MIRROR/METAL TREE (TREE III)

This Tree is a collaboration between Bob Benson and Rick Ames created in the fall of 2005. Ames welded the metal frame and branches which can be seen below (second row left), along with a picture of the "Tree" with only a few decorations on it (second row middle), and the way the Tree looked at night with more decorations (second row right). Many more strands of mirrors and other decorations were added. The picture at top right is the way it looked for almost three years in Bob's front yard. It is "weather proof" and in the snow was particularly beautiful (top row right), and there also is a close-up of a "snow scene."

In the next row you can see another picture of the tree, as well as Bob's front yard (the Tree cannot be seen as it is in the back right side of the yard), and another live tree that is heavily decorated. In the fall of 2007, the mirror/metal tree was moved to the main outside entrance to the American Visionary Art Museum where it is now a permanent installation. For this purpose it was necessary to make some changes, primarily placing the Tree on top of a 7 ft. "trunk" for safety purposes. The tree was then augmented (three more branches were added to the bottom), and numerous new mirror decorations were made for it. It is now about 21 feet high, compared with 8 ft. in its original form. The last three pictures below show the Tree as it appears on Key Highway in front of AVAM

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