0:00:01.627,0:00:03.315
100 years ago,

0:00:03.339,0:00:06.654
there were 2,000 varieties of peaches,

0:00:06.678,0:00:10.454
nearly 2,000 different varieties of plums

0:00:10.478,0:00:14.748
and almost 800 named varieties[br]of apples growing in the United States.

0:00:15.333,0:00:17.820
Today, only a fraction of those remain,

0:00:17.844,0:00:22.115
and what is left is threatened[br]by industrialization of agriculture,

0:00:22.139,0:00:23.929
disease and climate change.

0:00:24.264,0:00:28.441
Those varieties that are threatened[br]include the Blood Cling,

0:00:28.465,0:00:33.186
a red-flesh peach brought[br]by Spanish missionaries to the Americas,

0:00:33.210,0:00:36.590
then cultivated by Native[br]Americans for centuries;

0:00:36.614,0:00:39.308
an apricot that was brought[br]by Chinese immigrants

0:00:39.332,0:00:42.546
who came to work[br]on the Transcontinental Railroad;

0:00:42.570,0:00:46.941
and countless varieties of plums[br]that originated in the Middle East

0:00:46.965,0:00:50.648
and were then brought by Italian,[br]French and German immigrants.

0:00:51.116,0:00:53.333
None of these varieties are indigenous.

0:00:53.357,0:00:57.663
In fact, almost all of our fruit trees[br]were brought here,

0:00:57.687,0:01:00.861
including apples and peaches and cherries.

0:01:01.395,0:01:02.758
So more than just food,

0:01:02.782,0:01:05.544
embedded within these fruit[br]is our culture.

0:01:06.176,0:01:09.007
It's the people who cared for[br]and cultivated them,

0:01:09.031,0:01:12.546
who valued them so much[br]that they brought them here with them

0:01:12.570,0:01:14.848
as a connection to their home,

0:01:14.872,0:01:17.832
and it's the way that they've passed[br]them on and shared them.

0:01:17.856,0:01:20.412
In many ways, these fruit are our story.

0:01:21.062,0:01:24.856
And I was fortunate enough[br]to learn about it

0:01:24.880,0:01:28.109
through an artwork that I created[br]entitled the "Tree of 40 Fruit."

0:01:28.133,0:01:30.721
The Tree of 40 Fruit is a single tree

0:01:30.745,0:01:33.597
that grows 40 different[br]varieties of stone fruit.

0:01:34.121,0:01:39.059
So that's peaches, plums, apricots,[br]nectarines and cherries

0:01:39.083,0:01:40.900
all growing on one tree.

0:01:40.924,0:01:44.677
It's designed to be a normal-looking tree[br]throughout the majority of the year,

0:01:44.701,0:01:48.239
until spring, when it blossoms[br]in pink and white

0:01:48.263,0:01:51.729
and then in summer,[br]bears a multitude of different fruit.

0:01:51.753,0:01:55.031
I began the project[br]for purely artistic reasons:

0:01:55.055,0:01:57.869
I wanted to change[br]the reality of the everyday,

0:01:57.893,0:01:59.053
and to be honest,

0:01:59.077,0:02:01.926
create this startling moment[br]when people would see this tree

0:02:01.950,0:02:05.308
blossom in all these different colors

0:02:05.332,0:02:07.164
and bear all of these different fruit.

0:02:07.188,0:02:10.424
I created the Tree of 40 Fruit[br]through the process of grafting.

0:02:10.782,0:02:13.729
I'll collect cuttings[br]in winter, store them,

0:02:13.753,0:02:16.919
and then graft them[br]onto the ends of branches in spring.

0:02:16.943,0:02:19.976
In fact, almost all[br]fruit trees are grafted,

0:02:20.000,0:02:23.843
because the seed of a fruit tree[br]is a genetic variant of the parent.

0:02:23.867,0:02:27.183
So when we find a variety[br]that we really like,

0:02:27.207,0:02:30.899
the way that we propagate it[br]is by taking a cutting off of one tree

0:02:30.923,0:02:32.392
and putting it onto another --

0:02:32.416,0:02:34.618
which is kind of crazy to think

0:02:34.642,0:02:38.700
that every single Macintosh apple[br]came from one tree

0:02:38.724,0:02:42.895
that's been grafted over and over[br]from generation to generation.

0:02:43.603,0:02:47.649
But it also means that fruit trees[br]can't be preserved by seed.

0:02:48.147,0:02:50.998
I've known about grafting[br]as long as I can remember.

0:02:51.022,0:02:53.950
My great-grandfather made a living[br]grafting peach orchards

0:02:53.974,0:02:55.807
in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

0:02:55.831,0:02:57.263
And although I never met him,

0:02:57.287,0:02:59.499
any time anyone would mention his name,

0:02:59.523,0:03:00.674
they were quick to note

0:03:00.698,0:03:04.456
that he knew how to graft as if he had[br]a magical or mystical capability.

