Mitch Epstein
Photographer
2023 - 2024 Pando Artist In Residence
Pando: By Mitch Epstein
I first learned about Pando when I read the novel The Overstory by Richard Powers. Powers describes a single tree cloning itself into thousands of stems and renewing perpetually for millennia; I was moved and baffled that this could exist. A year later, when I was doing research for my project Old Growth, I remembered the novel’s vivid descriptions of Pando and set out to learn more.
Old Growth took five years to complete. I first traveled to many established old growth forests in the United States and eventually sought out forests that were not officially classified as old growth. There is no one definition for an old growth forest. It varies greatly depending on whom you ask. The Forest Service used to say it was an area where trees were diseased and dying and had outlived their economic value—code for, “too old to be logged.”
But increasingly, ecologists recognize old growth as lands where, as forest researcher Robert Leverett puts it, “mother nature works its magic for several centuries or more; where processes of renewal go on unhampered by humans or natural catastrophes.” Ancient and young trees live together and share resources in an expansive, interdependent community. It made sense to incorporate Pando into my project.
I was fortunate to be accepted into the Pando Artists Residency program. I prepared for my stay by studying work from past artist residents. Among those who influenced and inspired me the most was Jeff Rice, who deployed above and below ground mikes to record the voice of Pando. Listening to his sound work activated my visual imagination. I also studied photographs previously made at Pando by an array of photographers; and although other pictures conveyed aspects of Pando, I felt that it would be possible to make a different kind of picture that conjured the seemingly infinite multiplicity of Pando.
"I felt that it would be possible to make a different kind of picture that conjured the seemingly infinite multiplicity of Pando."
Pando creates an illusion of infinity that called to mind the labyrinthian and disorienting space of a mirrored fun house. With that in mind, I explored Pando from multiple vantages, looking for opportunities to communicate this sense of infinity in my photographs. Working with an 8×10 field camera, I was able to photograph Pando’s layered spatial depth.
Pando is all the more remarkable as a botanical phenomenon because much of it grows out of volcanic rock. Trees that grow out of rocks are a small miracle.
When I arrived, Lance Oditt, founder and director of Friends of Pando, oriented me to the world’s largest tree and loaned me a satellite phone in case of an emergency since Pando has no cellular service. I then wandered extensively and eventually found myself at the tree’s center, where it feels invincible because it goes on seemingly forever, with no visible limits. But when I walked along the periphery of Pando, where there are fences to protect it from deer, I could see that it was vulnerable to wildlife and human incursion. It was disturbing to see that some stems were graffitied and to see that a road runs straight through it. Pando has endured drought, fire, and human development with an astonishing ability to rejuvenate. It is ineffably resilient, yet in the modern world, where recreational development looms, it also depends on our protection.
My photographs of Pando and other old growth forests give viewers a glimpse into the precious remains of the pre-colonial United States, an interconnected land rich in resources and diversity, largely unharvested by human industry. They are also a meditation on time and what it means for trees to live across several human lifetimes. My hope is that my work will communicate the magnitude, complexity, and magic of old growth, and the altogether exceptional Pando.
Mitch Epstein
April 16, 2024
Purchase "Old Growth" by Mitch Epstein (Steidl Books)
From Publishing House, Steidl
With Old Growth, American photographer Mitch Epstein invites readers into a diverse transcontinental forest that includes white pines, hemlocks, sequoias, moss-covered cedars, bald cypresses and bristlecone pines that have survived for millennia. The book explores the enigma of time, while also evoking the forests’ historical struggle to survive American expansionism. Over the past 500 years, Americans have destroyed more than 95 percent of the original forests in the United States. Yet, these are indispensable in the fight against climate change—large, old trees hold significantly more carbon than replanted saplings.
Old Growth highlights the astounding diversity, interdependence and sculptural beauty of America’s ancient forests. Made with an 8×10 camera in color and black and white, Epstein’s images convey nuances of the forest that people cannot normally see, in the hope that gaining proximity to these epic, life-giving trees could inspire us to protect them. To borrow from ecologist Suzanne Simard, this book is not simply about how we can save trees; it is about how the trees might save us.
Artist Bio
Born in Massachusetts in 1952, I grew up in America’s postwar economic boom. Like previous generations of Americans, mine did not question the limits of our resources. But by the time I graduated high school in 1970, the first Earth Day had sounded the alarm that we were depleting and destroying the natural resources we needed to survive. For the next half-century, my work would reflect my deepening sense of the nation’s growing social and environmental crises. American Power (2003-2008), New York Arbor (2011-2012), and Property Rights (2017-2020) all demonstrate my long interest in American culture, and increasingly in the costs of unbridled consumption.
My Old Growth project calls attention to the astounding energy, diversity, interdependence, and sculptural beauty of America’s oldest trees, which are increasingly endangered by aggressive logging and climate chaos. Over the past 500 years, Americans have destroyed more than 95 percent of their original forests.
These forests have become indispensable in the fight against climate change. Young trees hold significantly less carbon from the atmosphere than large, old ones; replanting saplings is simply not a solution to the loss of old growth. Our future depends on allowing more forests to fully mature. To borrow from ecologist Suzanne Simard, this project is not simply about how we can save trees. It is about how the trees might save us.
I use a large format camera to convey nuances—the mythic proportions and phenomenal details—of old growth forests that people cannot normally see. Gaining proximity to these epic, life-giving trees could inspire us to protect them.
While Pando is not technically “old growth,” it is breathtakingly ancient and immense. Pando’s ability to rejuvenate —enduring drought, fire, and human development—make it noteworthy among large, mature trees in the United States, as well as unique unto itself.
Old Growth both pays homage to our magnificent arboreal ancestors and evokes America’s struggle to break from its self-destructive legacy.
Works by Mitch Epstein About Trees
Copyright Mitch Epstein, Used with permission
Friends of Pando is dedicated and working to educate the public, support research and preservation efforts and inspire stewardship of Pando, the world’s largest tree.
Friends of Pando is a proud partner of Pando’s public land stewards, Fishlake National Forest of the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture. Learn more about our partnership.
Friends of Pando and its partners are equal opportunity employers.
Just $14 a month supports work to ensure Pando can be enjoyed for generations to come. Make a one-time or, recurring tax deductible donation today.
Friends of Pando
PO Box 12
Richfield, UT, 84701
Phone: 435-633-1893
IRS EIN: 87-3958681
