The Tree of 40 Fruit: How a Hybrid Art Piece Grafts Mysticism Onto Agriculture

WASHINGTON — As an artist, Sam Van Aken tends to work with some unusual media.

While others are content to follow their vision using pencils, brushes and a canvas, he’s using weather balloons, planes and clouds.

He also uses more-terrestrial media, and one example will be on display this weekend at the Smithsonian Institution.

Van Aken’s “Tree of 40 Fruit” is a series of hybridized fruit trees. Through grafting, he’s grown over 40 varieties of stone fruits — such as plums, apricots and cherries — on an individual tree.

“I wanted to have a tree that blossomed in different colors,” said the Syracuse University professor, who learned about grafting as a child.

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Van Aken’s “Tree of 40 Fruit” is a series of hybridized fruit trees. One will be will be on display Friday through Sunday as part of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History\u2019s ACCelerate Creativity and Innovation Festival. (Courtesy Sam Van Aken)\n","ampmedia":"\n\n\t\t","alt":""},{"type":"photo","media":"

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Through grafting, Van Aken is been able to grow over 40 varieties of stone fruits \u2014 such as plums, apricots and cherries \u2014 on an individual tree. (Courtesy Sam Van Aken)\n","ampmedia":"\n\n\t\t","alt":""},{"type":"photo","media":"

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As an artwork, he said, the tree has layers of symbolism built into it. “They’re almost like Frankenstein trees,” he said, “but then they can also operate in a completely different, almost sacred-like layer.” (Courtesy Sam Van Aken)\n","ampmedia":"\n\n\t\t","alt":""},{"type":"photo","media":"

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The work of crafting these trees is slow trial and error: It takes a few years to know whether a graft has truly taken. Van Aken controls it all with strategic graft placement and pruning, as well as working around each fruit’s growth cycle. (Courtesy Sam Van Aken)\n","ampmedia":"\n\n\t\t","alt":""},{"type":"ad","media":"

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