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Writer's pictureTyler A Deem

Personifications of Aspen Tree Bark

ASPEN TREE TEST PRINTS


In the hilly slopes and valleys of Mount Charleston populate the iconic aspen trees. During fall they sport characteristic yellow leaves in addition to their bright-white and wrinkly bark. Nodes on the sides of the trunks resemble human eyes, unblinking and unwavering.


Aspen Tree View 1: tad443, Aspen Tree View 2: tad444, Aspen Tree View 3: tad448, 2021.

Van Dyke brown photographic test prints.


Each tree carries it's own distinct idiosyncrasies and blemishes, like people they carry personalities and are anthropomorphized in their steady stances. Some reveal scars and markings, others grow among boulders and on steep inclines, determined to live a life of extremes.



Mt. Charlston Aspen Trees 3, 2021. Digital photograph.


Their light colored bark shows up incredibly well in monotone printing, where the textures and contrast of the dark creases create patterns of wrinkled exteriors. With surfaces like skin and paired with eyes, the trees take on human qualities that are only emphasized when there are eyes to gaze back at them. The human condition exposes us to organisms that remind us of ourselves.

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