Aliso Tree — Los Angeles, rooted in history.
Before the LA riots; before the internment of Japanese-Americans and the massacre of Chinese-Americans; before Slavery; before this land was ever conquered by Spain, Mexico, or the U. S.; before the genocide of Native Americans… millennia after the first humans arrived on the scene, overkilling large mammals to extinction… by the river, within the community of Yang-Na, a sapling sprouted. The sycamore would grow to become a 400-year-old local landmark, called, "El Aliso." Here, a French cooper hybridized the mission grapevine with cuttings from Bordeaux, and together with the terroir, cultivated a vineyard which gave birth to California's wine industry. Indigenous villages and immigrant orchards prepared the ground for what followed: a German brewery; a boxing arena; a mule market; an Edison Electric power station; an artist colony; a gym for indoor rock-climbing; the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States… While the Aliso Tree is no longer standing, it continues to stand for Los Angeles, rooted in history.
"In 1853, free-and-easy customs were in vogue in Los Angeles, permitting people in the ordinary affairs of life to do practically as they pleased. There were few if any restrictions; and if circumscribing City ordinances existed — except, perhaps, those of 1850 which, while licensing gaming places, forbade the playing of cards on the street — I do not remember what they were."
"In relating to the tree each person saw himself or herself standing at a unique center — the heart of the individual was projected to that single point where the tree's vertical and horizontal axes intersect. No matter what size the community, each member enjoyed the same, yet singular position. California's natives knew who they were — and they knew where they were — because of this sacred tree at the center of the world."
"Photographs (including the sunrise self portrait) by Arthur Mullen, February 2019."
Aliso Tree — Los Angeles, rooted in history. 