‘Vivid Creatures’ exhibition inspires connection to nature at Morton Arboretum

Novel inspiration shaped the pieces in Morton Arboretum’s new art exhibition, “Vivid Creatures: Colorful Sculptures as Tall as Trees,” debuting Saturday in Lisle.

“Those were choices we really made together listening to the land,” artist Heather BeGaetz said of the exhibition created with her husband, Fez BeGaetz, based in Portland, Oregon.

“We wanted to choose creatures that were really quite ordinary — that everyone here would have a relationship with — but then present them in ways that were extraordinary and … to encourage humans to relate a little deeper, go a little further,” Heather BeGaetz said.

Four of the five sculptures — “Generosity,” a white-tailed deer; “Cadence,” a sandhill crane; “Scamp,” a fox squirrel; and “Nimbly,” a dragonfly — are on paved, accessible paths within walking distance of the Arboretum’s visitor center. “Nimbly” will arrive June 2 on the northwest side of Meadow Lake.

The display runs through spring 2027.

The fifth sculpture, “Spectra,” a brittle button snail, commands the berm visible from I-88, where “Joe the Guardian” stood during the Arboretum’s “Troll Hunt” display from 2018 to 2021.

Hand-painted or airbrushed in colorful acrylics except for “Cadence,” sprayed with automotive paint, then treated with a clear coat for protection from the elements, the lively palette was a conscious diversion from the earth tones present in many of the Arboretum’s 16 art exhibitions since 2004.

They also stand between 8 and 23 feet tall, allowing viewers to pass underneath sculptures such as “Generosity,” “Cadence,” and “Nimbly,” which has a 30-foot wingspan.

“We really wanted something that was a little more family-friendly and colorful,” said Amy Scott, the Arboretum’s head of exhibitions.

“Our pieces have to be large-scale because of our vistas and our landscape here,” she said. “The landscape is so huge and expansive that smaller pieces get swallowed up. So we really wanted just fun, magical pieces that inspired a little bit more imagination from people and a little bit more kid-friendly than the last few exhibits.”

“Scamp” fully engaged children in the Arboretum’s Arbor Court during a preview on Friday.

In 2023, Scott became drawn to the large-scale works of the BeGaetzes, whose installations have graced Burning Man, the Electric Forest music festival in Michigan, and the Toronto Light Festival among many public and private commissions together and independently.

“Our biggest collaboration was creating a human. We have a 4-year-old daughter,” Heather BeGaetz said.

The projects start small with Heather BeGaetz using computer software to render three-dimensional images. “Once we're happy with how they look I pass my model to Fez,” she said.

Fez BeGaetz said, “My role is much more of, 'How do we make this thing?'”

Aided by more than a dozen collaborators, the pieces in “Vivid Creatures” use steel, connecting rods, sheet metal, fiber-reinforced concrete and more than 70,000 feet of tinfoil before paint is applied.

A heavy, 22-foot-tall white-tailed deer cannot be shipped conventionally. Some of the creatures were transported by semitrailer in pieces and assembled at Morton Arboretum.

Focused on the project since the 2023 site walk-through with Scott, Fez BeGaetz said the couple’s artistic collaborators helped immensely.

“We couldn't have done it without all of their hands and help,” he said. “It's an ambitious timeline to be able to produce five pieces and have them all exhibit and show at the same time.

“We feel incredibly grateful to the Arboretum for reaching out to us and asking us to be a part of this,” he added.

Having listened to the land, the artists hope their “Vivid Creatures” stir viewers’ imagination sufficiently to hear the message.

“I really like to encourage and invite people to go further than just taking a photograph or a selfie,” Heather BeGaetz said.

“Play a game, sit down, have a conversation, ask a provocative question. There’s a way that this art is a technology for allowing us to connect more deeply to each other and to the place that we're in.”