audio guide to hear the boulevard's
TRANSCRIPT
Conversation with Katie Holten
Jennifer McGregor (Senior Curator, Wave Hill): Trees have featured prominently in your
work. One of the trees that you (re)created is Excavated Tree, a life-sized Flowering Dog-
wood made from cardboard, newspaper, PVC, wire, and duct tape, at the Contemporary
Art Museum St. Louis. This sculpture clearly describes the relationship between the tree’s
visible branches and its invisible roots. When you were selected as a finalist for this project to
celebrate the ecology of the Grand Concourse, one approach would have been to re-establish
a sculptural tree, how did you come upon the idea of a “museum” as the format to engage
the public?
Katie Holten: The sculptural trees that I’ve made have all been for
interior spaces. My outdoor works tend to be more “invisible” as I’m
interested in the fabric of public space. From day one I’ve looked at
the whole Concourse as a community, a living system. Over the months
I learned more and more about the neighborhoods, I met more and more
people, and I realized that what I was dealing with was on the scale
of a “museum” with historical facts, artifacts and personal stories—
a lot of stories.
JM: You began this project photographing trees and then creating elegant tree drawings
as an entry pathway that connects to your ongoing work. When did you get hooked on the
Concourse, and what about the environs made the project click for you?
KH: In November 2007, I was walking the Concourse almost every day,
trying to get a feel for the street and understand how to engage with
the place. At 174th Street, where the Concourse crosses over the
Cross Bronx Expressway, I suddenly pictured the place as it might
have been 100 years ago. So different: no buildings, no sidewalks, no
asphalt, and no cars. But there were trees originally—it was built as
a tree-lined boulevard for promenading. I saw the trees as a starting
point for examining the entire ecosystem. Maybe it’s because I grew
up in the countryside, but I’ve always seen nature interconnected
with the man-made: trees’ roots grow down into the soil, which
is surrounded by utilities and subway infrastructure. The trees’
roots also push up and crack the sidewalks that people walk along.
Rain falls into the cracks and is diverted into watersheds, which
eventually reach kitchen and bathroom taps along the Concourse.
JM: Immersing yourself in a place is key to your working process and in fact over the last
year your studio has been based here, first at the Bronx Museum and then at the Andrew
Freedman Home. In developing the tree museum, you’ve met hundreds of people, local
residents and workers, and nature enthusiasts. What has been surprising about peoples’
impressions of trees and of the Grand Concourse?
KH: The main thing that’s blown me away has been the excitement and
positive energy. Almost every single person that I’ve reached out
to has been very happy to talk about the Concourse. People are very
proud of the street, of their building, of their block.
JM: You’ve become a bit of an expert on the trees of the Grand Concourse. What do you want
people to take away from the experience?
KH: If nothing else, I hope that people will realize that trees are
alive, they grow and they have names: like people. They aren’t
just sticks coming out of the ground. I also want visitors to the
tree museum to see the Grand Concourse from another perspective,
even if only for a minute. If one person slows down, listens to the
audio guide, and hears something that moves him or her to look at
the street, the community, in a different way—that’s all I want.
And I would like for people to think about the notion of a museum in
a new way, not only without walls but without boundaries. Another
very simple element of the tree museum is getting people outdoors to
walk. One hundred years ago the Concourse was built for people to
stroll along, under the shade of the trees, and in 2009 it takes
quite an effort to get people out for a walk—but hopefully we’ll
get them strolling!
100 trees give voice to 100 perspectives.
Irish artist Katie Holten created this project to
celebrate the communities and ecosystems along
the 100-year-old Grand Concourse. Listen to the
audio guide to hear the boulevard’s stories and
the intimate lives of trees as told by current and
former residents; from beekeepers to rappers,
historians to gardeners, school kids to politicians.
Left: Katie Holten, Excavated Tree, 2007, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, mixed media. Photo: Mike Schuh Right: Katie Holten, Grand Concourse street trees (149th - 150th Street), 2008, ink on paper, 30” x 22”. Photo: Martin Seck
“As a teenager the Grand Concourse was my iconic street, a street of extraordinary trees—a boulevard that I could only dream of.”
