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Perched on the edge of the Great Salt Lake Desert
near the famous Bonneville Salt Flats International
Speedway is an 87-foot tall artistic wonder created
by Swedish artist Karl Momen. "Metaphor: The
Tree of Utah" was built and installed between
1982 and 1986 to bring "bold color and beauty
to the stark, flat, salty landscape." Momen paid
for the project and then donated to work to the state
of Utah. It is constructed of 225 tons of cement,
nearly 2,000 ceramic tiles and tons of minerals and
rocks native to Utah. Nicknamed the "Tree of
Life," it resembles an enormous exotic plant.
The sculpture is located on the westbound side of
Interstate 80, (also known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower
Highway) about 95 miles west of Salt Lake City. The
inscription on the trunk of the tree is from Schiller's
"Ode to Joy" from the choral climax of Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony. Near the base of the tree are several
spherical elements reminiscent of fallen leaves.
The Utah Department of Transportation would prefer
that no one stop, and there are several signs stipulating
"Emergency Parking Only." As the photo shows,
however, people can't resist and often wander around
the sculpture.
 Vision
In The Desert: Tree of Utah Sculpture by Momen
by Herman C. Du Toit
This book about Karl Momen and the Tree of Utah has
75 color photographs and tells the complete story
of how and why the sculpture was created.
Map
Photographed by Jerry
Kendrick
June 21, 2004
Posted on RoadTrip America 3/06
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