"Blued Trees" Fact Sheet

Blued Trees

Multi-Form Permanent Art Installation

Conceived Of By Ecological Artist Aviva Rahmani

Blued Trees Stands in the Path of Gas Pipeline Expansion on Private Land Seeking Copyright to Protect the Art, Hence the Land

Second Phase of Installation Slated for October 4

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;

indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. -- Margaret Mead

FACT SHEET

Please see previous posts for more information and visuals.

A five minute film of the Blued Trees “overture” launch can be viewed at: https://vimeo.com/channels/94313

• Blued Trees is a site-specific permanent artwork installed on private land in the path of the Algonquin natural gas pipeline in New York State. The project was conceived of by ecological artist Aviva Rahmani at the invitation of New York residents-cum-activists faced with fossil fuel corporations expanding pipelines through their properties. The Algonquin pipeline, owned by the Spectra Corporation, passes within 105 ft. of the Indian Point nuclear facility, in Peekskill, 30 miles from New York City.

• The artwork consists of a number of trees, painted with a slurry of non-toxic ultramarine blue pigment and buttermilk, designed to grow moss, in the pattern of a vertical sine wave. If perceived aerially, the trees designated for painting represent “notes” in a symphonic score, and are accompanied by a “Greek Chorus” of painted trees and music at other sites.

• Spectra is now moving to condemn the land the art is on by eminent domain and begin excavation of the site in October. Rahmani has filed a federal copyright to protect this site-specific artwork and related domestic and international “Greek Chorus” sites of painted trees and music that were simultaneously initiated as part of the “Overture.”

• The Blued Trees “Overture” launched June 21, 2015, in Peekskill, NY. The property owners on whose land Blued Trees sits have received notification that their land will be condemned. The intended imminent excavation for the pipeline expansion is among many other pipeline projects that are planned and being permitted across the country.

• For the “Overture,” the bark of approximately twenty designated trees within the pipeline corridor was painted with a blue sine wave, beginning at the tree's roots, and winding up the trunk. The Blued Trees artwork is integrated with the trees and all living things on and in the soil of the site.

• To make the musical composition, each painted tree was mapped to become a “note” in the Blued Trees score. The distribution of the trees in the “Overture” corresponds to a measure of music which can be played or sung as a melody. Each measure, 1/3 mile, of the symphonic installation is simultaneously an aerial map and a musical score.

• The first movement of a larger “Symphony” is planned for October 4, 2015. On that date, at 5 sites locally and internationally, approximately 75 additional trees will be painted, the project will be performed and documented to expand the sphere of protection. When the human performers leave, the installation remains with the trees as a permanent work of art.

• The “Greek Chorus,” trees that have been painted with the blue sine wave in other locations, could be protected by copyright as part of Blued Trees, so long as they each conform to the same design concept. “Greek Chorus” sites so far have included Washington, Florida, Virginia, and Lisbon, Portugal.

• Blued Trees endeavors to prevent the destruction of the habitat and artwork embedded into the habitat, as well as the danger of a nuclear accident. The project is a bold, innovative strategy to redefine public good by protecting the integrity of art and nature. A legal basis for that protection is the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), which asserts the “moral rights of art” against destruction.

• The currently filed US Copyright Registration Application is for elements of the "Overture,” launched in Peekskill, New York. This application will be the heart of the first Cease and Desist Demand to be addressed to Spectra Corporation. The demand is intended to prevent an October excavation, and would include the Greek Chorus for that launch. This registration will likely be the first of two filings. A second copyright registration application filing will include additional work to be completed elsewhere October 4, 2015.

• The project is raising funds now for the legal process that could stop the proceedings before the scheduled date to break ground for the Algonquin pipeline expansion. This would begin a process of pitting copyright law against condemnation by eminent domain takings in the name of public good. If sufficient funds are raised, the legal team would address the overlap between copyright and eminent domain law. The proposed legal actions might lead to a redefinition of the public good.

• To date, new locations for the full “Symphony” have been secured in 3 states with committed artists spearheading each of the installations. Some artists who have confirmed they will be painting measures of land in the path of the expansions include: Deanna Pindell, Wash., Toshia Hance, N.Y., and Robin Boucher, Va.

• Blued Trees is an element or aspect of Gulf to Gulf, a fiscally sponsored NYFA project, which has investigated how art might impact climate change policy since 2010.

• Mapping for all Blued Trees locations will be available at: http://www.gulftogulf.org/project_item/blued_trees/

• Instructions for painting trees are available at: http://pushingrocks.blogspot.com/2015/06/greek-chorus-for-blued-trees.html

About Aviva Rahmani

Ecological artist Aviva Rahmani’s art work has reflected environmental and social concerns throughout her career. Her projects range from complete landscape restorations to museum venues that reference painting, sound and photography. Early influences on her work include interdisciplinary classical studies, activism, city planning and the merging of science with aesthetics. Aviva Rahmani is an affiliate at the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Plymouth, UK, has exhibited and published internationally and has been the recipient of numerous grants. I am recommending her because she is using art to effect environmental change in innovative ways. Her most recent work, Blued Trees launched June 21, 2015. It contests the definition of eminent domain with the moral rights of art. More information is available at www.ghostnets.com.

Press Contact:

Margery Newman

MargeryNewman@aol.com, 212-475-0252

Painting a full measure of the first movement of the full "Blued Trees" symphony October 4, 2015

This post will be revised over the next few weeks as time gets close to the full symphony event. Please check in to see those revisions. I am posting today because the first outreach to the media has begun. As of now, artists are organizing and effecting full measures for Blued Trees in at least four states in America.

