Illumination returns to The Morton Arboretum for its 13th year, with four Vivid Creatures art sculptures featured on the trail.
Vivid Creatures featured by Illumination lights
Added to the arboretum in May of this year, four of the five new sculptures in the exhibit can be found on the Illumination trail.
“They are gigantic, magical, very colorful animal sculptures that are here for two years, but they’re really brought to life in a different way at Illumination,” said Amy Scott, The Morton Arboretum’s Head of Exhibitions. “So it really puts the ‘vivid’ into Vivid Creatures.”
Twelve hundred lighting devices are used to highlight the 1,000 trees along the route.
“Everything you see at Illumination is specifically designed, specifically created, for this location,” said John Featherstone, the lighting designer with Lightswitch, LLC. “Just like the work you see behind me, the Vivid Creatures by Heather and Fez BeGaetz, were created specifically for the arboretum, Illumination is the same way.”
Illumination takes guests on a journey outdoors
Lanterns, projections, and beams of light are just a few ways the Arboretum makes the trees glow.
“What we always want to do is anchor it back to this connection with nature, which is why once you’re in the trail of Illumination, all you see is trees, not trees being used to hold up twinkle lights,” Featherstone said.
Building on the connection to nature, one popular feature, Treemagination, invites guests even deeper into the wonder of the trees through a projection show
“It’s absolutely beautiful. It features a very popular visual of breathing trees, which show the trees breathing in and out from the ground, and it really brings together the auditory elements as well as the visual elements,” Scott said.
The arboretum is full of many different kinds of interactive experiences designed to delight all of the senses…to be seen, heard, and on occasion, as with the “hug a tree” exhibit…felt.
“It was really important to get the guests as close to the trees as possible and in nature,” Featherstone said. “And we spend so much of our time in the Chicago area, especially over the holidays, in our cars. To have an opportunity to get out of our automobiles in amongst nature, in amongst the sights, the smells, the sounds, and the feels of the natural environment, to enjoy trees in the holiday season.”
Winter lights show reminds guests to slow down
Scott added, “It’s a great invitation to slow down and take a step back from our busy lives, especially during this time of year, and just enjoy nature and each other.”
Illumination is open from November 15 to January 3 in the evening from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Special events and holiday hours can be found on The Morton Arboretum’s website.
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