Bagge and Feller Tree of Life Statement


Created for JPL’s Tree of Life project, we focused on making a piece that could be used as promotional material for the project. One facet of concern that came up during the meeting with the A-Team was how to keep the project relevant and exciting for the average person. Therefore, we made a poster that communicated artistry and mystery in order to engage the viewer. The aspect of making art that can be reproduced and relevant was important to us. Much like Dan Goods of JPL explained about his Vintage Travel Poster project, NASA is a government organization. Creating a work that allows all usage rights is a way to give back to the community that funds the projects. We wanted our poster to be an addition to the shareable body of work. Additionally, since the Tree of Life project is not set to launch for another fifty years, we wanted our contribution to be in a form that will remain popular. Poster usage dates back centuries and we predict will be around for centuries more.
One aspect of the Tree of Life project kept glaring at us: the relation back to humans. How can we even interpret these messages from a pear tree? How can we interpret it without the human influence personifying the signals? While the viewer may not notice it at first, the tree in our poster includes the shapes of human bodies grown into the branches. This was to address and encompass the fact that any information gleaned from these tree signals is ultimately a collaborative interpretation between the tree and ourselves (humans). This is a project that is beyond the intention of research. It promotes understanding and a symbolic marriage of species. Hopefully, it can open doors for trees and humans alike to foster productive interactions. 
In our poster, we wanted to create a tagline that encompassed the project. The true essence of the Tree of Life is the signaling between the tree and the CubeSat receiver in space. We decided on the phrase “from our roots...to the stars” as it succinctly describes the range of the communication loop. The word “roots” implies a deep, earthy groundedness while “stars” are often used as a metaphor for following a dream or achieving greatness (i.e. the idiom “shoot for the stars”). The tagline is subversively a reference to humble beginnings being destined for incredible discovery (much like any project in JPL’s legacy). It is simultaneously a declaration of intent and a wish for the future of the project. 

For our approach to this project, we wanted to do a more creative form of collaboration. We decided to mimic the signals of the tree and the Cubesat and just send versions of the poster back and forth with our edits. We did not come up with a specific game plan before creating the work. It was done separately at different times. First, LakeLyn came up with the tree sketch. Dara then colored and added the leaves and background. When Dara sent it back to LakeLyn, she added text saying “TREE OF LIFE”. Dara then modified the font and added the tagline. While the project was collaborative, we “sent signals” back and forth without outside communication of the intention-- only editing the work itself. Ultimately, this work was inspired in content and process by the Tree of Life project. We hope this poster can be shared and loved for years to come as JPL gears up to send the first CubeSat into space.

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