0:03:04.817,0:03:07.817
I decided on the number 40[br]for the Tree of 40 Fruit

0:03:07.841,0:03:10.047
because it's found[br]throughout Western religion

0:03:10.071,0:03:12.968
as not the quantifiable dozen[br]and not the infinite

0:03:12.992,0:03:14.993
but a number that's beyond counting.

0:03:15.017,0:03:17.374
It's a bounty or a multitude.

0:03:17.791,0:03:19.792
But the problem was that when I started,

0:03:19.816,0:03:23.467
I couldn't find 40 different[br]varieties of these fruit,

0:03:23.491,0:03:26.293
and this is despite the fact[br]that I live in New York state,

0:03:26.317,0:03:27.767
which, a century ago,

0:03:27.791,0:03:30.210
was one of the leading[br]producers of these fruit.

0:03:30.582,0:03:33.154
So as they were tearing out[br]research orchards

0:03:33.178,0:03:34.538
and old, vintage orchards,

0:03:34.562,0:03:36.468
I would collect branches off them

0:03:36.492,0:03:38.635
and graft them onto trees in my nursery.

0:03:39.140,0:03:42.936
So this is what the Tree of 40 Fruit[br]look like when they were first planted,

0:03:42.960,0:03:45.233
and this is what they look like[br]six years later.

0:03:45.257,0:03:48.099
This is definitely not a sport[br]of immediate gratification --

0:03:48.123,0:03:49.717
(Laughter)

0:03:49.741,0:03:53.179
It takes a year to know[br]if a graft has succeeded;

0:03:53.203,0:03:56.349
it takes two to three years[br]to know if it produces fruit;

0:03:56.373,0:03:59.472
and it takes up to eight years[br]to create just one of the trees.

0:04:00.943,0:04:03.740
Each of the varieties grafted[br]to the Tree of 40 Fruit

0:04:03.764,0:04:06.700
has a slightly different form[br]and a slightly different color.

0:04:07.214,0:04:10.617
And I realized that by creating a timeline[br]of when all these blossomed

0:04:10.641,0:04:12.523
in relationship to each other,

0:04:12.547,0:04:17.078
I can essentially shape or design[br]how the tree appears during spring.

0:04:17.102,0:04:19.103
And this is how they appear during summer.

0:04:19.127,0:04:21.905
They produce fruit from June[br]through September.

0:04:21.929,0:04:24.489
First is cherries, then apricots,

0:04:24.513,0:04:27.823
Asian plums, nectarines and peaches,

0:04:27.847,0:04:30.167
and I think I forgot one[br]in there, somewhere ...

0:04:30.191,0:04:31.476
(Laughter)

0:04:31.500,0:04:34.518
Although it's an artwork[br]that exists outside of the gallery,

0:04:34.542,0:04:36.193
as the project continues,

0:04:36.217,0:04:39.149
it's been conservation[br]by way of the art world.

0:04:39.173,0:04:41.889
As I've been asked to create[br]these in different locations,

0:04:41.913,0:04:44.211
what I'll do is I'll research varieties

0:04:44.235,0:04:47.656
that originated or were[br]historically grown in that area,

0:04:47.680,0:04:50.618
I'll source them locally[br]and graft them to the tree

0:04:50.642,0:04:54.434
so that it becomes an agricultural history[br]of the area where they're located.

0:04:54.458,0:04:56.776
And then the project got picked up online,

0:04:56.800,0:04:59.054
which was horrifying and humbling.

0:04:59.078,0:05:02.903
The horrifying part[br]was all of the tattoos that I saw

0:05:02.927,0:05:04.782
of images of the Tree of 40 Fruit.

0:05:04.806,0:05:05.829
(Laughter)

0:05:05.853,0:05:08.480
Which I was like, "Why would[br]you do that to your body?"

0:05:08.504,0:05:09.599
(Laughter)

0:05:09.623,0:05:12.764
And the humbling part[br]was all of the requests that I received

0:05:12.788,0:05:15.719
from pastors, from rabbis and priests

0:05:15.743,0:05:18.902
who asked to use the tree[br]as a central part within their service.

0:05:18.926,0:05:20.569
And then it became a meme --

0:05:20.593,0:05:24.212
and the answer to that question[br]is "I hope not?"

0:05:24.236,0:05:26.450
[Is your marriage[br]like the Tree of 40 Fruit?]

