This abstract artwork depicts plain old trees. Yet for some reason, these abstract trees are mesmerizing to look at. The first time I saw this piece, I thought I could stare at it for hours. And why? It’s only these weird looking trees!

Each tree is a part of the same plane – hence Asawa’s wordplay in the title of the piece (Plane Trees). The uniformness of all the trees in the plane differs from how trees in forests usually are – on slight hills, small valleys and inlets, etc. Very rarely is a walk in the woods completely flat. Yet the way Asawa puts all her trees in the same plane gives me the feeling of getting lost within them and being one with the trees. The viewer is also in the same plane as the trees. The viewer is one of the trees.

Yet each tree is also lacking leaves. Maybe it’s just winter, or maybe the trees are dying. Either way, it evokes some unexplained sadness from the viewer. This piece is beautiful because it makes the viewer feel something. It shows the sadness that comes with the death of nature. Schiller would argue that the beauty of this piece can make us better humans by showing us the importance of nature: the unity between humans and nature, the need to preserve nature.