An Oak Tree, 1973
glass, water, shelf and printed text

image courtesy of the artist

–

An Oak Tree (1973) is work by MICHAEL CRAIG-MARTIN which consists of a glass of water on a wall-mounted shelf (above head height) with an accompanying text, in which he tells a viewer of the work, “What I’ve done is change a glass of water into a full-grown oak tree without altering the accidents of the glass of water.”

In an artist interview in May 2003 CRAIG-MARTIN noted that the piece consists of two units; the object and the text. The object, a Duralex glass filled with water, is placed in the centre of a glass shelf and the text is printed in red on a white background. 

The shelf is displayed ideally at 253cm and is attached to the wall with brackets that have been painted matt grey. The printed text is mounted on the wall to the left and beneath the shelf with a sheet of glass and four bolts. CRAIG-MARTIN has specified how much water should be used to fill the glass and the ideal water level should be maintained during display. – BRYONY BERY, June 2005 , http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/craig-martin-an-oak-tree-l02262

–