Arts & Entertainment

Speak Out: What Do You Think of the Blue Trees in Norcross?

The painted trees debuted Friday in Betty Mauldin Park and are expected to spread to Thrasher Park on Saturday, April 6. The project has brought it a mix of responses from the community.

When Norcross Patch announced that the city would be painting the parks' trees blue this weekend as a social art project to bring awareness to deforestation, the article gained more negative comments than positive ones.

Here are a few responses to the Blue Trees Project:

Sounds awful! 7 months of blue trees? What we love about old town Norcross is its authenticity. What can we do to stop this?

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This particular art project will do little to save the world when the display itself alienates the very audience from whom it seeks support. If the trees stayed blue for a few weeks, I'd participate and donate, but when degrades the natural beauty of my environment for the next three seasons, I will do nothing to support the effort or the organization behind it.

Anyone ready to chain themselves to the trees to protect them from this atrocity?

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On Friday, Patch spoke with Konstantin “Kon” Dimopoulos, the artist who spearheaded the project, while he and others were painting the trees in Betty Mauldin Park.

"If they're upset about somebody coloring a tree blue, which lasts for maybe six months, they should be livid at somebody cutting up a 300-year-old Redwood or a Sequoia down," said Dimopoulos. "But I don't hear them screaming, and they're not screaming because that happens thousands of miles away, where they can't see it.

"I'm bringing that fear into their environment, saying, 'You should be concerned,'" he continued. "'You should be concerned about me coloring these trees blue because that's an indication of what's happening thousands of miles [away], where someone is cutting a huge Redwood.'"

Other community members spoke positively about the project, too.

"I think it's great," said resident Dana Sinkfield, who brought her son Phorrest to paint the trees. "It's something to get people out here together. It gives the kids something to do, and it's a good way to meet people."

"I look at it, and I just see beauty in it," said Deb Wilson Harris, also a Norcross local. "And I think it's a good way for a conversation. You know how many times you walk by trees and you don't even look at them? I think when you see something like this, it stops you in your tracks, and you're like, 'What are the trees doing blue?'"

Wilson Harris is also in charge of the city's upcoming yarn-bombing project, which involves attaching crocheted and knitted pieces to public property, such as lamp posts, railings and benches. She said this year's project, which will be installed in June, will steer clear of the blue trees.

The painting of the Blue Trees Project is expected to continue in Thrasher Park on Saturday, April 6, with the opening reception from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. the same day.

What do you think of the blue trees in Norcross? Do you love them or hate them? Tell us in the comments.

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See also:

  • Blue Trees in Norcross? See It This Weekend

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