Why is there suddenly a giant green lion outside the Barnes?
“I guess they are just a hot thing right now," said a marketing manager, as topiaries take root across the city. Here's who's behind them and how a lion became the latest viral art star.
When the giant green lion appeared outside the Barnes Foundation last week, people were immediately confused.
“Wait, what is this at the Barnes?” said the Philadelphia art Instagram account Streets Dept. The museum replied in a cryptic comment, name-dropping its new exhibit, "Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets."
But the response raised more questions than it answered. One person wondered if the lion had anything to do with Penn State — it did sort of look like the school’s mascot, the Nittany Lion. Another thought it resembled the Cartier leopard. Several people mistook it for a domestic cat. “Here kitty kitty,” wrote Instagram user justaskcarol.
The most common question, though, was whether this giant green lion had anything to do with the giant green rhinoceros near Bala Cynwyd. Or the giant green deer outside the French International School. Or the giraffe at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Suddenly, it seemed like Philadelphia had been overrun by topiaries — shrubs and plants carved into shapes or animals — or at least topiary-inspired sculptures.
Are they all connected? Well … no.
The rhino and deer
It turns out the rhinoceros and the deer are part of a marketing campaign by City Ave District, a business improvement district that aims to draw more people to the area.
“We thought the topiaries would be a fun way to just kind of connect with the community,” said Briana Winston, 32, City Ave’s marketing manager.
They also offered a welcome distraction for anyone stuck in traffic amid the district’s many construction projects. “It’s something creative they can be looking at,” Winston said.
The rhinoceros and the deer are two of eight topiaries that City Ave installed over two days in June. There are also two bears, another rhino, a squirrel, a rabbit, and a baby elephant named Peanut. They are all made of artificial turf and designed to last up to 10 years.
The whimsical creatures have been a hit with locals. Winston said residents have even called to ask if they can get one for their yards. While there aren’t plans to install any on residential properties, the original eight are set to rotate to new spots throughout the district soon.
The giraffe and the lion
The giraffe at the Philadelphia Zoo, meanwhile, is part of “ZOOtopiaries: Nature’s Sculptures,” a spring installation created with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. The exhibit features massive animal sculptures made from living plants, including a 21-foot-tall giraffe built from more than 10,000 blooms.
City Ave has nothing to do with the giraffe at the zoo. Nor do they have anything to do with the green lion outside of the Barnes, Winston said. “I guess topiaries are just a hot thing right now.”
The lion, it turns out, is the work of Rob Wielgoszinski, 56, a sculptor for Scenery First. He didn’t know what the piece would be used for at first. “It took a couple of days working on it to find out,” said Wielgoszinski. “I was told it was for a one-day event at the Barnes.”
A spokesperson for the Barnes Foundation confirmed the lion topiary was “part of the decor” for the Barnes Art Ball on Oct. 17. The inspiration, they said, came from “the imaginative world of Henri Rousseau’s jungle paintings.” Originally displayed in the museum’s lobby, the lion was moved outside after the event so the public could enjoy it.
Wielgoszinski learned about its new location when a coworker showed him the Streets Dept video. “The Barnes did not reach out to us in any way and say, ‘This is what we’re doing with it,’” he said. “Not that they should have. They own it.”
When he visited the lion that Saturday, he was pleased to see it holding up well. “I was there for a couple hours, just checking it out, making sure it was still in good shape, and photobombing people’s selfies,” he said.
He even chatted with a woman who said she came after seeing the lion on Instagram and wanted to confirm it was real.
“It’s been a bit surreal but very organic,” Wielgoszinski said of the statue’s social media fame.
He’s since fielded questions about other green creatures popping up around town. A friend in Bala Cynwyd sent him a photo of the rhinoceros, asking if he made it. “It looks to be the same material on the outside,” he said. “But I had nothing to do with that.” Same with the zoo.
By Monday morning, Wielgoszinski had checked in again. “It’s still sitting outside,” he said. “It’s still doing its thing.”
Just like all the others, quietly turning Philadelphia into the city of shruberly love.