The Los Angeles-based artistic duo Fallen Fruit (David Allen Burns and Austin Young) conceived of Monument to Sharing as an immersive art installation in the form of a fruit garden. The living artwork, which occupies the Linda and Alvaro Pascotto Sculpture Plaza outside the Nevada Museum of Art, consists of twenty-four fruit-bearing trees, a berry patch, grapevines, herbs, and a series of edible pollinators that the public is welcome to harvest. Fallen Fruit’s collaborative project invites visitors to explore ideas of generosity, agricultural production, and how gardens can foster civic participation.
According to the artists, pieces of “fallen fruit” can connect us in interesting ways: “We believe everyone is a collaborator in making something special—even the stranger or passerby. We believe that artwork has a resonant effect. Fruit is a universal gift to humanity and fruit is always political.” A shared resource for the community, Monument to Sharing is also a unique expression of Reno’s history—especially the region’s agrarian heritage. The artists encourage guests to gently pick the fruit they need, while leaving enough to share with others.
Fallen Fruit was originally conceived in 2004 by Matias Viegener, Burns, and Young. Since 2013, Burns and Young have continued the collaborative work. The collective began creating interactive installations for a project in Los Angeles for which they created maps of what the artists called “public fruit,” or fruit trees that grew over public property. They now have many community-based fruit gardens around the country. “We think our cities can — and should —be like communal gardens,” the artist say, “by reimagining public spaces, we want to make fresh fruit available to everyone. Unfortunately, many city codes are antiquated, and rather than allowing fruit trees to be planted along city streets, they instead require ornamental trees that often don’t benefit pollinators or people. We want to change that.”
Lead Sponsor
Roswitha Kima Smale, PhD
Sponsor
Carole Anderson
Julie and Michael Teel | Raley’s
Supporting Sponsors
Kathie Bartlett
Nancy and Alan Maiss
Pat and Marshall Postman
Victoria Zoellner
