Earlier this year, an ailing 140-year-old hemlock tree died at Olana Historic Site, the idyllic former estate of Frederic Edwin Church, a leading figure of the 19th-century Hudson River School. It was a significant loss, for reasons ecological, aesthetic and sentimental. Having stood sentinel on the lawn right outside of Church’s fabled Persian-inspired villa, the hemlock was a living artifact of his artistic ambition, as well as his lesser-known proto-conservationist efforts, and was planted at a time when his attention had turned from painting detailed landscapes to designing them.
But as one chapter in the tree’s distinguished life ended, a vital new one began in the hands of a contemporary artist, Jean Shin, who is known for her large-scale installations made from society’s discards. Shin spent the early spring working on the green lawn of Church’s house-museum, where she transformed the once-majestic conifer into a site-specific sculpture. The muscular 40-foot trunk now lies atop two small boulders and has been meticulously fit with a patchwork of leather in shades of lemon yellow and sky blue…
