{"id":15612,"date":"2013-10-10T00:01:45","date_gmt":"2013-10-10T07:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/barbarafalconernewhall.com\/?p=15612"},"modified":"2013-10-10T00:01:45","modified_gmt":"2013-10-10T07:01:45","slug":"the-ghost-of-300-million-drought-killed-trees-hovers-over-a-lake-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/the-ghost-of-300-million-drought-killed-trees-hovers-over-a-lake-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ghost of 300 Million Drought-Killed Trees Hovers Over a Lake in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Ghost Tree as seen from the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge in Austin, Texas. The old Lamar Bridge is in the background. Photo by BF Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Barbara Falconer Newhall<\/em><\/p>\n

Some temporary art installations \u2013 you\u2019re glad they\u2019re temporary.<\/p>\n

The half-submerged red sedan in the rhino exhibit at the Sch\u00f6nbrunn Zoo<\/a> in Vienna is a good example.<\/p>\n

So are the hokey light projections of Danish artist Asbjoern Skou.<\/p>\n

Ditto the wind-battered half-mile of plastic trash bags that a white-booted woman named Sheri strung across Nevada\u2019s Black Rock Desert for the Burning Man<\/a> festivities of 2008.<\/p>\n

As you can see, I can get annoyed easily in the presence of a temporary art installation.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it’s because the rationale behind the art work is way too rational<\/em> for my taste. Skou, as an example, describes his work as \u201cconcerned with investigating the peripheral and hidden<\/p>\n

\"As<\/a>
Some 14,000 prayer flags were strung along a 2.5-mile loop, including the circular path leading from the pedestrian bridge down to Lady Bird Lake. Photo by BF Newhal<\/em>l<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

structures of actual spaces and discourse, and communicating these in attempts to navigate and negotiate their identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huh?<\/p>\n

Even more annoying are the artists who take out their frustration with modern life by running<\/p>\n

\"People<\/a>
The pedestrian bridge attracts runners, walkers, bicyclists and loafers. Photo by BF Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

roughshod over the viewer. The massive oil pump plopped ironically in the penguins\u2019 enclosure at the Vienna zoo, for instance, feels a bit mean-spirited to me.<\/p>\n

And finally, I wonder if some artists fear their authenticity creds will be endangered if they venture to create something beautiful. So many works of art, namely Sheri\u2019s string of 2663 trashy trash bags, are just plain ugly to the eye.<\/p>\n

That’s what was running through my head as I took in the beautiful, thoughtful Ghost Tree hovering over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas, last week.<\/p>\n

Placed there by a group called Women & Their Work as a temporary art installation called<\/p>\n

\"Motorists<\/a>
Motorists on Lamar Bridge can get a glimpse of the Ghost Tree. Photo by BF Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

THIRST, the Ghost Tree and the white prayer flags strung nearby are my idea of a really cool temporary art installation. Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n