# Has this "artist" spent much time in a real forest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 7, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838 "2019-09-07T15:46:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/21 "2019-09-07T20:08:15Z")
Living trees were used. I was thinking of realism or perhaps hyperrealism art. Anyway, I misunderstood what the artist was trying to accomplish. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/22 "2019-09-07T20:26:06Z")
I think you have it now, Ace. The Art made you _think_, that’s the highest praise you can bestow on an Artist. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/23 "2019-09-07T20:26:54Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Living trees were used. I was thinking of realism or perhaps hyperrealism art. > > Anyway, I misunderstood what the artist was trying to accomplish. If only there was a way to easily determine his intent prior to making the post. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2019, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/24 "2019-09-07T21:04:14Z")
I grew up next to national forest and hike semi-regularly. The trees look reasonably spaced to me, but I’ve seen ones further apart and closer together; it depends on the type of tree. Whether the artist got it right for these particular types of tree, I could not say, but the overhead shot of how close the furthest leaves are from one tree to the furthest leaves of the next tree seems good to me in terms of access to light. My guess would be that you simply live in an area with tree types that need more room. ---
**Author:** ![Deltree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Deltree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deltree)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/25 "2019-09-08T02:37:38Z")
While it’s true that the ‘forest’ there is unnatural looking, you’re wrong about this: > [@aceplace57](#): > > LOL They planted the trees much to closely together. Disease will easily pass from tree to tree. Creating a fire hazard. The trees in the forest behind my house (that’s considerably older than me, and I’m more than a half-century old) are much closer together than the (obviously) artificial ‘forest’ in those pictures, and my (actually my neighbor owns it, but I walk in it) forest is quite healthy, thank-you-very-much. The trees in the (totally natural, and unmodified by humans for over 200 years) state forest 30 miles away from me that I go to occasionally are about the same distance apart as the ones in those pictures (much closer in some spots). That forest, too, is quite healthy. The brush, vines, and stuff at ground level of both are much thicker than that. You need a machete to get through it in some places. No fire hazard. There hasn’t been a forest fire in this region in anyone’s living memory. You appear to be assuming that what you are personally familiar with is typical of everywhere, which is always a very bad assumption to make. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/26 "2019-09-08T02:48:11Z")
Am I the only one who clicked the first link in the OP, and then wondered what the heck art **aceplace57** was talking about? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/27 "2019-09-08T02:51:08Z")
^ You are not the only one, but I had thumbs to twiddle. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/28 "2019-09-08T02:55:57Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I think the artist is missing the point that unused land is reclaimed quickly by nature. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is an example. It’s filled with trees and wildlife. This is also true of the Korean DMZ. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/29 "2019-09-08T06:49:10Z")
This thread is the first time I’ve ever encountered someone \*literally \*not seeing the forest for the trees. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/30 "2019-09-08T07:23:59Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > I have visited areas in nature where the trees were that thick. The bottom of Pyrenaic north sides is like that. The species in the exhibit are more mixed than in the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, but aside from that it looks like pictures I could take anywhere in that zone where I can see a northern side clearly. A lot of the Pyrenees have a shape similar to [Arthur’s Seat](https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/lothian/arthurs-seat.shtml) or to the hill atop which Edinburgh Castle sits; please check the second view. The long, soft, walkable slope is the south, whereas the north side is a sharp cliff. The area below the cliff will be covered in grass and trees, and have similar species as a south-side climb at similar heights but occupying bands which are much narrower in terms of actual physical space. Take a pic of a southern slope, you’ll be lucky to see more than one species of trees; take one of a northern slope’s bottom and you easily have four different-colored bands. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/31 "2019-09-08T09:13:12Z")
What makes it look unnatural to me isn’t how close the trees are- there’s plenty of woodland near here with trees closer together than that- it’s that they’re too evenly spaced. There’s also no dead bits, shorter spindly trees that are being outcompeted or bare lower branches on the central trees, which natural dense woodland should have. Eye catching project though, but I’m sure glad it’s not my job to restore the grass on the pitch to playable condition afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/32 "2019-09-08T15:55:05Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > What makes it look unnatural to me isn’t how close the trees are- there’s plenty of woodland near here with trees closer together than that- it’s that they’re too evenly spaced. There’s also no dead bits, shorter spindly trees that are being outcompeted or bare lower branches on the central trees, which natural dense woodland should have. I’ve encountered real world examples of this. Back during the depression, the CCC paid people to plant saplings. And they generally planted them in a grid. I once walked through one of these forests, decades later when the trees were grown. It generally looked like a normal natural forest. But if you stood in certain spots, you’d realize the trees lined up. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/33 "2019-09-09T14:09:50Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ve encountered real world examples of this. Back during the depression, the CCC paid people to plant saplings. And they generally planted them in a grid. I once walked through one of these forests, decades later when the trees were grown. It generally looked like a normal natural forest. But if you stood in certain spots, you’d realize the trees lined up. Israel is full of forests like that. When you want to turn the desert green, you set about doing it systematically. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/34 "2019-09-09T14:30:28Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > This thread is the first time I’ve ever encountered someone \*literally \*not seeing the forest for the trees. “Hello, park rangers? I’d like to report a serious burn.” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/35 "2019-09-09T14:33:28Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Israel is full of forests like that. When you want to turn the desert green, you set about doing it systematically. Lots of areas with absurdly orderly trees in Spain too (mostly repopulation after fires) and Sweden (where I understand it’s wood farms). I remember my father making us check out how the trees were all lined up and explaining that this was a repopulated area, telling us about forest fires, etc. I’ve seen other parents do the same with their own children. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/36 "2019-09-12T06:21:02Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I understand the artist means well. He just badly missed the mark. His forrest hurts my eyes. > > This is a forrest I’d enjoy visiting. Absolutely breathtaking and uplifting. It’s humbling to see the true beauty nature can produce. > [Browns Ferry Hike - Hiking in Portland, Oregon and Washington](https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Browns_Ferry_Hike) > > Ok, I know my Sierra Club affiliation is showing. I won’t hug any trees. 😉 HIS forest hurts your eyes? Well, YOUR “forrest” hurts MINE! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/37 "2019-09-12T11:08:31Z")
Yes, and that \*\*Picasso guy should learn the people’s faces aren’t made up of cubes. It’s an _art installation_, people. It is not a nature preserve. It is not intended to be representational, but rather is designed to get people to look at the forest (and a football stadium) in a new way. It is designed to make people think and talk about the issues of nature vs. human influence. ,., In that way, this thread shows it’s hugely successful. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838/38 "2019-09-12T11:43:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Am I the only one who clicked the first link in the OP, and then wondered what the heck art **aceplace57** was talking about? You’re not the only one. That’s what I did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-this-artist-spent-much-time-in-a-real-forest/839838.md?page=1)