There are already instructions in previous posts here for painting individual trees that would be part of a Greek Chorus, but I wanted to also create a new post for those who want to generate an entire measure (or several) to participate in the first movement of the full symphony scheduled for Oct. 4. 

The general pattern of distribution of painted trees for one full measure is identical to the musical score and the map of painted trees in Peekskill from the Overture installed June 21, 2015. The illustration below represents an overlay of how that distribution looked on the terrain for Overture. 

The Overture measure of Blued Trees in Peekskill, New York

This is a map of the completed distribution of painted trees from the Overture, which can be approximated on additional sites:

Edited sketch used to file copyright on completed measure of Blued Trees.

Appropriate sites for a full (one-thrd mile) measure of the Blued Trees symphony first movement, are corridors of private land, threatened by condemnation for natural gas expansion. Each measure is 1/3 mile of that corridor., approximately 1800 linear ft.) The minimum number of trees that would be painted in that measure would be 10, but whole and half notes can be represent by either painting larger trees, or clusters of trees.

In terms of the symphonic structure, this first movement of Blued Tees is conceived in classically discursive sonata form. It represents a conversation between the life of the forests that would be destroyed and the water they protect, and the death meted out by fossil fuels and the corporations that produce the fossil fuels creating global warming. Two more movements and a coda will ensue in due time.

As I recently discussed in the UK for my presentation at the Whitworth Gallery, Manchester and as part of panels for the International Society for Ecological Restoration there, the first task in creating a measure of the symphony, is to study the satellite (google earth) maps of the site to understand the terrain, and then walk it carefully. The spatial distribution is disorienting at first but then becomes more obvious. You will find, as I did, that certain trees, usually the oldest "call" to you to be soloists in the installation.

More information will be added as questions arise I will try to clearly answer.

Connecting dots between "Blued Trees," the Newton Creek superfund site and parts unknown

Last Friday evening I got two pieces of seemingly unrelated information. The good news was that I have been offered and accepted an ISCP/NEA residency, beginning on October 1st until December 31, 2015, to work on the Newton Creek problem. The Newton Creek problem is that it is a superfund site in New York.

Within hours of that news, I also learned that the Spectra natural gas pipeline corporations, in charge of the Algonquin expansion that would pass near the Indian Point facility, also in New York, the site of the Blued Trees overture launch has moved a month earlier than we expected to condemn the land and take it from private landowners by eminent domain. That news has accelerated pressure to expedite the legal process that would protect Blued Trees, the land it's on, and the community it's in with the fund raising through Rockethub that would support that process. The news came as I was also preparing to leave for the UK, for the Society for Ecological Conference, in Manchester, where I will be presenting about trigger point theory and launching the Blued Trees film in the Whitworth Gallery, at the University of Manchester.

Back in 1997, when I first daylighted the Ghost Nets site to restore the estuarine system, I took a shot of the moment when fresh water passed through the highest known storm surge line, indicated with granite chips left over from the granite industry that had buried the former wetland rocky intertidal patch, and met salt water for the first time in about 100 years. I called that shot, "Connecting the Dots."

"Connecting the Dots" 1997

Friday night, I began connecting a much larger set of dots, between the thinking that creates a superfund site, the site of a possible even greater ecological disaster, between natural gas and a nuclear facility with a history of problems, on the banks of the Hudson River, miles from several major East coast cities, and the people I look forward to meeting in Manchester. Each of these sites, are locations I would identify as trigger points: places where a small area could impact entire bioregions. Connecting these dots of trigger points will lead to parts unknown: parts where we will all rescue the earth from ourselves, or witness a great loss for all life.

Earth Guardians and the artivism of "Blued Trees" a guest post by Aidan Ferris, Earth Guardian

From left to right: Christian Lockwood, the author- Aidan Ferris, and Samantha Bostic: three Earth Guardians participating in the Blued Trees overture launch June 21, 2015 Photo by Susan Rutman

All across the globe, youth are rising to the challenge of protecting our earth so that we may pass down a healthy and sustainable world to future generations. 

On June 21^st 2015, I had the opportunity of doing just that by participating in a creative and tactical way to halt the construction of the AIM pipeline expansion. As representatives of a youth-driven organization called Earth Guardians, a couple friends and myself went to lend a hand with the Blued Trees Project. From the very beginning I was excited and intrigued by the idea of using art as a way of not only shining light on important issues but also as a non-violent direct action that could truly make a difference. This project felt unique. It incorporated music, visual arts and legal components that all tied together to create a really powerful action.

Today, as we continue to strive towards a better world, creativity and imagination are some of our best allies. This is because we cannot fix the problems we face by using the same tools that created them. We must look outside the tool box. Blued Trees is an amazing way to show youth that it's okay to be tactical and artistic.

“Artivism” is art plus activism; it harnesses innovative strategic organization and combines it with the creativity and imagination needed to make art of any kind. The Blued Trees Project falls perfectly under that label and it is projects like this one that appeal to young people who are looking to make a difference. This type of work shows youth that harnessing passion is not only acceptable, but encouraged. 

Earth Guardians are showing the world that young people are making positive changes by being who they are and doing what they love, whether it be art, music, poetry, business, dance, writing, or any other form of expression. I believe that in the future we will see many more projects arise similar in nature to this one.