Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time & Technology
Getty's PST ART Art & Science Collide
First exhibited at The Skirball Cultural Center, in Los Angeles to
great critical and popular acclaim and now is traveling to
di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art’s new location ​in San Francisco
Jan, 20 to April 11th, 2026
THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE
Reclaimed eucalyptus
8.5' x 8.5' x 3' ​
Edition varie 1 to 5
10,000 lbs
2024
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Framed print
6’ x 6’ x 2”
Edition 1 of 5 + 2AP
2024
Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg with their sculpture,Tree of Knowledge. The artists used pyrography to burn over 160 historical questions that underlie our collective pursuit of knowledge into a 10,000-pound, salvaged Eucalyptus tree section. Questions include: “Do we have free will?” “Is there a grand unified theory of physics?”“Can machines be truly intelligent?” What is the meaning of life?
A mind-bending installation..." ~
From the Biblical story of Adam and Eve to the Bodhi Tree in Buddhism, trees have long been associated with knowledge and enlightenment. Nodding to the value placed on asking questions within Jewish tradition, the artists adopted a massive fallen eucalyptus tree to represent the Tree of Knowledge and etched it with fundamental questions that have inspired our collective pursuit of knowledge.
Tiffany Shlain
Ken Goldberg
