The PoeTREE/A Tree I Love

Have You Ever Loved a Tree? 

Join us for "The PoeTREE/A Tree I Love" on Sunday October 3 from 10am - 1 pm at the Queens Botanical Garden to share your tree story through art-making, writing, and/or conversation.  (Rain Date: October 10).

Collaborators Priscilla Stadler, Rejin Leys, Sherese Francis, Naomi Kuo, Angela Miskis, Sujung Kim, Rachel Goldsmith, and Ximena Gallardo invite you to share your story of a treasured tree - past or present, near or far - in the language of your choice. Interpretation available in Mandarin, Korean, and Spanish. Follow us on instagram @atreeilove and @priscillastudio. This program is made possible by the New York City Artist Corps. @nyculture #CityArtistCorps

爱过树吗

10 3 日星期日上午 10 点至下午1 点在皇后植物园参“ThePoeTREE/,通过艺术创作、作或对话分享故事。 (下雨日期:10 10 日)

合作者Priscilla StadlerRejin LeysShereseFrancisChemin ChiaoAngela MiskisSujungKim Rachel Goldsmith 选择言分享的珍贵树的故事——去或在,近。提供普通韩语和西班牙的口。在Instagram 注我 @atreeilove @priscillastudio该计纽约艺术提供。@nyculture #CityArtistCorps

¿Alguna vez has amado un árbol? 

Únase con nosotros durante el proyecto "El PoeTREE / Un árbol que yoame" el domingo 3 de octubre de 10 a.m. a 1 p.m. en el Jardín Botánico deQueens. Comparta con nosotros su historia de un árbol significante para ustedutilizando medios creativos como las artes visuales, la escritura o laconversación. (fecha alternativa en caso de lluvia: 10 de octubre)

Los colaboradores de este proyecto - Priscilla Stadler, Rejin Leys, ShereseFrancis, Chemin Chiao, Angela Miskis, Sujung Kim, y Rachel Goldsmith  - teinvitan a compartir tus historias de un árbol apreciado, de tu pasado opresente, que este cerca o lejos, en el idioma de su elección. 

Tendremos intérpretes disponibles en los siguientes idiomas - mandarín,coreano y español. 

Sigue el proyecto en Instagram en los perfiles @atreeilove y@priscillastudio.

Este programa es posible gracias al apoyo del Cuerpo de Artistas de laCiudad de Nueva York (“New York City Artist Corps”) @nyculture #CityArtistCorps

여러분은 나무를 사랑한 적이 있나요?

우리와 함께 10월 3일, 오전 10시-오후1시, 퀸즈 식물원 (Queens Botanical Garden)에서 있을 “시나무/ 내가 사랑하는 나무” 행사에  참여해보세요. 당신이 간직한 나무에 관한 추억을 조각품 만들기, 글쓰기 혹은 대화를 통해서 함께 나누어보세요. (비가 올 경우: 10월 10일)

Priscilla Stadler, Rejin Leys, Sherese Francis, Chemin Xiao, Angela Miskis, Sujung Kim, Rachel Goldsmith 가  과거나 현재,  가까이 혹은 멀리 있는 당신의 소중한 나무에 대한 이야기를 함께 나누기를 원하며 이 행사에 당신을 초대합니다. 중국어, 한국어, 스페인어로 통역이  제공됩니다. 인스타그램 @atreeilove와 @priscillastudio에서도 이 행사에 관한 정보를 알아보실 수 있습니다.  뉴욕시 예술인단 (New York City Artist Corps)이 본 행사를 후원하고 있습니다.

2020: Stories from The PoeTREE/A Tree I Love

This 11-minute video weaves together some of the thoughtful and moving stories and images about trees that The PoeTREE/A Tree I Love participants contributed to the project in 2020.


2020: The PoeTREE: A Tree I Love project

Is there a tree you've loved? Or one that’s been important in your life? Past or present, near or far? Help create The PoeTREE by writing in any language and/or sharing an image of a tree you’ve loved via the public Facebook group or @atreeilove on instagram.

