MTSU student visually documents state trees as ‘a little love note to Tennessee’

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University senior Dawn Fós grew up always carrying around a camera. She received her first camera at age 12, and from then on, her love for photography has blossomed into her current project of photographing all of Tennessee’s native trees.

Drawing inspiration from Richard Powers’ book “The Overstory,” which she read during last winter break, Fos knew she wanted to create work that went beyond herself.

“The book is all about trees and humans and how we relate through stories about trees,” she explained. “Tennessee, as we know, has a lot of great trees, so I really wanted to highlight that, like a little love note to Tennessee.”

A biochemistry and studio art double-major, Fós will display her work at her B.F.A. senior show that opens in Todd Art Gallery, Todd Hall Room 224A, on Monday, Nov. 17, with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. The show, which runs through Dec. 3, will include many of the photographs from her Tennessee tree project. She will also have kaleidoscopes on display that she’s made.

Documenting trees through alternative process

Fós began conceptualizing the project in January, applied for an Undergraduate Research Experience and Creativity Activity, or URECA, grant through the university and then got to work on photographing the more than 120 trees native to Tennessee.

“From the east to the west and north to the south, I wanted to document those trees through alternative process,” she explained of her project called “Chlorophyll and Silver: Documenting Tennessee Native Trees Through Alternative Process Photography.

A transfer student originally from Nashville, Fós said even though she isn’t a photography major she was able to get permission from the art department’s chair to take alternative process photography last fall.

“The Bachelor of Fine Arts program that I came from was interdisciplinary and included a photo and film department in the program, so it was important to me to fill those parts of my education in transferring to MTSU,” she said.

After taking that initial photography class at MTSU, all other photography courses she’s completed have been outside of her degree.

“The connection and rapport I had formed with Jonathan is what really provided me with the opportunity to apply, obtain and complete the URECA,” Fós said.

Fós worked with associate photography professor Jonathan Trundle in the Department of Media Arts for support and guidance during the course of her project.

“I asked … if he’d help me with the project, then I applied for the URECA, so I have been photographing and researching all the trees (in Tennessee) for 10 months. I’ve taken thousands of photos,” she explained.

Trundle, who has worked with Fós nearly every step of the way, said this project has really been an experience.

“For Dawn, this is a journey; this is her path in trying to find a voice and something that she’s really passionate about and loves,” he said. “The project started with the following instructions: you know A plus B equals C, if I do this and this, it’ll yield an image, and that’s wonderful.”

He continued, “But then you meet a student like Dawn, and the curiosity and the imagination are the main sort of driving force behind her work. So, she’s able to say, ‘What happens if we do this?’ We take these two unrelated things and mix them together, and doing a little bit of sleuthing, she found a lot of this information out online.

“Still, a lot of it came from her own curiosity and her passion and love for the media. That’s the kind of thing that you can’t teach, that’s the kind of thing that you see and you try to harness, and you try to let that evolve and grow, and to see that in a student like that, even a non-photo major or minor, that’s a wonderful thing.”

Shown here is a sampling of the thousands of photographs that Middle Tennessee State University senior biochemistry and art studio double-major Dawn Fós captured as part of her photography project that documents the more than 120 trees native to the state of Tennessee. (MTSU photo)

‘Everything for me is chemistry’

Fós said her photography is really an extension of studying and learning chemistry.

“Everything for me is chemistry. I think that the play between science and nature and humanity and nature is just so inspiring to me,” she said.

“While people may not see the relation of my biochemistry with this project, the prints themselves, they’re made with chemical solutions that are handmade emulsions (a light-sensitive coating that’s coated onto film), and they’re all reacting with the water and the light. It’s an echoing of photosynthesis,” Fós explained.

While working on this project has been all-encompassing, Fós said Trundle has encouraged and mentored her all along the way.

“Jonathan has been great. I had this crazy, wild, hair-brained idea, and he’s like, ‘Yes, let’s do it. Let’s go give it a try,” she said. “He’s so supportive and gives great feedback or helps with troubleshooting. Early on, there were a few really hard moments, when and I thought this project was failing, but we went back and forth troubleshooting and we worked it out.”

When thinking about her favorite tree, Fós said she loves them all in their own ways, but her favorite leaf is an American sweet gum.

“They’re so beautiful and they’re everywhere,” Fós said of the leaf. “The sweetgum is star-shaped and has spiky seedpods. They’re so pretty.”

Fós said the Fraser fir, which is endangered and can only be found in the Great Smoky Mountains, and the American Chestnut, which is very elusive, are among her favorite trees.

“We have to take care of the Fraser fir. There are only around 600 remaining in the natural environment, so they are endangered,” she explained. “The American Chestnut is another one. It’s very elusive, functionally extinct. There are a few scattered here and there throughout Middle Tennessee. Those three trees are pretty important to me.”

Fós’ upcoming exhibition

Fós’ work will remain on display in the Todd Art Gallery, which is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“When you look through the kaleidoscope, there are the photo positive slides of the trees that I’ve taken. They’ll be cut apart and refracted through the mirrors inside,” she said.

Fós graduates in December. She hopes to get into a Master of Fine Arts Interdisciplinary program and work in sculpture and photography.

“It would be nice to find a program that really feels like home, where I can continue this work. I could work on this project for a long time,” she said.

She also plans to compile all her photographs in this project into a photo book, and maybe even a tree guide for Tennessee trees.

“I’ve recorded little snippets about what the trees are and field observations that I made while shooting the trees,” she said.

Trundle said he wishes Fós nothing but the best for the future.

“I wish her only the best and the successes that she can start to find and uncover for herself throughout this work. Certainly, don’t let anyone steal your thunder; don’t ever let anyone push you down,” Trundle said.

“The world can be a very competitive place, and this is also true in photography. I want to see her grow. I hope very, very soon that the work that she’s doing now pays off in ways that she can’t even begin to imagine later on in life.”