We already know that you, dear Carl, are well acquainted with Buckthorn. After being used as freshman slave labor to clear the stuff during New Student Week, you probably know more about the plant than any sane person should.
But perhaps you’ll find the latest Buckthorn update intriguing.
Rather than simply pulling the wicked little beasts, Minnesota Artist Jim proctor has taken a more creative approach to fighting back. With his Upper Arb installation “The Buckthorn Menace,” Proctor is turning the uprooted plants into works of art.
To quickly remind you of this plant’s perniciousness: Buckthorn is an invasive species that takes over woody areas, growing like crazy, and killing any other species that get in its path. The secret to its success is that it leafs out earlier and stays leafed out later than most other species that grow around here. These leaves provide such a dense shade that other plants can’t grow.
But the Buck doesn’t stop there! It also has an ability called allelopathy, meaning that its roots exude toxins that kill nearby plants. It provides a haven for ticks, which helps spread Lyme disease. And, it’s a cathartic – so when birds eat the berries, they get explosive diarrhea. Yep. Such indigestion helps buckthorn spread its seeds, but watch out for your head and shoulders if you see any birds flying overhead.
Aware of Buckthorn’s destructive traits, Proctor hopes to use his artistry to raise environmental awareness and help combat the problem. His key goal was to take something unwanted and create a work of art with it. As an extension to this semi-Dadaist aim, he wants the project to be a volunteer and community effort.
Proctor’s au-naturale art approach was sparked during his undergrad work at St. Olaf (Insert wisecrack here). As an Ole Art major, he experimented with different materials to use in his paintings. One day, in frustration, he stapled a tree branch to his painting. A new era in the history of art was born. Today he has coined his art process “creating plant fiction.” In sum, he takes parts from different plants and rearranges them to make new, imaginary plants. Basically, he builds Frankenplants, and the Buckthorn Menace is his most recent.
The Buckthorn Menace will be built in two Northfield locations – one in the Upper Arb and the other behind the new science building at St. Olaf. Installation is expected to take three weeks. A slew of volunteers, will uproot small buckthorn and strip the branches off the large buckthorn. Each of these pieces will be inserted into perforated wooden balls (think my-size-Tinkertoy-barrels). The large buckthorn branches will serve as a foundation for the balls. The smaller buckthorn sections will be inserted into the drilled holes.
And the final thing? Something to the effect of giant, sinister, mutant dandelions. Aren’t they lovely?
Sound like fun? You can volunteer by signing up at https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/gallery/buckthorn/. You can see more of Jim Proctor’s Frankenplants at www.mnartists.org/Jim_Proctor.
