Palmetto Tree
Project Description
The Palmetto Tree Project is the largest public art endeavor ever installed in South Carolina's Midlands area. It is also a significant example of the remarkable spirit of cooperation among the Columbia area's business, government and cultural communities.
The Palmetto Tree Project officially began in the summer of 1999 and is a partnership among Chernoff/Silver, the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties, the City of Columbia, Lexington County, Richland County and members of the local business community.
The genesis of the Palmetto Tree Project came from advertising executive Marvin Chernoff, chairman of Chernoff/Silver & Associates, an award-winning communications company based in Columbia. Chernoff had seen the public cow sculptures during a visit to Chicago and thought South Carolina's state tree would lend itself to even more artistic expression. Chernoff partnered with Dot Ryall of the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties to organize and manage the project.
Chernoff/Silver provided the steel cutouts to the artists, as a gift to the community for the firm's 25th anniversary. Samuel Tenenbaum and Chatham Steel donated the metal, and the City of Columbia installs the trees in their specific locations. Corporations and individuals are sponsoring the trees for $1000, which helps compensate the artists for their talents and efforts.
The Palmetto Tree Project consists of 89 trees--each 525 pounds in weight and 9.5 feet tall. Enjoyment of the project by residents and tourists from other parts of the country has figured most prominently into all planning components.
The installation is bringing dedicated artists and business leaders together, on behalf of a project that further instills pride in all residents.
That sense of pride has reached the highest levels of government, as Governor Jim Hodges has arranged for one of our artists' trees to be displayed at a new botanical garden in our sister city of Kaiserslautern, Germany and during the Olympic Games by our sister state of Queensland, Australia. In each case, the host city will designate a local artist to paint a tree and return it to Columbia for its appropriate display.
ARTIST CONCEPT
Mayo Mac Boggs was one of the artists selected for his concept titled, "21st Cent Tree." The submitted proposal consisted of attaching 10,000 pennies, using uncirculated year 2000 pennies for the midsection, old pennies for the tree trunk and a mixture of new and old pennies for the fronds. His tree is located in front of NBSC bank on the corner of Main and Lady Streets in Columbia.
South Carolina State Fair Exhibition