Strong Roots : By Emily Krill

29 Apr

I created this piece for the Pittsburgh Foundation's newly renovated office. It measures 4 feet by 5 feet and is a simple cut-and-paste collage constructed from antique and vintage paper.
I wanted to make a Tree of Life for this project, and I chose an apple tree because it is common in the region. The pale blue sky and vibrant green leaves are made from blank pages of a 1922 ledger painted with ink. The yellow apples are ink-washed 1910 meeting minutes, and the tree trunk and roots are acrylic paint on 140 lb cold press watercolor paper. I used Gator Board for the substrate.
The subterranean level of the collage was created using the pages of a hardware store ledger from 1945, the year that the foundation was established. It's an ephemeral record of daily life measured in nuts and bolts.
I was interested in the idea that the tree's roots are the unseen foundation of the outwardly beautiful tree. The Pittsburgh Foundation's benefits to the community are easy to see. But the real work happens in the offices: the organization's roots.
So, I called the piece "Strong Roots". I loved having the chance to work large and use found materials. It lends the collage a lived-in feeling, which is what I am always going for in my work. I believe that art should be like the City of Pittsburgh: liveable.