Sick-Amour

  • Email
  • Print
  • Share

By Joel Tauber

January 22, 2010
  • Image 1
  • Image 2
  • Image 3
  • Image 4
  • Image 5
  • Image 6

Sick-Amour
A Joel Tauber Project

I have fallen in love with a beautiful tree stuck in the middle of a giant parking lot in front of the Rose Bowl.

The tree was starved for water and oxygen due to the asphalt that surrounds it (there was a rather small tree pit). The stress from the lack of water and oxygen led to an increase of a variety of pests: anthracnose fungus, lace bugs, powdery mildew… The tree was also in grave danger from the cars that liked to park near it to benefit from its shade. Cars had hit and damaged the trunk, but the cambium had not yet been pierced and the tree still lived. But, it did not live an easy life, and it had no chance of creating offspring.

I could not tolerate the outrageous insults that the beautiful tree was forced to endure. So, I decided to adopt the tree and devote myself to improving its life: watering the tree with giant water bags; installing tree guards to protect the tree from cars; lobbying the City and the Rose Bowl to remove the asphalt beneath the tree’s canopy; and helping the tree create tree babies…

Trailer for Documentary Film Sick-Amour

Interactive tree baby maps
click on the tree baby icons to see some of the 140 tree babies that have been planted so far

Tree Museum
click on the rocks to read text celebrating the tree

ZEEK is presented by The Jewish Daily Forward | Maintained by SimonAbramson.com