If you’ve wandered through Pease Park any time in the last few weeks, you might have noticed a cobalt-blue forest sprouting along the park’s southernmost trails. If the hauntingly colorful knot of trees makes you halt in the middle of the path, then they’ve done their job — the forest is an art installation, and it’s meant to make you stop and think.
Here’s the story behind Konstantin Dimopolous’ “The Blue Trees” art piece at Pease Park.
First thing’s first: No trees were harmed in the making of this artwork.
Tree lovers, take a breath — the bright blue coloring on the tree bark isn’t paint, and it won’t harm the trees or the environment. The color comes from a water-based formula that will wash away over the course of several months.
Who’s the artist?
Dimopolous is a conceptual artist + sculptor whose work specifically relates to the environment and ecology. The Blue Trees concept is Dimopolous’, but he had some help creating the actual piece — Austinites themselves helped apply the colorant to the trees earlier this month.
Tell me about the art installation.
“The Blue Trees” are an international exhibit, and have been “created” across the world and US, including in Seattle, Houston, and Sacramento.
In Austin’s Pease Park, the installation encompasses ~100 trees near the newly renovated Kingsbury Commons. The color — a popping shade of bright blue — is an intentional choice, because blue is found on less than 10% of plants.
The bright color makes the trees stand out, pointing the viewers’ attention toward their presence where they might otherwise have gone unnoticed. The intention, Dimopolous has said, is to make people consider the impacts of deforestation and how the loss of trees could change the landscape.
Here’s how you can see “The Blue Trees” yourself.
Visit Pease Park at 1100 Kingsbury St. any time in the next few months before the coloring wears off. Get details on parking here.
