The Italian sculptor Giuseppe Pennone has been fixated for decades on trees, and they appear in many forms; because they are often in a bronze that weathers to a color similar to that of a tree trunk, it’s sometimes hard to know you’re looking at a sculpture.
That’s what happened to my wife and I one morning in Paris. We were crossing the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, on our way to somewhere, when we were struck by a large and clearly dead tree—totally out of place in the late summer green around it. Only when we walked close to it did we realize it was bronze and had a name.
Since then, I’ve read quite a few articles about Pennone’s work, about his use of trees, seldom in leaf, to represent continuities and disruptions and more. I’ve learned that his trees have been installed in a dozen or more cities. But I’ve yet to see anyone suggest why he called this one the Tree of Vowels.
