How one tree grows 40 different kinds of fruit | Sam Van Aken

Translator: Emma Gro Helles Reviewer: Emma Toft

100 years ago,

For 100 år siden,

there were 2,000 varieties of peaches,

var der 2.000 sorter af ferskener,

nearly 2,000 different varieties of plums

næsten 2.000 forskellige blommer

and almost 800 named varieties of apples growing in the United States.

og næsten 800 navngivne sorter af æbler, der voksede i de Forenede Stater.

Today, only a fraction of those remain,

I dag er kun en brøkdel af dem tilbage

and what is left is threatened by industrialization of agriculture,

og dét, der er tilbage, er truet af industrialiseringen af landbruget,

disease and climate change.

sygdom og klimaændringer.

Those varieties that are threatened include the Blood Cling,

De truede sorter inkluderer "Blood Cling",

a red-flesh peach brought by Spanish missionaries to the Americas,

en fersken med rødt frugtkød som blev bragt til Amerika af spanske missionærer

then cultivated by Native Americans for centuries;

og dyrket af indianerne i århundreder;

an apricot that was brought by Chinese immigrants

en abrikos der kom med kinesiske immigranter

who came to work on the Transcontinental Railroad;

som kom for at arbejde på den transkontinentale jernbane;

and countless varieties of plums that originated in the Middle East

og utallige sorter af blommer som stammede fra Mellemøsten

and were then brought by Italian, French and German immigrants.

og kom med italienske, franske og tyske indvandrere.

None of these varieties are indigenous.

Ingen af disse sorter er oprindeligt herfra

In fact, almost all of our fruit trees were brought here,

Faktisk blev næsten alle vores frugttræer bragt hertil,

including apples and peaches and cherries.

inklusive æbler og ferskener og kirsebær.

So more than just food,

Så mere end bare mad,

embedded within these fruit is our culture.

indlejret i disse frugter er vores kultur.

It's the people who cared for and cultivated them,

Det er de folk, der dyrkede og plejede dem

who valued them so much that they brought them here with them

som skattede dem så højt at de tog dem hertil med dem

as a connection to their home,

som en forbindelse til deres hjem

and it's the way that they've passed them on and shared them.

og det er måden hvorpå de har videregivet og delt dem.

In many ways, these fruit are our story.

På mange måder, er disse frugter vores historie.

And I was fortunate enough to learn about it

Og jeg var heldig nok til at lære om det

through an artwork that I created entitled the "Tree of 40 Fruit."

igennem et kunstværk, som jeg skabte, med titlen "Tree of 40 Fruit."

The Tree of 40 Fruit is a single tree

Tree of 40 Fruit er et enkelt træ,

that grows 40 different varieties of stone fruit.

som der vokser 40 sorter af stenfrugter på.

So that's peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines and cherries

Så det er ferskener, blommer, aprikoser, nektariner og kirsebær,

all growing on one tree.

som allesammen gror på det samme træ.

It's designed to be a normal-looking tree throughout the majority of the year,

Det er designet til at ligne et normalt træ gennem størstedelen af året

until spring, when it blossoms in pink and white

indtil det, om foråret, blomstrer lyserødt og hvidt

and then in summer, bears a multitude of different fruit.

og så bærer det, om sommeren, en mangfoldighed af forskellige frugter.

I began the project for purely artistic reasons:

Jeg startede projektet af kunstneriske årsager:

I wanted to change the reality of the everyday,

Jeg ville ændre hverdagens virkelighed

and to be honest,

og for at være ærlig,

skabe dette overraskende øjeblik hvor folk kunne se træet

create this startling moment when people would see this tree

blossom in all these different colors

blomstre i alle de forskellige farver

and bear all of these different fruit.

og bære alle disse forskellige frugter.

I created the Tree of 40 Fruit through the process of grafting.

Jeg skabte træet med 40 frugter ved podning.

I'll collect cuttings in winter, store them,

Jeg samler afklipninger om vinteren, opbevarer dem

and then graft them onto the ends of branches in spring.

og poder dem så på enden af grenene om foråret.