—Daniel Libeskind, 2009 97
“On a hot, sunny day those trees that lined 162nd Street formed a canopy and you could go in and cool off— it was just beautiful!”
—Joyce Hogi, 2009 31
“You don’t have to leave your neighborhood to live in a better one, and trees are an important part of making that happen!”
—Majora Carter, 2009 6
Leaves in the sky Roots in the earth Trunk in between
—Concourse Haiku, E.J. McAdams, 2008 64
“I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree”
—Trees, Joyce Kilmer, 1913 24
Above left: Tree Museum Conversation, 2008. Photo: Jaclyn Tobia; Above right: Katie Holten, Grand Concourse street tree (Bronx general post office), 2008, ink on paper, 30” x 22”. Photo: Martin Seck
Visitor Information
Open: June 21–October 12, 2009
Admission: Free
Directions: Getting to the tree museum
is easy! Walk, bike or take public transportation.
Subway: 2 4 5 B D
Bus: Bx1 / Bx2 run along the Grand Concourse.
A public art project by Katie Holten
Grand Concourse, Bronx, NYJune 21–October 12, 2009
Wave Hill June 21–October 12, 2009
The Bronx Museum of the Arts August 2–October 25, 2009
The tree museum is a collaborative project
organized by The Bronx Museum of the Arts and
Wave Hill, with the NYC Department of Parks and
Recreation, cooperation from the NYC Department
of Transportation and support from The Greenwall
Foundation’s Oscar M. Ruebhausen Commission.
Katie Holten, who represented Ireland at the 50th
Venice Biennale in 2003, grew up in the Irish
countryside and studied at the National College of
Art and Design in Dublin and the Hochschule der
Kunste in Berlin. Through drawing, installation,
and sculpture she focuses on the relationship
between the individual and the environment. She
has exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide
including solo shows at the Nevada Museum of Art
(2008-2009), Villa Merkel, Esslingen (2008) and
the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (2007).
Katie Holten would like to thank everyone who
supported the tree museum, with particular
thanks to the Bronx residents who were so
welcoming and supportive, and the Andrew
Freedman Home and Mid Bronx Council for
hosting the tree museum office.
Artist: Katie Holten; Design: Inger-Lise McMillan;
Map: George Colbert; Photographs: all photographs
are by Katie Holten except where stated otherwise;
Studio Assistants: Jamie Davis, Rachel Steinberg;
Technical assistants: Patrick Farrelly, David
Grandison, Shaun Krupa; Advisors: Sergio Bessa,
Dillon Cohen, Meg Duguid, Jennifer McGregor,
Clare Weiss.; © Katie Holten, 2009
Tree Museum Walk, 2009. L-R: Katie Holten, Uli Lorimer,
E.J. McAdams, Joyce Hogi. Photographer: unknown
Public Programs
On opening day, Sunday, June 21, at 5pm, the
percussion group BombaYo leads a parade from
The Bronx Museum of the Arts at 165th Street to
the Lorelei Fountain in Joyce Kilmer Park at 161st
Street for the opening ceremony.
Public Programs include Haiku Hikes led by E.J.
McAdams, Grand Concourse Tree Scrawl with
Amanda Matles, Tree Walks and more!
Visit www.treemuseum.org for more info.
From top: Northern Red Oaks, trees 80 81 at Poe cottage, Poe Park; Tree Museum Haiku Hike, with Mr. Brunelle Grif-fith’s freshman honors class, All Hallows High School, Joyce Kilmer Park, 2009
Right: Northern Red Oak, tree 53 at E. Tremont Avenue
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Tree Museum marker
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BotanicalGarden tree museum is a public art project by Katie
Holten. The ‘museum-without-walls’ runs the length of the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, from 138th Street to Mosholu Parkway.
Visitors can start their visit to the tree museum at any point on the Grand Concourse. Look for the sidewalk markers that identify trees with stories.
