article charts the effects of community, public space and transdisciplinary interaction on the author’s artistic practice. By considering some of the broader societal and ideological implications of situating artwork in a natural setting, A Spirit of Place reflects on connection points between public art and ecological citizenship."
Thank you.
