Syracuse professor reveals process behind stunning Tree of 40 Fruit
 Syracuse University professor Sam Van Aken has not only found the answer, he's managed to do it with 40 different fruits. And he's sharing the secrets behind the painstaking process to make his stunning "Tree of 40 Fruit." In a new National Geographic video, the artist and sculptor, who teaches at SU's College of Visual and Performing Arts, shows how he creates the trees through "chip grafting." The result is a "crazy" multi-colored tree that can bear 40 different varieties of stone fruit -- those with pits. "The idea came from a fascination with the process of grafting. When I'd seen it done as a child it was Dr. Seuss and Frankenstein and just about everything fantastic," Van Aken told National Geographic. The project began in 2008 when Van Aken discovered an orchard at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva that had more than 200 varieties of plums and apricots. When he learned it was to be abandoned, he picked up the lease and began experimenting with "sculpture through grafting." In the clip, he explains that grafting works by slicing branches with buds from one tree and inserting it into a matching slit in a branch on the Tree of 40 Fruit. He wraps the wound with tape, and as it heals the bud grows into a new branch. "It's a metaphor for a lot of things," Van Aken told The Post-Standard in 2011, when he planted a tree on the SU quad. He added that he specifically chose 40 because it appears often in the Bible: "It's a number that represents bounty." Images show how the tree blossoms with pink and purple flowers during the spring, and then bears fruits at different time periods over the summer.The Independent reports peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, cherries and almonds are ripening this month. There are now more than a dozen trees in museums, community centers and private art collections across the country, including in New York, California, New Jersey and Kentucky. Van Aken describes the project as a living work of art, though he has admitted it could have implications for genetic engineering and preserving different fruit varieties against food monocultures. He adds more branches from other varieties each year, and a completed Tree of 40 Fruit takes nearly a decade, but the wait is worth it. "When you come out to it and see they're all in blossom, it's really kind of an amazing experience," Van Aken said. "Plus you get fruit all summer." |
