Tuesday 15 February 2011

Tree Cosy


I have been looking into artists who use art to enhance outdoor spaces, rather than internal as this relates to my own current project. I came across artist Carol Hummel who covered an entire tree using knitting, named 'Tree Cosy'. This piece really interests me as I like how the tree becomes something unnatural as it no longer represents an ordinary tree. It links nicely to my idea of using graffiti as something beneficial to the environment rather that something which is seen as a negative. Here is how Hummel describes her work...



'On the most obvious level, it is a piece of clothing, personifying the tree and keeping it cozy and colorful throughout the year, enhancing the beauty of nature as well as the landscape of Northern Ohio.


On another level, the brightly colored crocheted cozy wraps the tree in personal and cultural nostalgia evoking memories of bygone times and places when life was good.


On yet another level, the cozy softens the strong tree form while also emphasizing it. It is meant to simultaneously caress and encase the tree. The cozy covering the tree fluctuates between comforting blanket and suffocating cover-up; it conceals as much as it protects; it hides as much as it reveals'




I like the idea of encapsulating something outdoors and I feel she is enhancing nature, much like what I intend to do, however I will be working with more manmade areas. My work when on location should stand out from it's surroundings, enhancing them whilst holding an important message. 

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