In fact, almost all fruit trees are grafted,

Faktisk, er næsten alle frugttræer podet

because the seed of a fruit tree is a genetic variant of the parent.

fordi frugttræers frø er en genetisk variant af forældretræet.

So when we find a variety that we really like,

Så når vi finder en sort, som vi virkelig kan lide,

the way that we propagate it is by taking a cutting off of one tree

formerer vi den ved at tage en afklipning af ét træ

and putting it onto another --

og putte den på et andet --

which is kind of crazy to think

det er ret mærkeligt at tænke på,

that every single Macintosh apple came from one tree

at hvert eneste Macintosh æble kom fra ét træ,

that's been grafted over and over from generation to generation.

som er blevet podet igen og igen fra generation til generation.

But it also means that fruit trees can't be preserved by seed.

Men det betyder også, at frugttræer ikke kan præserveres som frø.

I've known about grafting as long as I can remember.

Jeg har kendt til podning, så længe jeg kan huske.

My great-grandfather made a living grafting peach orchards

Min oldefar levede af at pode ferskenplantager

in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

i det sydøstlige Pennsylvania.

And although I never met him,

Og selvom jeg aldrig mødte ham,

any time anyone would mention his name,

hver gang nogen nævnte hans navn,

they were quick to note

bemærkede de hurtigt,

that he knew how to graft as if he had a magical or mystical capability.

at han kunne pode, som om han havde en magisk eller mystisk evne.

I decided on the number 40 for the Tree of 40 Fruit

Jeg besluttede mig for tallet 40 til træet med 40 frugter

because it's found throughout Western religion

fordi det findes overalt i vestlig religion

as not the quantifiable dozen and not the infinite

ikke som det kvantificerbare dusin og ikke det uendelige,

but a number that's beyond counting.

men et tal som ikke kan tælles.

It's a bounty or a multitude.

Det er en gave eller en mangfoldighed.

But the problem was that when I started,

Men problemet var, at da jeg startede,

I couldn't find 40 different varieties of these fruit,

kunne jeg ikke finde 40 forskellige sorter af disse frugter

and this is despite the fact that I live in New York state,

på trods af at jeg bor i staten New York,

which, a century ago,

som, for hundrede år siden,

was one of the leading producers of these fruit.

var en af de førende producenter af disse frugter.

So as they were tearing out research orchards

Så imens de fællede forskningsplantager

and old, vintage orchards,

og gamle plantager,

I would collect branches off them

samlede jeg grene fra dem

and graft them onto trees in my nursery.

og podede dem på træerne i mit gartneri.

So this is what the Tree of 40 Fruit look like when they were first planted,

Sådan her så træet med 40 frugter ud da jeg først plantede dem

and this is what they look like six years later.

og sådan her ser de ud seks år senere.

Det her er bestemt ikke en sport, med øjeblikkelig tilfredsstillelse --

This is definitely not a sport of immediate gratification --

(Laughter)

(Latter)

It takes a year to know if a graft has succeeded;

Det tager et år, før du kan se, om en podning er lykkedes;

it takes two to three years to know if it produces fruit;

det tager to til tre år, før du kan se, om det bærer frugt;

and it takes up to eight years to create just one of the trees.

og det tager op til otte år, at skabe bare ét af disse træer.

Each of the varieties grafted to the Tree of 40 Fruit

Hver af sorterne, som er podet på træet med 40 frugter,

has a slightly different form and a slightly different color.

har en lidt forskellig form og en lidt forskellig farve.

And I realized that by creating a timeline of when all these blossomed

Og jeg indså, at ved at lave en tidsplan for hvornår de alle blomstrede

in relationship to each other,

i forhold til hinanden,

I can essentially shape or design how the tree appears during spring.

kan jeg i bund og grund forme eller designe hvordan træet ser ud om foråret.

And this is how they appear during summer.

Og det er sådan, de ser ud om sommeren.

They produce fruit from June through September.

De producerer frugt fra juni til slutningen af september.

