2018
Life of Tree
Life of Tree is a kinetic sculpture that simulates a tree’s reflection in water; a metaphor for how all scientific theories are only a reflection of the underlying reality. Depending on the distortions of our theories, the reality is seen more or less clearly.
Client
University of Utah
Collaborators
Hypersonic
Press
Curbed
U of Utah Press
MIT Alumni Arts
Special thanks
Jim Glenn and University of Utah, Jordan Gerton, Henry White, Nervous System, Dan Paluska, Ross Keong and the Shapeways team, Sigrid Adriaenssens, Miles Yoshida, Sougwen Chung, Stephen Somers, Nic Annette Miller, Casey Bloomquist, Francesca Rodriguez Sawaya, Chris Tsimbidis, Hunt Electric, Tyson Cox and Adam Hudson at Okland Construction, Cameron Empey at Reaveley Engineers
The sculpture was inspired by the biological tree of life, which highlights the underlying connection between all parts of our natural world, linking patterns across seemingly disparate disciplines.
The movement of Life of Tree embodies the scientific principles of resonance and frequency response - how systems exhibit a wide range of responses across the vast scales of space and time — sometimes known, sometimes hidden, and sometimes completely unexpected. Life of Tree creates a reflection of the natural world that keeps our eyes open toward the unknown.
““...a beautifully subtle illusion.””
The branch structure of the tree is 3D printed out of 190 unique hollow pieces, separated into 24 slices composing the height of the tree. The sculpture’s motion is driven by a single motor, and relies on tuned springs to transfer motion from one vertical slice to the next. Various wave patterns play through the tree, creating constantly evolving motion ranging from a gentle sweep to quickly shifting wave peaks. The tree is entirely powered by solar panels installed on the roof above it.
Life of Tree was inspired by past works including Alexander Calder’s tree-like sculptures, Natalie Jeremijenko’s Tree Logic, Andy Goldsworthy’s works, Janet Echelman’s fishnet structures, and more historical references to the tree of life and the motions of mass-spring systems.
Crocker Science Center at Univ. of Utah, 1390 Presidents' Circle, Salt Lake City, UT 84112