Tree Again

Tree Again (1978) uses an expired roll of highly sensitive infra-red color film, a type which (usually) has to be developed within a very short period of time; courting its chance effects, Kren experimented with various exposures of a splendid tree surrounded by bushes and a stretch of pastureland over a period of several weeks, from summer to autumn. He said, “I didn´t have much hope – (I knew) it was a crazy thing to do.” But Kren´s illogical hope and his unshakeable confidence in his material were rewarded. Tree Again became one of Kren´s most beautiful works […] The tree, the field, the sky, in fact the entire picture radiates an unusual, almost eerie artistry, with its rapidly changing blue, green and reddish hues, sometimes brightly illuminated for the fraction of a second like the flash of lightening in a Technicolor horror film. Or a sky of deep blue with clouds scudding across it, an airplane drawing condensation trails which fade away imperceptibly, the abrupt juxtaposition of sun and shadow and the strong, gusty movement of the wind amongst branches and leaves, as though an endless and destructive storm were at work. An apocalyptic picture, yet one that is full of a wonderful, quiet beauty – the changing of the sun, and the play of light, how autumn arrives in a matter of seconds and the leaves begin to fall, the shadows of grazing animals which appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. (Hans Hurch 2007,Six Pack Film)