Individual Post 1: Gilgal Garden

We literally walked right past Gilgal Garden when we went on our walkabout because it was hidden away between two houses and a bread factory. Originally located in the backyard of the artist, Thomas B. Child's, home, this node was definitely anything but ordinary, and it was themed in a religious manner. After passing through a tall, iron gate, visitors can travel down pathways of wood chips or stone slabs inscribed with biblical text and inspiring quotes. These pathways highlighted both natural and manmade features such as various beds of wildflowers and many sculptures like that of the LDS prophet, Joseph Smith, as a sphinx and of the artist himself.

Although the garden is open to the public and is aesthetically pleasing, it appears as though people rarely come to visit it. The garden was originally built as a personal tribute to the LDS faith, and its main purpose was to convey a sense of quiet serenity when one entered it and to provide a place where someone could go to be alone with their thoughts. However, this dead stillness and solitude gives the garden an eerie feeling to it instead of one reserved for reverence and reflection. The sculptures also contribute to this effect as they depict religious ideas and figures in strange, abstract ways that could leave visitors of all faiths (including myself who was actually raised Mormon) with an uneasy feeling and make them question the sanity of the man who devoted his life to creating them.

(Yes, this is a giant birdhouse in the garden.)