Tree Talks: Populus Tremuloides (Series)

Four Seasonal Events + Publication

Tree Talks: Populus Tremuloides is a multifaceted project focused on understanding a single tree through a multitude of perspectives. What insights might be gained by observing and experiencing the worlds of interconnected life, sounds, stories, and feelings nested within a given tree? How might we expand our understanding and widen our perspective by engaging with a variety of discourses and senses?  

Once per season, from October 2021–August 2022, the public was invited to gather within a grove of quaking aspen at Kenosha Pass, Colorado to hear lectures by experts from diverse fields—ranging from ecologists to poets—who each shared knowledge of the tree from varying ecological and cultural perspectives. Speakers included: a US Forest Service aspen researcher, a mycologist, a poet, a certified Deep Listener, an ornithologist, a dendrochronologist, an archeologist, a certified Forest Therapy Guide, an Oglala Lakota artist/activist, an installation artist, a composer/electronic musician, an entomologist, and a geographer.

Kinsley recorded the sounds of these gatherings using a variety of microphones to capture human voices, scientific information, poetic and metaphysical ideas, and the sounds of the aspen and other flora and fauna of the landscape. This project culminated in the release of a limited-edition lathe cut vinyl album and publication in March 2023.

For more information about the events, and to hear full audio from all the talks, visit the links below:

Event Details:
Fall (October 15, 2021): blackcube.art/fall-tree-talks
Winter (January 16, 2022): blackcube.art/winter-tree-talks
Spring (June 5, 2022): blackcube.art/spring-tree-talks
Summer (August 5, 2022): blackcube.art/summer-tree-talks

Audio Archive:
soundcloud.com/tree-talks

This project is produced by Black Cube with support by a CRCW grant from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs