Patty Hines [Preview] [Enlightenment]

Preview

In just a few years, the emerald ash borer will destroy all of the ash trees in the northeastern United States. The invasive beetle will then head west, and, become another in a long line of insects that have plagued the great hardwood forests. An entire species of tree will again be eradicated. White ash trees comprise approximately 70 percent of the forest on the 400-acre Overlook Estate. All of those trees will soon be gone.

Preview is a haunting reminder of the invisible present and the future loss of the forest primeval. Long bands of matte-black material wrap the trunks of the ash trees, highlighting the future void in the forest. Black fabric represents death, like wearing a black armband worn in remembrance of a loved one who has died. The devastation, emptiness, and loss can be felt at a visceral level.

As visitors walk in and around Preview, the placement of the black bands appears random, but the view aligns in two places. Once, when viewed from the third-floor perch; and once again, when walking to the top of the hill, and viewed at eye level with the third floor. From those points, the bands line up to form a perfectly straight line, a void across the forest. The future absence is manifest.

Enlightenment

Along the entry drive of Overlook stands an old grove of trees planted by the Olmsted firm in the early 1900’s. The natural process of death and decay is revealed in the trees through disease and old age. Alongside the old trees, new seedlings signal the beginning of a new order.

Enlightenment shines a light on the long now, highlighting these processes in gold leaf. Three trees were chosen to represent these life-cycle changes from a young seedling to an old, mature tree, and finally, a dead snag.

The youngest tree highlights the sunburn damage of winter. The sun warms and weakens the outer layer of thinly barked trees and exposes the cambium to damage resulting in a permanent scar. The mature tree, the second of the three, is actually two trees that have grown together, wrapping one trunk around the next. It came to be known as the married tree. One side sustained a large lightening strike, causing a charcoal crack from crown to the base. The inner exposed bark layer was highlighted with gold leaf providing a stunning contrast to the black charcoal. Finally, the dead snag suffered many injuries. Enlightenment highlights the loss of a major limb that was the circumference of the tree itself. When viewed from the road, the gold appears like fresh wood through the shade of the grove and stops you to wonder what happened.

Highlighting these life changes from young to old, scarred but healing, survival through old age and finally to death brings forth a consciousness imbedded in us all, allowing us to feel a connection in the moment to the invisible present we all share.
-PH