ROBERT GAYLOR ARTIST
This body of work began with the Bark Beetle Paintings. I spoke with David Dunn who has done recordings of the Pinon Bark Beetles and other types and has carried out some scientific work with that. I got interested in the complexity of these ecosystems and made drawings , watercolor paintings and a small ghost squirrel out of pine needles.
I was asked by Axle Contemporary to make an installation with this material. Some photographs with captions are shown in the photographs. I named it DESCANSO FOR THE PINE FORREST. David kindly permitted my use of his recordings which which became part of my sound mix. With all the materials and components I have made or collected. I hope there can be other configurations and installations of it.
This is the text panel that was installed with the Axle Contemporary showing.
DESCANSO FOR THE PINE FOREST, 2010-2013. A REST OR SHRINE BESIDE THE ROAD
Acrylic paint on beetle bored pine branches, white pencil drawing of Pine Bark Beetle; watercolor paintings of a Pinon Jay, Predator Beetle, and others; pine squirrel skull; sound recordings of bark beetles, Pinon Jays, wind in a pine forest; Ponderosa and Pinon Pine cones, pine needles, aluminum wire armature, pine branches.
Sound recordists: David Dunn,Pinon Bark Beetle;Geoffrey Keller, Pinon Jay; Andrew Spencer, Pinon Jay; Lang Elliot, Pine Squirrel.
Sound Mix , Filip Celander. Sam Lemly, assisted with installation construction.
The “management” of forests for lumber harvest for the last 100 years gives fuel to catastrophic canopy fires during drought and hence the death of mother trees, and the incineration of soils. Human induced Global Warming advances the prolonged drought. The Pine Bark Beetle becomes more evident to us as it infests trees in the lower Pinon and up into Ponderosa which are weakened by drought. Beyond just the trees thousands of other life forms in the pine forest of all kinds are affected. Not just trees but all of this life is the Forest.
Because of human effect we are the Forest too.