Featured in Shared Dialogues, Shared Space (SDSS) on May 31, 2020, this iteration of The PoeTREE was one of five commissioned works for SDSS, a tri-lingual event bringing contemporary participatory art to Korean and Chinese audiences.

Our livestream event included projects by Rejin Leys, Jamerry Kim, Cody Herrmann, Young Sun Han, and Priscilla Stadler. This tri-lingual project (Korean, Mandarin, and English) was developed by the Korea Art Fund to expand Asian immigrant communities' connection with contemporary art practices.

2020 Shared Dialogues, Shared Space

Originally scheduled to take place in April 2020 in a Flushing, Queens, NYC park, the artists and organizers grappled with how to redefine “Shared Dialogues and Shared Space” when public interaction wasn’t physically possible due to the pandemic. 

Instead of inviting passersby to help build the cardboard tree and contribute visuals and short texts about a tree they have loved, I provided options to share a favorite tree story: a public facebook group, instagram, an email, and a google voice phoneline.

From the public's contributions, I made two pieces: a cardboard sculpture that I completed with audience participation during our livestream event, and a tri-lingual reading with video and images.

In the SDSS  livestream recording, the PoeTREE sculpture interaction begins around 50: 30 and the 10-minutevideo with readings starts at approximately 1:11:29.

Collective voices from branches of The PoeTREE/A Tree I Love [2020]

Ancient and resilient, it survived lightning strikes and still stands tall.
它古老而坚韧,经受住了雷击,仍然屹立不倒。
오래되고 탄탄하다, 벼락이 내리쳐도 그것은 살아 남았고 여전히 높게 서있다. 

I rested near the surface of its earthly origins.
我在它的地球起源的表面附近休息。
나는 지구 기원의 표면 근처에 자리를 잡고 있다.  

This tree deserves a lot of hugs.
这棵树值得很多拥抱。
이 나무는 여러번 포옹해 줄 만하다.

Yellow, orange, and red spectacle of fall
黄色、橙色和红色的秋天景象
가을의 노랑, 주홍, 빨강 관경

He told me they touched the clouds.
他告诉我他们摸到了云
그가 말하길 그들은 구름을 만졌다고 한다.

I saw images and signs in her bark.
我在她的吠声中看到了图像和迹象
그 나무의 껍질 속에 새겨진 이미지와 서명을 보았다.

Squirrels and once a snake traveled through it.
松鼠和一条蛇穿过它。
다람쥐 그리고 한번은 뱀이 통과해 지나갔다.

I miss her beautiful maple tree body and its magnificent energy field.
我想念她那美丽的枫树身躯和它那壮丽的能量场。
그녀의 아름다운 단풍나무 몸통과, 그 웅장한 기운이 그립다.

Grandmother to so many trees around her
奶奶的身边有那么多树
할머니 주변으로부터 나무들이 많다.

He’s here. Talking to me.
他在这里。跟我说话。
그는 여기 있다. 나에게 말을 하고있다. 

A rainforest grows in Southeast Queens.
皇后区东南部有一片热带雨林
퀸즈 동남부에 (열대) 우림이 형성되고 있다.

It was supposed to be a miniature tree but grew to a towering height.
它应该是一棵微型树,但却长到了高耸的高度
조그만 나무였어야 되는데 탑처럼 높이 자랐다.

Background

The PoeTREE is a participatory project. It began as a collective work with artists and neighbors of Kelly Street, Bronx, NY for the Grow Love festival, in conjunction with my 2014 Create Change Fellowship with The Laundromat Project. That first PoeTREE was a sculpture with paper leaves inscribed by the community as they answered: “What do you want to grow in your neighborhood?”  

For Queens Creative Solidarity’s Studio in the Park 2016 residency at the Queens Museum, The PoeTREE was facilitated by artist Lorie Caval, who asked visitors to draw and write their thoughts about trees. In 2017, for the Southeast Queens Artists’ Alliance cART Festival, Lorie and I built a basic cardboard tree trunk (on a shopping cart) and invited the public to help co-construct The PoeTREE by drawing, writing, and reflecting about trees while building out and decorating its cardboard branches and paper leaves.

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