January 8, 2016 - February 8, 2016
ATA Window Gallery presents: Keith Wilson THE TREE
Closing Reception: Wednesday, February 3rd, 6-9PM
ARTIST STATEMENT:
THE TREE is a short observational documentary film, displayed on a simple monitor atop a bed of freshly mulched San Francisco Christmas trees. The film is a cyclical tale about the life, death and rebirth of one noble fir Christmas tree from the foggy hills of the Bay Area. From its unceremonious planting to its ornament-decorated state in a San Francisco living room to its surprising resurrection and repurpose, the film follows a ubiquitous yet under-examined staple of Western culture.
In the year 2254, I hope that a curious anthropologist robot stumbles across the film and is baffled and amused by the ritual it documents. I want them to ask, “why did the humans cut down a tree, bring it inside, hang weird shit from it and then discard it after a month?” Hopefully THE TREE will provide clues – but not firm answers – as to why the ritual existed and what function it served.
Back in 2015, the installation will, perhaps, catch the attention of a phone zombied pedestrian and encourage them to download the ecological, social and religious applications of the many no-longer-needed trees found on January sidewalks.
BIO:
Keith Wilson is a filmmaker, cinematographer and visual artist based in San Francisco. His film work has been screened at Sundance, the Berlinale, South by Southwest and the U.S. National Gallery of Art. His photography and artist books have been exhibited at the Gagosian Gallery, the Brandhorst Museum of Art and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. He is the co-creator of the book GAY MEN DRAW VAGINAS (2014). Keith grew up on a cul-de-sac in suburban Atlanta and has an MFA in film production from the Radio-TV-Film Department at UT-Austin.