0:05:26.474,0:05:27.625
(Laughter)

0:05:27.649,0:05:28.937
Like all good memes,

0:05:28.961,0:05:32.437
this has led to an interview[br]on NPR's "Weekend Edition,"

0:05:32.461,0:05:36.454
and as a college professor,[br]I thought I peaked --

0:05:36.478,0:05:38.821
like, that was the pinnacle[br]of my career --

0:05:38.845,0:05:42.116
but you never know who's listening to NPR.

0:05:42.140,0:05:45.472
And several weeks after the NPR interview,

0:05:45.496,0:05:47.926
I received an email[br]from the Department of Defense.

0:05:48.368,0:05:52.377
The Defense Advanced Research[br]Project Administration invited me

0:05:52.401,0:05:55.398
to come talk about[br]innovation and creativity,

0:05:55.422,0:05:59.406
and it's a conversation that quickly[br]shifted to a discussion of food security.

0:05:59.957,0:06:04.461
You see, our national security[br]is dependent upon our food security.

0:06:04.829,0:06:06.909
Now that we've created these monocultures

0:06:06.933,0:06:10.174
that only grow a few[br]varieties of each crop,

0:06:10.198,0:06:13.171
if something happens[br]to just one of those varieties,

0:06:13.195,0:06:15.882
it can have a dramatic impact[br]upon our food supply.

0:06:16.388,0:06:19.396
And the key to maintaining[br]our food security

0:06:19.420,0:06:21.385
is preserving our biodiversity.

0:06:21.690,0:06:26.125
100 years ago, this was done[br]by everybody that had a garden

0:06:26.149,0:06:28.673
or a small stand of trees[br]in their backyard,

0:06:28.697,0:06:31.784
and grew varieties that were[br]passed down through their family.

0:06:31.808,0:06:36.675
These are plums from just one Tree[br]of 40 Fruit in one week in August.

0:06:36.699,0:06:38.226
Several years into the project,

0:06:38.250,0:06:41.605
I was told that I have one of the largest[br]collections of these fruit

0:06:41.629,0:06:43.653
in the Eastern United States,

0:06:43.677,0:06:46.655
which, as an artist,[br]is absolutely terrifying.

0:06:46.679,0:06:47.829
(Laughter)

0:06:48.300,0:06:50.512
But in many ways,[br]I didn't know what I had.

0:06:50.536,0:06:53.026
I discovered that the majority[br]of the varieties I had

0:06:53.050,0:06:54.210
were heirloom varieties,

0:06:54.234,0:06:57.106
so those that were grown before 1945,

0:06:57.130,0:07:00.510
which is seen as the dawn[br]of the industrialization of agriculture.

0:07:01.059,0:07:04.725
Several of the varieties dated back[br]thousands and thousands of years.

0:07:05.864,0:07:09.047
And finding out how rare they were,

0:07:09.071,0:07:12.055
I became obsessed[br]with trying to preserve them,

0:07:12.079,0:07:13.897
and the vehicle for this became art.

0:07:13.921,0:07:17.061
I would go into old, vintage orchards[br]before they were torn out

0:07:17.085,0:07:19.430
and I would save the bowl[br]or the trunk section

0:07:19.454,0:07:21.618
that possessed the original graft union.

0:07:21.642,0:07:25.354
I started doing pressings[br]of flowers and the leaves

0:07:25.378,0:07:27.166
to create herbarium specimens.

0:07:27.190,0:07:29.341
I started to sequence the DNA.

0:07:29.365,0:07:33.068
But ultimately, I set out[br]to preserve the story

0:07:33.092,0:07:36.394
through these copper-plate etchings[br]and letterpress descriptions.

0:07:36.418,0:07:40.124
To tell the story of the George IV peach,

0:07:40.148,0:07:43.739
which took root between[br]two buildings in New York City --

0:07:43.763,0:07:46.348
someone walks by, tastes it,

0:07:46.372,0:07:49.780
it becomes a major commercial[br]variety in the 19th century

0:07:49.804,0:07:52.460
because it tastes just that good.

0:07:52.833,0:07:54.654
Then all but vanishes,

0:07:54.678,0:07:56.143
because it doesn't ship well

0:07:56.167,0:07:58.835
and it doesn't conform[br]to modern agriculture.

0:07:59.716,0:08:03.249
But I realize that as a story,[br]it needs to be told.

0:08:03.273,0:08:04.996
And in the telling of that story,

0:08:05.020,0:08:09.221
it has to include the experience[br]of being able to touch,

0:08:09.245,0:08:11.661
to smell and to taste those varieties.

0:08:11.685,0:08:13.857
So I set out to create an orchard

0:08:13.881,0:08:16.433
to make these fruit[br]available to the public,

0:08:16.457,0:08:19.721
and have the aim of placing them[br]in the highest density of people

0:08:19.745,0:08:21.531
that I could possibly find.

