THE PINES
I have always had an interest in trees. It all started as a 6th grader where I discovered the fun of plant identification. I owe this to Mr. Vandiver, an amazing teacher who was passionate about plants and took us on many plant ID field trips.
So. The Pines. A few interests here, they are an iconic tree of America. We know the story of the great white pines of the northeast...over three hundred years of exploitation, and more than any other tree -built America. The Ponderosa pine, and all Western Pines, though many are protected by the National Forest Service and National Parks are facing a different kind of threat - the bark beetle. A quiet killer, the bark beetle has been steadily making its mark across the west. Warming winter temperatures due to global climate change are considered a major cause to the steady increase and growth of bark beetle infestation. The rusty color of dead pines is now a common sight in the woods of the west.
The pines are a romantic tree...let's face it...most trees are. They find their way in folk songs, stories, and poems all through out America. This body of work embraces the romance and tragedy enmeshed in America's history and future.
These works are inspired from the books, A Natural History of Trees by Donald Culross Peattie and illustrated by Paul Landacre, as well as the folk song "In the Pines". Folk songs have heavily influenced my work due to their cultural reuse, and how the lyrics change slightly to fit context of time and place. I see this same relationship in the use of digital information, reused and remade to fit time and place.
