251,000 TREES
Robert Gunderman + Rick Johns, 2020
Digital Exhibition 03
"As with 'Here', many of the paintings in the previous there-there show had a similar figurative aspect to them, with large swaths of very smooth almost flesh-like paint. In the exhibition at Desert Center, everything was given human attributes, 'Our Sun' had human eye and fingers, as did the spiders and bugs. Not having any real neighbors, a 37,000 acre Condor Sanctuary behind us (in 300,000 acres of National Forest), and the Sespe running through the west end of the ranch invites the opportunity to experience every living thing the Los Padres National Forest has to offer. I've planted about 1000 trees on the property, and caring for them has influenced the work, as well."
- Robert Gunderman. "Re: 03_Robert Gunderman and Rick Johns - Invitation to collaborate." Received by Rick Johns and Mike Nesbit, 31 March 2020.
"Bob, I’m currently reading The Hidden Life of Trees. Years ago, I planted over 250,000 seedlings as a job, post undergraduate work. I have worked with wood for decades and commune with trees. The interconnectedness of trees is, I think, similar to my thoughts of elements within a painting. They gain significance or importance through their relationships."
- Rick Johns, "Re: 03_Robert Gunderman and Rick Johns - Invitation to collaborate." Received by Robert Gunderman and Mike Nesbit, 04 April 2020.
Robert Gunderman + Rick Johns, 2020
Digital Exhibition 03
"As with 'Here', many of the paintings in the previous there-there show had a similar figurative aspect to them, with large swaths of very smooth almost flesh-like paint. In the exhibition at Desert Center, everything was given human attributes, 'Our Sun' had human eye and fingers, as did the spiders and bugs. Not having any real neighbors, a 37,000 acre Condor Sanctuary behind us (in 300,000 acres of National Forest), and the Sespe running through the west end of the ranch invites the opportunity to experience every living thing the Los Padres National Forest has to offer. I've planted about 1000 trees on the property, and caring for them has influenced the work, as well."
- Robert Gunderman. "Re: 03_Robert Gunderman and Rick Johns - Invitation to collaborate." Received by Rick Johns and Mike Nesbit, 31 March 2020.
"Bob, I’m currently reading The Hidden Life of Trees. Years ago, I planted over 250,000 seedlings as a job, post undergraduate work. I have worked with wood for decades and commune with trees. The interconnectedness of trees is, I think, similar to my thoughts of elements within a painting. They gain significance or importance through their relationships."
- Rick Johns, "Re: 03_Robert Gunderman and Rick Johns - Invitation to collaborate." Received by Robert Gunderman and Mike Nesbit, 04 April 2020.
If you were to go out and plant 251,000 trees what does that mean? Does planting one tree make it less meaningful than planting 251,000? To think about the first and then reflect on the rest, we all remember our first and we all remember our last…now what about the in-between? What about all the moments from 1 to 251,000, the monotony, the short days, the long days, the rain, and the droughts. You might even begin to forget that you are planting trees. But you don’t stop, you continue to plant, you continue to get up, you continue to go outside, and you continue to plant…10,000 trees, then 20,000 trees. It’s not that you forget that you are planting trees, it is like the words from a book, there is a moment when they begin to disappear. At 50,000 trees one could imagine that you are in a robotic haze of planting, you don’t even think, you just plant, and plant, and plant, and plant some more. At about 100,000 trees something happens, like a broken leg, and you get a pause from the planting, you get a moment to look back and see an endless horizon of trees. Your leg heals and you go back to planting, 150,000 trees, then 200,000 trees, and maybe enough time has passed that those early trees are producing their own seeds which start to travel in the breeze and maybe by the time you get to 251,000 trees that breeze has carried a seed ahead of you and you start to understand what it means to plant trees.
Self-isolated viewing of 251,000 TREES in Little Italy, Omaha:
Photos Courtesy of Dan Schwalm
Complied video from Robert Gunderman's ranch in Fillmore, CA:
Video Courtesy of Robert Gunderman
Compiled video from Rick Johns' kayak on the Missouri River near Vermillion, SD:
Video Courtesy of Rick Johns
Complied video from Robert Gunderman's ranch in Fillmore, CA:
Video Courtesy of Robert Gunderman
|
|
|
Photos Courtesy of Robert Gunderman & Rick Johns
Email conversation between Robert Gunderman, Rick Johns, and Mike Nesbit regarding this digital exhibition:
About the Artists:
Robert Gunderman is an artist who lives and works in Fillmore, CA. He studied painting at the Otis College of Art and Design and his work has been exhibited in group shows from Los Angeles to London. Gunderman’s work has also been the subject of numerous solo shows. Gunderman has also engaged with the art world as a curator, director, and gallery founder—of alternative spaces like FOOD HOUSE, Leak, and ACME Gallery.
www.robertgunderman.com
Rick Johns is a maker who lives in Vermillion, SD. He has carved his own path integrating his interests in art, building, design, and woodworking into a way of living with purpose and intent. Rick is a craftsman/creative that still designs and builds a multitude of projects; from custom building and remodeling projects, to site specific woodworking projects, and to a straw bale house. This aspect of Rick's life has had the greatest influence on his studio practice. His paintings, as a result, aim to possess similar qualities and elicit an intrinsic sense of wholeness.
www.rickjohnsart.com
Robert Gunderman is an artist who lives and works in Fillmore, CA. He studied painting at the Otis College of Art and Design and his work has been exhibited in group shows from Los Angeles to London. Gunderman’s work has also been the subject of numerous solo shows. Gunderman has also engaged with the art world as a curator, director, and gallery founder—of alternative spaces like FOOD HOUSE, Leak, and ACME Gallery.
www.robertgunderman.com
Rick Johns is a maker who lives in Vermillion, SD. He has carved his own path integrating his interests in art, building, design, and woodworking into a way of living with purpose and intent. Rick is a craftsman/creative that still designs and builds a multitude of projects; from custom building and remodeling projects, to site specific woodworking projects, and to a straw bale house. This aspect of Rick's life has had the greatest influence on his studio practice. His paintings, as a result, aim to possess similar qualities and elicit an intrinsic sense of wholeness.
www.rickjohnsart.com