Light Meets Art at the Desert Botanical Gardens

Lighting the DesertWithin the city of Scottsdale, just outside of Phoenix, the Desert Botanical Garden is home to many wonderful native Arizona plants and wildlife. This time of year, the Garden is great a place to shake off the summer heat, and welcome the return of cooler weather while taking in the beauty of the desert landscape.

Over the years, the Botanical Garden has played host to a wide range of artists’ exhibitions, including Philip Haas, David Rogers, and the world famous Chihuly. Beginning November 20th, the Desert Botanical Garden will be transformed once again by the magnificent work of acclaimed British artist, Bruce Monro.

Field of Light by Bruce MunroeMonro is best known for his large immersive light-based installations, and has been featured at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, as well as the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. His latest series, entitled Sonoran Light, will feature a range of illuminated exhibits, inspired by Munro’s unique interpretation of the Sonoran Desert. The Botanical Garden installment will consist of a blooming Field of Light, a colossal cactus entitled Saguaro, the Temperate Zone representing the cooling pots of ancient indigenous populations, sixty-nine glowing Water Towers, the suspended Chindi, the Beacon, Eden Blooms, and Fireflies.

BloomsEach element of the Sonoran Light exhibit has been designed using a variety of mixed-media materials, projectors, and hundreds of miles of colorful fiber optic lights. In addition to this installation for the Botanical Gardens, Munro’s luminous artwork is being featured in a variety of different locations across the Phoenix Valley. The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art is currently featuring Munro’s “Ferryman’s Crossing”, a Morse Code river of more than 10,000 CDs, while the Scottsdale Waterfront is playing host to “Blooms”, a series of 900 fiber optic fishing rods lining the water.

These whimsical pieces of art come at the perfect time for Scottsdale and the Gardens, as the cool season of fall makes its return across the valley, and visitors from far and wide come to enjoy the desert landscape. Click here to learn more about Bruce Munro’s Phoenix Valley exhibits, or, to purchase tickets for the Desert Botanical Garden exhibit, click here.


For more details on LED Lighting and how it can be used for your own art installations and accents check out our gallery here at http://www.inspiredled.com/image-gallery/. For assistance with your unique lighting application, contact our Design Team  to get a free layout and quote!