At 17m long, TREE is London’s Natural History Museum’s largest botanical specimen. It is a wafer-thin shaving through the entire 200 year old tree from roots to branch tips. The video shows Tania Kovats’ journey through finding the tree, deciding how to bring it down, learning how to have it resawn, CNC machined thin, and dried, and the ultimate hanging on the ceiling of the mezzanine gallery behind the Central Hall. Quite some board feet she left behind at the mill. She had never worked in wood before.
Along with the tree installation are a museum-like presentation of its pressed and dried leaves, and samples of lichen, moss, and a collection of insects that were found in and on the living tree.
-- Gary, Los Angeles, video game animator
7 comments so far
John Ormsby
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503 posts in 635 days
posted 109 days ago
This is a great find Gary. Thanks for sharing.
-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca
RBWoodworker
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215 posts in 250 days
posted 109 days ago
Very interesting.. Thanks for sharing Gary..you seem to always find cool stuff to share with everyone..
-- Randall Child
mmh
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1395 posts in 620 days
posted 109 days ago
What an interesting concept. It’s neat to see how someone outside of the norm sees an object frequently used. It was a bit sad to see such a magnificent tree felled, but as the artist stated, she was trying to preserve it for many years to come.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to see what wood artists around the globe could create from this one tree?
-- "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~ Edgar Allan Poe
davidroberts
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244 posts in 384 days
posted 109 days ago
I thought Tania Kovats was a tree species. Silly me. I wanted the video to go on more.
You are probably too busy to watch much TV, but I rented a movie from netflixs called called Rivers and Tides (2003) Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time, here is the exerpt:
This amazing documentary from Thomas Riedelsheimer won the Golden Gate Award Grand Prize for Best Documentary at the 2003 San Francisco International Film Festival. The film follows renowned sculptor Andy Goldsworthy as he creates with ice, driftwood, bracken, leaves, stone, dirt and snow in open fields, beaches, rivers, creeks and forests. With each new creation, he carefully studies the energetic flow and transitory nature of his work.
This movie is pure zen, and the guy is a stark raving genius. Just wanted to share.
-- david roberts, houston area, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but that has never been a problem for me."
a1Jim
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17022 posts in 475 days
posted 109 days ago
very unique
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com
Innovator
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3125 posts in 311 days
posted 104 days ago
Thanks Gary this very interesting.
-- Whether You Think You Can or You Think You Can't, YOU ARE RIGHT!!!
Durnik150
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536 posts in 220 days
posted 96 days ago
Everyone!!! Take the time to watch this video. It’s great! I do have to admit though that I was wondering where all the rest of the lumber went after they selected the slices for the display. I could keep my hands busy for a lifetime with that much Oak!
-- Behind the Bark is a lot of Heartwood----Charles, Centennial, CO