First is cherries, then apricots,

Først kirsebær, så abrikoser,

Asian plums, nectarines and peaches,

asiatiske blommer, nektariner og ferskener

and I think I forgot one in there, somewhere ...

og jeg tror, jeg har glemt én af dem...

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Although it's an artwork that exists outside of the gallery,

Selvom det er et kunstværk, der eksisterer udenfor galleriet,

as the project continues,

som projektet fortsætter,

it's been conservation by way of the art world.

har det været en bevaring gennem kunstverdenen.

As I've been asked to create these in different locations,

Da jeg er blevet bedt om at skabe disse på forskellige steder,

what I'll do is I'll research varieties

har jeg tænkt mig at undersøge sorter

that originated or were historically grown in that area,

der oprinder fra eller historisk dyrkedes i det område.

I'll source them locally and graft them to the tree

Jeg vil skaffe dem lokalt og pode dem på træet

so that it becomes an agricultural history of the area where they're located.

så det bliver en landbrugshistorie over det område hvor de står.

And then the project got picked up online,

Og så blev projektet taget op online

which was horrifying and humbling.

hvilket var skræmmende og ydmygende.

The horrifying part was all of the tattoos that I saw

Det skræmmende var alle de tatoveringer, jeg så

of images of the Tree of 40 Fruit.

af billeder af træet med 40 frugter.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Which I was like, "Why would you do that to your body?"

Og jeg tænkte, "Hvorfor dog gøre det mod sin krop?"

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And the humbling part was all of the requests that I received

Og den ydmygende del var alle de henstillinger, som jeg modtog

from pastors, from rabbis and priests

fra pastorer, fra rabbinere og præster

who asked to use the tree as a central part within their service.

som bad om at bruge træet som en central del af deres gudstjeneste.

And then it became a meme --

Og så blev det et meme --

and the answer to that question is "I hope not?"

og svaret på dét spørgsmål er, "Det håber jeg ikke?"

[Is your marriage like the Tree of 40 Fruit?]

[Er dit ægteskab som træet med 40 frugter?]

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Like all good memes,

Som alle gode memes

this has led to an interview on NPR's "Weekend Edition,"

har det ført til et interview på National Public Radios "Weekend Edition,"

and as a college professor, I thought I peaked --

og som college professor troede jeg, at jeg havde toppet --

like, that was the pinnacle of my career --

at det var kulminationen af min karriere -

but you never know who's listening to NPR.

men man ved aldrig hvem der lytter til NPR

And several weeks after the NPR interview,

Og adskillige uger efter NPR interviewet,

I received an email from the Department of Defense.

modtog jeg en email fra USA's forsvarsministerium.

The Defense Advanced Research Project Administration invited me

The Defense Advanced Research Project Administration inviterede mig

to come talk about innovation and creativity,

til at komme og tale om innovation og kreativitet

and it's a conversation that quickly shifted to a discussion of food security.

og det er en samtale, der hurtigt blev til en diskussion om fødevaresikkerhed.

You see, our national security is dependent upon our food security.

Ser I, vores nationale sikkerhed er afhængig af vores fødevaresikkerhed.

Now that we've created these monocultures

Nu da vi har skabt disse monokulturer

that only grow a few varieties of each crop,

der kun dyrker et par sorter af hver afgrøde,

if something happens to just one of those varieties,

hvis der sker noget med bare én af de sorter,

it can have a dramatic impact upon our food supply.

kan det have en dramatisk virkning på vores fødevareforsyning.

And the key to maintaining our food security

Og nøglen til at opretholde vores fødevaresikkerhed

is preserving our biodiversity.

er at bevare vores biodiversitet.

100 years ago, this was done by everybody that had a garden

For 100 år siden, blev det gjort af alle der havde en have

or a small stand of trees in their backyard,

eller et par enkelte træer i baghaven

and grew varieties that were passed down through their family.

og dyrkede sorter, der var gået i arv i deres familie.

These are plums from just one Tree of 40 Fruit in one week in August.

Det her er blommer fra bare ét Tree of 40 Fruit på én uge i august.

