'Tree Logic,' which has lined the entrance to Mass MoCA for 25 years, will be coming down for good next week. Prior trees from the installation have been transplanted in Williamstown and North Adams. The last trees will be planted at the museum.
Scientists weren't sure the trees could survive being inverted; once they outgrew their tubs, they were planted earthside and thrived.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The trees will no longer grow upside-down in the Steeple City.
Natalie Jeremijenko's meditation on resiliency, "Tree Logic," will be retired after 25 years of turning heads at the entrance to Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
The museum announced on its Facebook page this week that the trees will be removed. They will be on view until Monday.
The trees themselves haven't been there that long. Every so often, a new group of saplings is installed and their elders retired to grow naturally on Stone Hill at the Clark Art Institute, which funded the installation, and Colegrove Park, where museum visitors have been known to check on their condition. This last set will remain on the campus, at the end of the Speedway.
"This work, like Mass MoCA itself, defies logic and gravity while signaling that creativity comes in all forms. Jeremijenko conceived of Tree Logic as a work about change and persistence, as trees themselves are dynamic natural systems constantly in flux. In this work, the trees grow while upside down, yet they still instinctively reach for the sunlight," the museum wrote. "MASS MoCA is a non-collecting museum. The artworks on view range from new commissions organized with artists to loans from artists, galleries, estates, and collectors. So at some point, like the trees themselves, things must change."
Although a popular image here, the trees did evince a range of emotions, with some viewers disturbed at the distortion of nature.
Jeremijenko, also an engineer, had spoken with botanists when designing the installation. According to the museum's audio tour, the scientists were divided on how gravity would affect the trees once they were inverted. The trees grew and their branches curved toward the sun; once taken down and put right side up, they gracefully returned to their natural state.
"The branches correct themselves and bear little sign of their early beginnings, speaking to the resiliency of nature, cities and towns, and museums," posted Mass MoCA.
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Windsor Man Promoted to Major in National Guard
WINDSOR, Mass. — Corbin Lounsbury of Windsor was recently promoted to major in the New York Army National Guard.
Major Gen. Ray Shields, the adjutant general for the state of New York, announced the recent promotion of members of the New York Army National Guard in recognition of their capability for additional responsibility and leadership.
Lounsbury, assigned to Cyber Protection Team 173, received a promotion Sept. 5 to the rank of major.
Army National Guard promotions are based on a soldier's overall performance, demonstrated leadership abilities, professionalism, and future development potential. These promotions recognize the best-qualified soldiers for a career in the New York Army National Guard.
There are 20,000 members in New York's Army, Air National Guard, the Naval Militia, and the New York Guard. They are managed by the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, the state's executive agency responsible to the governor.
Guardsmen and women are eligible for monthly pay, educational benefits, international travel, technical and leadership training, health and dental insurance, and contributions towards retirement programs similar to a 401(k).
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