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THE TREE
„For me there is no greater effigy of the world and life than the tree“
(Christian Morgenstern)
Trees are a necessity of life for human beings and animals. Through photosynthesis their leaves produce oxygen. We subsist on their fruit. The trunks and crowns of the trees offer shade and protect from sun, wind and rain. As a raw material, wood is used for construction and the manufacture of paper. When burnt, wood generates heat. For these same reasons, trees are of vital importance to the environment.
An important prerequisite for life, they actually also symbolise life and death. Year after year, throughout the seasons, broad-leaf trees sprout, bloom and grow afresh, then loose their leaves and stay barren over winter. In this they are considered to be a symbol for the transience and rebirth of life. Death is overcome by life through constant regeneration. Evergreen conifers and palm trees on the other hand are regarded as symbols for everlasting life and immortality.
Specific tree species are often related to human features and characteristics. The intimate connection of humans and trees is profusely recounted in folklore and fairy tales.
Trees are the subject of many mystical and mythological reinterpretations. Sacred groves of varying kinds were common practice in ancient times and still are today among many peoples. In ancient mythology the Tree of Life or World Tree is seen as a symbol for a cosmic dimension connecting heaven and earth.
Trees occur in most religions. For instance Buddha became enlightened while sitting under a fig tree. The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge are central to the book of Genesis in Judaism and Christianity. Mention is even made in the Koran of a mystical tree growing in Islamic Heaven. People in India revere the Banyan Tree. Hinduism features a tree growing the other way around with its roots stretching towards the heavens.
A Boston elm happened to become an important symbol for freedom shortly before the American war of independence. Symbolically but even literally as a place of assembly, the Tree of Freedom gains importance not only in America during the struggle for independence. It ultimately spreads to Europe and is used as an important symbol during the French and German revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Science uses the tree as a methodical instrument. Knowledge, information, data, thoughts are structured and presented in tree-shaped charts, in genealogical trees and organisational charts among others.
Trees are featured in many customs. Planting a tree when a child is born is a common practice in many countries of the world. Christmas trees and maypoles are popular western traditions symbolising the onset of winter and summer. Topping out in building construction often includes placing a tree on top of a new building to mark the completion of the structural work and truss.
Trees and humans are connected in many ways. A striking analogy can be found between the human anatomy and the outline of a tree. Blood vessels and nerves circulate through the human body like the roots and branches of a tree. A structure in the back part of our brain is even known as arbor vitae in medical terms.
The tree distinguishes itself in one important aspect though. Its life spans over countless human generations. And artists have forever used trees as a subject for their art, as a compositional element or, ever since the Romantic period, even as a conveyor of meaning.
