A Very Cool Art Project

Fifty-Five Honey Locust Trees,

There are a group of Chinese Elms in eastern Colorado that I think frequently of. They grow at the former site of the Amache Internment Camp. My grandmother told me that when they arrived at Amache, the land was barren and empty, and that those interned in the camp had planted the trees that now stood. Knowing this, when you look at the trees you see the history of the place and the people who were once there. But the trees have no plaques. And if you don't know this, they are just trees in a landscape.

The day after Sandy hit New York City I rode my bike with some friends through downtown Manhattan to look at the aftermath of the storm. After biking over the Brooklyn Bridge we made a brief stop at Zuccotti Park. During the previous months I had been collecting the fallen seed pods from the fifty-five Honey Locust Trees that decorate the park. The storm had brought down most of the pods that were still hanging on the trees.

To germinate a Honey Locust seed you have to mimic the digestive process of an animal. This can be done using hot water or sandpaper. The tree has co-evolved with animals for the dispersal of its seeds. An animal eats the pod (which is also edible to humans). The outer layer of the seed is broken down in the animal's stomach and intestines. The seed is defecated on the ground. A tree grows.

I am thinking about the temporality of a tree. And the tree as something present, as able to bear witness (fifty-five Honey Locusts bearing witness). The slowness of their pace is not subject to the world of the instantaneous and the immediate that we live in. Their rhythms are seasonal, following the sun. These trees can live up to 150 years, longer than any of our lives, but relatively short compared to other trees. When an #OWS hashtag is no longer trending, they will continue to grow slowly in time.

At the Clocktower Gallery I have begun to germinate the seeds, and to take care of the little trees. At the end of the residency the trees will be taken to Franklin Street Works in Stamford, Connecticut, by a Metro North train from Grand Central. Each tree will be carried by one person. They will first be carried to Zuccotti Park to see their parents, and then to Grand Central (contact the Clocktower Gallery if you would like to carry a tree). In Connecticut they will continue to grow during Franklin Street Works' summer exhibition. In the future, when they are ready to be put into the ground, they will be donated to various organizations and individuals.

I imagine 150 seasons for these trees. 150 times their leaves turning a golden hue. And those who will witness this.

Fifty-five Honey Locusts bearing witness. And their seeds. The trees will be planted without plaques. 


http://artonair.org/residency/david-horvitz-fifty-five-honey-locust-trees

A Really Cool Video

http://archive.org/details/bonobocirrus

No Code, Part 7

 The technology I am most recently excited about is an illustrator tablet. While I do fine art using traditional techniques of drawing and paint, the immediate results of digital drawing accommodates the immediacy that surrounds me. 

While I tend to have projects strewn about me at all times, it is a relief to use creative technology within limited space and time constraints. However, I do not see digital art completely peeling the paint off of a gallery wall any time soon. Nor projecting a 3D image in place of a sculpture. There are still so many institutes of emotive thought that cannot be recreated by some technologies. Although, the use of digital technologies in conceptual art, community art, performance art, and interactive art, is something that is truly unique and fantastic. Art as always cannot be tamed. There is no code.

No Code, Part 6

 When considering my role as a student and a user, I have sought to learn and use these digital technologies as a creative prosthesis. I am fascinated with the creative process and often take an unorthodox approach. Sometimes I like to just play. Dig in the sandbox. This technique as an artist can be compared to post modernist movements such as abstract expressionism and Dada. Perhaps it is the concept behind the creation that is important, and not the aesthetic value itself. Or perhaps the emotive design, and lack of concept speak louder than an intentional narrative. I have also invested time to learn more traditional graphic design techniques. To use digital programs within the Adobe suite to execute industry standard works in graphic design and marketing. By doing this, the ascension of digital technologies is apparent in the clean and superior execution of graphic works. 

But it is still nice to get dirty.. 

No Code, Part 6

 These themes have been explored by several authors, and have an almost eerie prophecy about them. Some authors in particular, that have not only coined terms in current digital vernacular, have predicted this exact circumstance; the convergence of humankind and machine. Some of the most prevalent in popular culture might be the Terminator franchise, I Robot, or anything authored by Phillip K. Dick. Essentially there is one common theme, that humankind and machine will converge, ultimately resulting in conflict. What is discerning about this pseudo reality is the role large consumer based corporations might assume to ensure humankind as a product or commodity. However, as David Foster Wallace scribes, media in general already lends itself to this phenomenon, and most are already aware.

No Code, Part 5

 According to Ray Kurzweil, the future holds an even more interactive technological leap. Kurzweil suggests that it can be assumed that computer technology grows at an exponential rate, and that in the next 40 years, computer intelligence will surpass that of humankind. This not only implies A.I. Technology, but nanobot technology small enough to recognize and infiltrate the physiology of humankind. Computers small enough to act out commands inside of a blood cell. 

No Code, Part 4

 As technology lends itself to the marriage of humankind and the immediate environment, where is the appropriate context to base such speculations? Perhaps 50 years ago, human interaction was more organic, personal, face-to-face. But there was also terrible discrimination and social injustice, such as civil rights, and inequality 50 years ago. If it is choosing the lesser of two evils, I choose the latter. Perhaps an argument might be posed that humankind was better off before the industrial revolution, when things were simple. I disagree. With the instinct to thrive and sustain with a higher standard of living, we can pretty much agree that 80 percent of the population in the United States was fairly miserable a 100 years ago. With disease, volatile warfare, lack of medicine, and conflicting ideologies, we can see that technology has united and informed humankind on some sort of global platform.