Sam Van Aken

Sam Van Aken is a contemporary artist who works beyond traditional modes of art making, crossing artistic genres and traditional disciplines to develop new perspectives on such themes as communication, botany, agriculture, climatology, and the ever-increasing impact of technology. Employing “anti-structures and unknowing as generative processes”, Van Aken’s interventions in the natural and public realm are seen as metaphors that serve as the basis of narrative, sites of place making, and in some cases even become the basis of scientific research.
http://samvanaken.com
USA

Artwork:
Tree of 40 Fruit

Tree Diagrams

Tree Diagrams

(above) A diagram for a full grown tree that is five years old.
(below) The four diagrams for the trees that were part of Agrikultura.
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Tree of 40 Fruit Grafting Workshop

Tree of 40 Fruit Grafting Workshop

Saturday July 22, Sunday July 23, Saturday July 28
11:00 – 13:00 Join Sam Van Aken for workshops to learn tree grafting techniques and the importance of heritage fruits in Skåne at ... More Information
Sam Van Aken collecting cuttings for Tree of 40 Fruits workshops

Sam Van Aken collecting cuttings for Tree of 40 Fruits workshops

On 20 July, Sam Van Aken visited the incredibly beautiful Fredriksdal Open Air Museum in Helsingborg where he met with head gardener Sarah Utter, and collected cuttings from several older varieties of ... More Information
Trees of 40 fruit planted

Trees of 40 fruit planted

Sam’s apple and cherry trees have been planted by Lars Qvint’s students at Hvilan utbildning. Sam will be assisted by Daniel Wilby, who will collect and write backstories to the ... More Information
One plum tree and one apple tree

One plum tree and one apple tree

To begin the process of “building” the Tree of 40 Fruit, Sam van Aken will first plant a single tree, which will be grafted during the course of Agrikultura. We ... More Information