I visited the Huntington in San Marino this morning and found the Chinese Garden had fallen victim to what looked like a drunken sea captain's mishap with his oil tanker. I was assured it was naturally occuring biological sludge that had collected due to an underpowered filtering system. Apparently there is a beautiful lake there on every other day except the day I was there.
Aside from the smell of decaying algae and near 100 degree temps., the garden did a great job of blurring the line between authentic and synthetic. Brilliantly hand laid stones and impeccable attention to every kind of detail is a testament to the level of commitment to capturing the essence of a Chinese Chinese Garden. Some material choices - like plastic columns - and a general impossible freshness to these "old-looking" structures reminded me that I was in a re-creation and that it is impossible to truly re-create something.
I wonder if hinting at the idea of a re-creation with references and abstractions and allowing a visitor to use their imagination to tell a story is more rewarding than making a precise model that stands in for the original?
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