Nationality United States Movement Social Practice | Known for Contemporary Art Website fallenfruit.org | |
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Notable work Public Fruit Jams (2005–present), Neighborhood Infusions (2008–present), Fallen Fruit Factory (2013-present), Lemonade Stand (2013-present), Endless Orchard (2013-present), Urban Fruit Trail (2014-Present) Awards 2013 Creative Capital Grantee, Emerging Fields; 2013 Emerging Fields, Muriel Pollia Foundation Awardee, 2013 Atlas Award | ||
Fallen Fruit is a Los Angeles based artists' collaboration composed of David Burns and Austin Young. The project was originally conceived in 2004 by David Burns, Matias Viegener and Austin Young. Since 2013, David and Austin have continued the collaborative work.
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Using photography and video as well as performance and installation art, Fallen Fruit's work focuses on urban space, neighborhood, located citizenship and community and their relationship to fruit.
Overview
Taking their name from the book of Leviticus (Lv 19:9-10), Fallen Fruit began in 2004 as a response to a call by The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest for artists' projects that addressed social or political issues but did so in the form of proposing a solution rather than raising a critique. In 2008, as part of their participation in "The Gatherers" show at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the group embarked on a new long-term project called "The Colonial History of Fruit". Using a variety of media, this work examines both the objective or factual history of fruit – how the fruit we eat traveled through time and space to arrive in our daily life – and the subjective or anecdotal history: how and when an individual first tasted a fruit, or how a certain tree was tended by one family, or remembered by immigrants.
Collaboration
Fallen Fruit strives to extend their collaboration into the public realm through projects that involve and engage with the public.
In 2013 Fallen Fruit created the Fruitique!, a collaborative, site-specific art installation, exhibition and retail space in conjunction with the Hammer Museum's Arts Re:STORE LA 2050 project. The project combines curated and consigned art works that use fruit as the main thematic element into an installation that uses Fallen Fruit wallpaper patterns as a common ground. The space also currently serves as Fallen Fruit's headquarters.
Public fruit
Fallen Fruit expanded upon this in 2013 with the opening of Del Aire Fruit Park, California's first public fruit park.
This was further expanded in 2014, with the start of Urban Fruit Trail, the pilot project for Endless Orchard, Fallen Fruit’s global-scale public art project, which will transform often under-served areas with a network of public walking trails lined by fruit trees. In total, 150 trees will be planted in the MacArthur Park/Westlake region of Los Angeles, in collaboration with Heart of Los Angeles (HoLA), an urban youth outreach group. Once mature, the trees will bear gratis, year-round produce including plums, peaches, pomegranates, persimmons, lemons, limes, oranges and kumquats. 30 of the initial trees planted in Lafayette Park were destroyed by vandalism in July 2014, but they were quickly re-planted thanks to generous donations by the local community.
Exhibitions
Fallen Fruit has had solo exhibitions at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (2009), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2010), the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (formerly Salt Lake Art Center) (2011), as well as in group shows around the United States, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Mexico, Norway, Austria, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, and Colombia. The group collaborated with Islands of LA in the San Fernando Road Concert in 2008.