There is an old tradition of honoring dead relatives by creating graveside memorials. The tree altar is part of this custom. The family will surround the grave with plates attached to sticks or trees. This type of tree is the precursor to the American Southern tradition of the bottle tree.

The bottle tree is based on the belief that the shiny, colored glass can attract and then trap evil spirits. In many cultures, art is not only used for decorative purposes, but is also considered to be a form of protection.



A tree with bottles protects the household through the power of medicinal waters and a yard "dressed" to protect it from negative intrusion. The bottles of glass or plastic hang from a tree close to the home, protecting it from harmful spirits by the gleam of the glass, which attracts, captures, and disempowers evil forces like envy, jealousy and strife. The custom was recorded in Angola as early as 1776 and in the Americas as early as 1791. Porcelain plates, pierced through the center with tree branches reappear in graves in the where they celebrate the dead. Bottle trees may also appear as part of a full yard show.



What might look like assemblage of junk, or meaningless clutter is actually "a complex spiritual act in plural dimension." Here, we see a house in Wamego surrounded by bottles filled with different colored water. These "medicines" encircle the house, keep out evil "dogs," and are viewed as spiritual protection for the home. The other elements in the carefully configured yard shows -- fan blades, TV cathodes, twin dolls, tire planters, mirrors, chairs and gates. They are used to protect and entertain, commemorate and enthrone, filter and repel the powers of good and evil. These assemblages, composed of objects that symbolize motion, with white vessels and unusual wood formations, are interpreted as altars or "visual prayers."