Tree index
Ailanthus / Ailanto, árbol del cielo
Ailanthus altissima 3
Amur Corktree / Árbol de amur
Phellodendron amurense 30
Green Ash / Fresno rojo
Fraxinus pennsylvanica 91
Cottonwood / Álamo
Populus 100
Crab Apple / Manzana Silvestre
Malus 11
Kwanzan Cherry / Cerezo japonés
Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ 21
American Elm / Olmo americano
Ulmus americana 9 13 17 56 58
Chinese Elm / Olmo chino
Ulmus parvifolia 66
Ginkgo / Árbol de los 40 escudos
Ginkgo biloba 14 20 73 74
Hackberry / Almez americano
Celtis occidentales 24 67
Hawthorn / Espino
Crataegus 97
Kentucky Coffeetree / Raigón del Canadá
Gymnocladus dioica 54
Little Leaf Linden / Tilo de hoja pequeña
Tilia cordata 41 42 43 44 45
Honey Locust / Acacia negra
Gleditsia triacanthos
5 6 7 19 28 31 32 39 47 50 52 55
60 61 64 88 89 90 94
London Plane / Plátano de sombra
Platanus x hispanica
1 8 12 18 48 49 57 65 75 76 92
Norway Maple / Arce real
Acer platanoides
10 15 16 25 26 27 29 33 77 78 95 98
Red Maple / Arce rojo
Acer rubrum 68
Northern Red Oak / Roble americano
Quercus rubra
40 53 63 69 70 71 72 80 81 82
Pin Oak / Roble palustre
Quercus palustris 2 38 62 79 84
Willow Oak / Roble de sauce
Quercus phellos 36 37
Callery Pear / Pera Callery
Pyrus calleryana 22 23 35 51 59
White Pine / Pino blanco
Pinus strobus 34
Sophora / Sófora
Sophora japonica 83
Zelkova / Keyaki
Zelkova serrata 4 46 85 86 87 93 96 99
Getting around by Subway
Take B D to any stop between 161st Street/Yankee Stadium and Bedford Park Boulevard. Take 4 to any stop between 138th Street/Grand Concourse and Mosholu Parkway. Take 5 to 138th Street/Grand Concourse or 149th Street/Grand Concourse. Take 2 to 149th Street/Grand Concourse.
Call 718-408-2501 to access the audio guide,
followed by a tree’s
extension number and #
“More than 60 species of trees are currently
growing along the Grand Concourse. This is
more than 70 percent of the species we plant
citywide, making the Concourse not only grand,
but also diverse”
—Jonathan Pywell, Bronx Senior Forester,
NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation 3
Featured speakers on audio guide
Omowale Adewale, Barbara Barnes, Adrian Bejan, Cheryl Blaylock, Holly Block, China Blue, Lurry Boyd, New Settlement’s Bronx Helpers, Harry Bubbins, Valerie Capers, Majora Carter, William Casari, Peter Derrick, FeSS, Omar Freilla, Mark Hill, Sam Goodman, Jennifer Greenfeld, Anthony Greene, Damian Griffin, Helen Ho, Joyce Hogi, Sid Horenstein, Walter Hous-ton, Jazzy Jay, Mitchell Joachim, James Kane, Michael Kugler, Amilcar Laboy, Klaus Lackner, Juanita Lanzo, Carlos Lazarte, Adrian LeBlanc, Daniel Libeskind, Bill Logan, Uli Lorimer, E.J. McAdams, Kim McLeveighn, Francis Morrone, Debra Myers, Tom Navin, Jose Ortiz (BombaYo), Glenn Phillips, Andrea Polli, Jonathan Pywell, Roger Repohl, John Riley, Maria Rodriguez, Eric Sanderson, Kate Shackford, Laurie Spiegel, TATS CRU, Fernando Tirado, Lloyd Ultan, Karen Washington, Dart Westphal, Eleanore Wurtzel.
Getting around by Bus
Bx1 runs the length of the Grand Concourse. Bx2 runs from 149th Street to Mosholu Parkway. Get off at any stop to create your self-guided walking tour, or stay on the bus and dial the corresponding extension numbers for trees as you move north, or south, along the Concourse.
sidewalk marker