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Takaezu - 1 - 46

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Q: I did see upstairs those tree forms.

Takaezu: I'll tell you how tree forms started. I went to the island of Hawaii when I was artist-in-residence. The big island.

Q: How recently was that?

Takaezu: Oh, about 1973, I guess.

Q: How did that fit in between Cleveland and Princeton?

Takaezu: Oh, that was during the summer. No, no, during Christmas vacation. Mid-December till the first of February I used to take off. Because we have between semesters and reading period and all that. And at that time I wasn't giving exams. Even now I could do that. But I went to the island of Hawaii for one month to be artist-in-residence, and we went to the volcano area. And in this volcano area, when the lava flowed, it destroyed all the trees. And there's a place called Devastation Forest. It's devastated. No trees. But when you look at some of the tree stumps, it's very surrealistic. Acres and acres of nothing. It's beautiful. There's a walkway. I just went there about two months ago.
And so that gave me a feeling and I wanted to make something.