Several years into the project,

Adskillige år inde i projektet,

I was told that I have one of the largest collections of these fruit

fik jeg at vide, at jeg havde én af de største samlinger af disse frugter

in the Eastern United States,

i det østlige USA,

which, as an artist, is absolutely terrifying.

hvilket, som en kunstner, er fuldstændig rædselsvækkende.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

But in many ways, I didn't know what I had.

Men på mange måder vidste jeg ikke hvad jeg havde.

I discovered that the majority of the varieties I had

Jeg opdagede, at størstedelen af de sorter, jeg havde,

were heirloom varieties,

var nedarvede sorter,

so those that were grown before 1945,

altså de der dyrkedes før 1945,

which is seen as the dawn of the industrialization of agriculture.

hvilket er anset som starten på industrialiseringen af landbruget.

Several of the varieties dated back thousands and thousands of years.

Adskillige af sorterne er dateret til for tusinder af år siden.

And finding out how rare they were,

Og da jeg fandt ud af hvor sjældne de var,

I became obsessed with trying to preserve them,

blev jeg besat af at forsøge at bevare dem

and the vehicle for this became art.

og fartøjet til dette blev kunst.

I would go into old, vintage orchards before they were torn out

Jeg ville gå ind i gamle plantager før de blev fældet

and I would save the bowl or the trunk section

og jeg ville redde den del af stammen,

that possessed the original graft union.

der havde den oprindelige podning.

I started doing pressings of flowers and the leaves

Jeg begyndte at lave aftryk af blomster og bladene

to create herbarium specimens.

for at lave herbarium-eksemplarer.

I started to sequence the DNA.

Jeg begyndte at lave DNA-sekvensering.

But ultimately, I set out to preserve the story

Men i sidste ende, satte jeg ud for at bevare historien

through these copper-plate etchings and letterpress descriptions.

igennem disse kobberplade-ætsninger og brevpresse-beskrivelser.

To tell the story of the George IV peach,

For at fortælle George IV-ferskenens historie,

which took root between two buildings in New York City --

som rodfæstede sig mellem to bygninger i New York City --

someone walks by, tastes it,

nogen går forbi, smager den,

it becomes a major commercial variety in the 19th century

den bliver en stor kommerciel sort i det 19. århundrede

because it tastes just that good.

fordi så godt smager den bare.

Then all but vanishes,

Så forsvinder den næsten,

because it doesn't ship well

fordi den ikke er god at afskibe

and it doesn't conform to modern agriculture.

og den tilpasser sig ikke moderne landbrug

But I realize that as a story, it needs to be told.

Men jeg erkænder, at som en historie er den nødt til at blive fortalt.

And in the telling of that story,

Og i fortællingen af den historie,

it has to include the experience of being able to touch,

må den inkludere oplevelsen af at kunne røre,

to smell and to taste those varieties.

lugte og smage de sorter.

So I set out to create an orchard

Så jeg gik i gang med at skabe en plantage

to make these fruit available to the public,

for at gøre disse frugter offentligt tilgængelige

and have the aim of placing them in the highest density of people

og for at have målet om at anbringe dem i den højeste densitet af mennesker,

that I could possibly find.

som jeg kunne finde.

Naturally, I started looking for an acre of land in New York City --

Naturligvis begyndte jeg med at lede efter en hektar land i New York City --

(Laughter)

(Latter)

which, in retrospect, seemed, like, rather ambitious,

hvilket, set i bakspejlet, virkede ret ambitiøst

and probably the reason why nobody was returning my phone calls or emails --

og nok var årsagen til at ingen ringede eller besvarede mine emails --

(Laughter)

(Latter)

until eventually, four years later, I heard back from Governors Island.

indtil jeg, fire år senere, fik et svar fra Governors Island.

So Governors Island is a former naval base

Så Governors Island er en tidligere flådebase

that was given to the City of New York in 2000.

der blev givet til City of New York i 2000

And it opened up all of this land

Og det åbnede for alt det her land

just a five-minute ferry ride from New York.

bare fem minutter med færge fra New York.

