Dionicio Rodriguez

Entrance of the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Antonio, Texas

Dionicio Rodriguez (1891-1955) was a Mexican-born artist and architect whose work can be seen in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas, as well as Washington, D.C. and Mexico City.

His work is noted for its unique style of concrete construction that imitates wood, known as Faux Bois (French for false wood). Gates, benches and artificial rock formations were created by the artist to invite visitors to rest or explore the landscape.

Many of his major works of art are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

Japanese Tea Gardens - San Antonio, Texas

Main article: San Antonio Japanese Tea Gardens

For the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Antonio, Texas he replicated a Japanese Torii gate at the entrance to the gardens. This piece was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005

With the rise of anti-Japanese sentiment of World War II in the 1940s, the gardens were renamed the Chinese Tea Gardens. In 1984, the city restored the original "Japanese Tea Garden" designation in a ceremony.

At least eight of his other sculptures in San Antonio, the Buckeye Park Gate, the bridge in Brackenridge Park, the Fence at the Alamo Cement Company, the Fountain at Alamo Cement Company, the Jacala Restaurant, locations in Miraflores Park, the Stations of the Cross and Grotto at the Shrine of St. Anthony de Padua, and the Trolley Stop in Alamo Heights were also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 and 2005

Memorial Park Cemetery - Memphis, Tennessee

Crystal Shrine Grotto in the Memorial Park Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee (2007)

Main article: Memorial Park Cemetery (Memphis, Tennessee)

In 1935 Rodriguez was hired to beautify the Memorial Park Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee with sculptures. Annie Laurie’s Wishing Chair, Broken Tree Bench, Abrahams Oak, Pool of Hebron and Cave of Machpelah are some of the most important sculptures that can be found throughout the cemetery.^[2]

Crystal Shrine Grotto

Construction of the Crystal Shrine Grotto began in 1938. The grotto is a 60-foot (18.3-meter) deep, hand-built cave in a hillside near the center of the cemetery, filled with five tons (4.5 metric tons) of quartz crystal, hence the name Crystal Shrine Grotto.^[2] The shrines in the grotto illustrate the stages of "Christ's Journey on the Earth from Birth to Resurrection".

Rodriguez' sculptures and the Crystal Shrine Grotto in the Memorial Park Cemetery are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b} http://www.memorialparkfuneralandcemetery.com/history.aspx Memorial Park Cemetery website

External links

• http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=503 EncyclopediaOfArkansas.net
• [1] Capturing Nature: The Cement Sculpture of Dionicio Rodriguez, a book about Rodriguez's work
• Studio Cortes, the professional website of Carlos Cortes, great-nephew of Dionicio Rodriguez, who is carrying on the family artistic tradition

Persondata
Name	Rodriguez, Dionicio
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1891
Place of birth
Date of death	1955
Place of death