Jordan Griska – Grumman Greenhouse
Immediate Response:
Seeing Grumman Greenhouse by Jordan Griska for the first time, I was immediately drawn to it because it seems so ill-fitting to the rest of its surroundings. I immediately recognized the shape of an airplane, but I was given a surreal feeling because it is misshapen but still intact. Seeing this almost pristine bomber in the middle of a street with benches around it left me with a sense of confusion and wonder. I was immediately drawn into investigating what other aspects there are to this artwork and seeing the fuselage filled with plants felt even more strange and surreal. Seeing an airplane in the street with a fuselage filled with plants inside of it makes a stark contrast to the surrounding “urban jungle”.
Objective Description:
Jordan Griska’s Grumman Greenhouse is a Grumman S2f Cold War Era submarine tracking torpedo bomber that is set in place in the middle of the street with benches surrounding it. Most of the bomber is in pristine condition with perfect paint, no rust, and every part of it intact. The only difference to a normal plane is that one wing has been rotated so that it is facing more towards the other wing, and the fuselage and cabin have been warped so that it is lying flat on the ground, with the tail and wings sticking in the air. The plane has solar panels on it, and the fuselage underneath the wings has a cavern in it that is filled with a greenhouse. Inside the greenhouse are purple glowing lights and various edible herbs and vegetables.
Technical Decisions:
Jordan Griska designed this airplane to look like it had crashed but has made the airplane so that it does not look damaged at all. The plane is constructed of metal and aluminum and the paint on it is still in perfect condition and painted with war-like decals. The plane has been placed in the center of a city, right next to buildings, and is surrounded by walkways and benches which invite you in to not only view the piece but people are invited to explore and sit around. The perfect craftsmanship of the plane is so large that it can be seen from a distance and would draw people to it. Once closer to the plane, the glowing purple lights of the greenhouse illuminate the plane and the viewer cannot help but walk around it to inspect it. The glowing lights of the greenhouse show the artist’s emphasis on this being a focal point surrounded by the huge metal plane. The orientation of the greenhouse also faces away from the street and the benches which are why the lights draw out the curiosity in the viewer, and it encourages the viewer to walk around the plane and see it up close and in a more three-dimensional way.
The Work in the World:
The old plane in perfect condition gives the viewer a sense that it should be in a war museum and not in the street and this draws a surreal feeling from the viewer. The connotations of a bomber also create a sense of fear or dread from the user because war can be so violent and brutal. Alternatively, seeing the greenhouse also has an element of absurdity to it since a greenhouse and a cold war bomber are very rarely linked together. A greenhouse is also linked with life, growth, and health and would give the viewer a sense of hope or happiness. This polarity between war and life is the key component of this artwork and plays a major role in the story it has to tell.
The Story it Tells:
The sight of a perfectly preserved bombing plane with its tail in the air in the center of the city is absurd, surreal, and scary and is exactly what Jordan Griska intended. It has a strangeness about it that arises from an old plane used in the cold war, now situated next to benches in the center of a pristine and modern city. The greenhouse is not only out of place within an airplane, but it is also out of place in the center of a city street. This work is meant to be a commentary on the absurdity of war, with this being emphasized in the ridiculous positioning and placement of the airplane. Further, this artwork is also a commentary on the current world we live in. War used to be our priority, but in the cities we live in, we have grown so detached from the way life actually works. We need a greenhouse in an airplane to show us that our real efforts should not be war, but people living healthy and happy lives. This is shown through the way the herbs and vegetables thrive within this city as well as in an airplane that’s purpose was destruction and is now to nurture the lives of the plants. Much like the plane has transformed and the plants grow in an unusual environment, so can we grow and adapt to our environments.