0:08:21.555,0:08:25.303
Naturally, I started looking for an acre[br]of land in New York City --

0:08:25.327,0:08:26.328
(Laughter)

0:08:26.352,0:08:30.732
which, in retrospect,[br]seemed, like, rather ambitious,

0:08:30.756,0:08:35.063
and probably the reason why nobody[br]was returning my phone calls or emails --

0:08:35.087,0:08:36.094
(Laughter)

0:08:36.118,0:08:41.167
until eventually, four years later,[br]I heard back from Governors Island.

0:08:41.191,0:08:44.626
So Governors Island is a former naval base

0:08:44.650,0:08:47.224
that was given[br]to the City of New York in 2000.

0:08:47.248,0:08:48.880
And it opened up all of this land

0:08:48.904,0:08:51.192
just a five-minute ferry ride[br]from New York.

0:08:51.216,0:08:55.630
And they invited me to create a project[br]that we're calling the "Open Orchard"

0:08:55.654,0:08:57.439
that will bring back fruit varieties

0:08:57.463,0:09:00.228
that haven't been grown[br]in New York for over a century.

0:09:00.721,0:09:02.183
Currently in progress,

0:09:02.207,0:09:06.369
The Open Orchard[br]will be 50 multigrafted trees

0:09:06.393,0:09:11.213
that possess 200 heirloom[br]and antique fruit varieties.

0:09:11.647,0:09:15.672
So these are varieties that originated[br]or were historically grown in the region.

0:09:16.049,0:09:18.616
Varieties like the Early Strawberry apple,

0:09:18.640,0:09:22.119
which originated on 13th Street[br]and Third Avenue.

0:09:22.143,0:09:25.111
Since a fruit tree[br]can't be preserved by seed,

0:09:25.135,0:09:28.007
The Open Orchard will act[br]like a living gene bank,

0:09:28.031,0:09:29.573
or an archive of these fruit.

0:09:29.597,0:09:30.984
Like the Tree of 40 Fruit,

0:09:31.008,0:09:32.389
it will be experiential;

0:09:32.413,0:09:34.183
it will also be symbolic.

0:09:34.207,0:09:39.167
Most importantly, it's going to invite[br]people to participate in conservation

0:09:39.191,0:09:41.332
and to learn more about their food.

0:09:41.356,0:09:42.852
Through the Tree of 40 Fruit,

0:09:42.876,0:09:45.686
I've received thousands[br]and thousands of emails from people,

0:09:45.710,0:09:49.143
asking basic questions[br]about "How do you plant a tree?"

0:09:49.661,0:09:51.817
With less than three percent[br]of the population

0:09:51.841,0:09:54.457
having any direct tie to agriculture,

0:09:54.481,0:09:57.021
the Open Orchard[br]is going to invite people

0:09:57.045,0:10:01.223
to come take part in public programming[br]and to take part in workshops,

0:10:01.247,0:10:05.510
to learn how to graft, to grow,[br]to prune and to harvest a tree;

0:10:05.534,0:10:08.383
to take part in fresh eating[br]and blossom tours;

0:10:08.407,0:10:11.082
to work with local chefs[br]to learn how to use these fruit

0:10:11.106,0:10:13.217
and to recreate centuries-old dishes

0:10:13.241,0:10:16.582
that many of these varieties[br]were grown specifically for.

0:10:16.606,0:10:18.940
Extending beyond the physical[br]site of the orchard,

0:10:18.964,0:10:22.344
it will be a cookbook[br]that compiles all of those recipes.

0:10:22.753,0:10:24.250
It will be a field guide

0:10:24.274,0:10:27.623
that talks about the characteristics[br]and traits of those fruit,

0:10:27.647,0:10:29.344
their origin and their story.

0:10:29.368,0:10:32.735
Growing up on a farm,[br]I thought I understood agriculture,

0:10:32.759,0:10:35.064
and I didn't want anything to do with it.

0:10:35.523,0:10:37.087
So I became an artist --

0:10:37.111,0:10:39.059
(Laughter)

0:10:39.377,0:10:42.798
But I have to admit that it's something[br]within my own DNA.

0:10:43.358,0:10:45.295
And I don't think that I'm the only one.

0:10:45.721,0:10:50.829
100 years ago, we were all much more[br]closely tied to the culture,

0:10:50.853,0:10:53.845
the cultivation[br]and the story of our food,

0:10:53.869,0:10:55.641
and we've been separated from that.

0:10:56.259,0:10:58.623
The Open Orchard creates the opportunity

0:10:58.647,0:11:02.234
not just to reconnect[br]to this unknown past,

0:11:02.258,0:11:05.913
but a way for us to consider[br]what the future of our food could be.

0:11:06.428,0:11:07.579
Thank you.

0:11:07.603,0:11:11.436
(Applause)