And they invited me to create a project that we're calling the "Open Orchard"

Og de inviterede mig til at lave et projekt, som vi kalder "Open Orchard",

that will bring back fruit varieties

som vil bringe frugtsorter tilbage,

that haven't been grown in New York for over a century.

der ikke er blevet dyrket i New York i over et århundrede.

Currently in progress,

P.t. under udførelse,

The Open Orchard will be 50 multigrafted trees

vil Open Orchard være 50 træer, der er podet flere gange,

that possess 200 heirloom and antique fruit varieties.

som besidder 200 nedarvede og antikke frugtsorter.

So these are varieties that originated or were historically grown in the region.

Så det her er sorter, der stammer fra eller dyrkedes historisk i området.

Varieties like the Early Strawberry apple,

Sorter som "Early Strawberry" æblet

which originated on 13th Street and Third Avenue.

som har sin oprindelse på 13th Street og Third Avenue.

Since a fruit tree can't be preserved by seed,

Eftersom et frugttræ ikke kan bevares som frø,

The Open Orchard will act like a living gene bank,

vil Open Orchard fungere som en levende genbank

or an archive of these fruit.

eller et arkiv af disse frugter.

Like the Tree of 40 Fruit,

Ligesom Tree of 40 Fruit,

it will be experiential;

vil den være empirisk;

it will also be symbolic.

den vil også være symbolsk.

Most importantly, it's going to invite people to participate in conservation

Vigtigst af alt vil den invitere folk til at deltage i bevarelse

and to learn more about their food.

og til at lære mere om deres mad.

Through the Tree of 40 Fruit,

Igennem Tree of 40 Fruit

I've received thousands and thousands of emails from people,

har jeg modtaget tusindvis af emails fra folk,

asking basic questions about "How do you plant a tree?"

med spørgsmål som "Hvordan planter man et træ?"

With less than three percent of the population

Med under tre procent af befolkningen

having any direct tie to agriculture,

der har direkte tilknytning til landbruget

the Open Orchard is going to invite people

vil Open Orchard invitere folk

to come take part in public programming and to take part in workshops,

til at komme og deltage i offentlige programmer og være med i workshops

to learn how to graft, to grow, to prune and to harvest a tree;

for at lære at pode, at dyrke, at beskære og høste et træ;

to take part in fresh eating and blossom tours;

til at deltage i rundture om frisk mad eller blomster;

to work with local chefs to learn how to use these fruit

til arbejde med lokale kokke for at lære at bruge frugterne

and to recreate centuries-old dishes

og til at genskabe århundrede gamle retter

that many of these varieties were grown specifically for.

som mange af disse sorter dyrkedes specielt til.

Extending beyond the physical site of the orchard,

Ud over plantagens fysiske placering,

it will be a cookbook that compiles all of those recipes.

vil det være en kogebog, der samler alle de opskrifter.

It will be a field guide

Det vil være en opslagsbog,

that talks about the characteristics and traits of those fruit,

der fortæller om frugternes karakteristika og karaktertræk,

their origin and their story.

deres oprindelse og deres historier

Growing up on a farm, I thought I understood agriculture,

Da jeg voksede op på en gård, troede jeg, at jeg forstod landbruget

and I didn't want anything to do with it.

og jeg ville ikke have noget med det at gøre.

So I became an artist --

Så jeg blev kunstner --

(Laughter)

(Latter)

But I have to admit that it's something within my own DNA.

Men jeg må indrømme, at det er noget i min egen DNA.

And I don't think that I'm the only one.

Og jeg tror ikke, at jeg er den eneste.

100 years ago, we were all much more closely tied to the culture,

For 100 år siden, var vi alle sammen bundet tættere med kulturen,

the cultivation and the story of our food,

dyrkningen og historien bag vores mad

and we've been separated from that.

og vi er blevet skilt fra det.

The Open Orchard creates the opportunity

Open Orchard skaber muligheden

not just to reconnect to this unknown past,

for ikke bare at genskabe kontakten til denne ukendte fortid,

but a way for us to consider what the future of our food could be.

men for at vi kan overveje, hvad fremtiden for vores mad kunne være.

Thank you.

Tak.

(Applause)

(Applaus)