TREES
Trees are the most massive and oldest living thing on the planet, and they have attained this accomplishment with a unique handicap. They cannot move. They are literally rooted in place. They must constantly adapt. Before they put out new growth they first build the necessary root structure. They exist in a state of dynamic equilibrium. I am in awe of these massive natural monuments, yet at the same time feel comfortable and intimate with them; they are so much a part of our everyday life.
TREE PARTS 1-5
These five collages were commissioned by the Sacramento
Metropolitan Arts Commission for Sacramento’s newly built City Hall.
Sacramento is known as the City of Trees, having more trees per capita
than any city other than Paris. Each of these five artworks is located
in a niche at each floor’s elevator lobby. They appear as windows
through which one can see a part of a tree. These individual tree parts
are linked together vertically through the building with Tree Part One
(the roots) on the first floor and Tree Part Five (the leaf canopy) on
the fifth floor. The five collages do not depict parts of the same tree
but instead five different species. A healthy community depends on diversity;
it’s true with trees as well as people.
Eucalyptus I and II
These two pieces were commissioned by a family who had recently moved to a new home in San Francisco. It is a gorgeous home with an incredible view of the entire city. Rather than compete with the sweeping panorama viewed from the adjacent windows, I chose to focus on a single subject, the eucalyptus tree. Majestic in its stature and elegant in the drape of its leaves and shredding bark, the eucalyptus tree is a signature element of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Click here to see
Eucalyptus I and II Installed
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here for home page
www.AxelradArt.com
©2005
Merle Axelrad Serlin
Click on thumbnail for a larger image
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Tree Part 2 |
Tree Part 5 |
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