Members: Megan Berner, Jill Baker, Jennifer Myers, Daniel Luchman
Iowa City, Iowa

American folk-legendary Johnny Appleseed walked from Massachusetts to Indiana planting apple orchards throughout the region in the early 1800s. His final resting place is in Ft. Wayne, IN. For the On Procession parade, a group of artists calling themselves the Johnny Appleseed Color Guard (J.A.C.G.) wore burlap dresses in the fashion of Johnny Appleseed, carried flags, pulled a wagon full of native seedlings, and distributed plants to parade spectators throughout the procession.

This artist group was formulated specifically around the idea of collaborating on a “reverse Johnny Appleseed” artistic action. The group, including one member who is a descendant of Johnny Appleseed, intends to follow his trail from West to East replanting native species of plants along the way. On April 26th, the first occasion that the piece has been performed, the J.A.C.G. pulled a cart filled with native wildflower seedlings including purple coneflower, rudbeckia (black-eyed susans), and coreopsis. The artists passed out seedlings and engaged the audience in conversations about the project.

Image Credit:
The Johnny Appleseed Color Guard, April 2008
fabric and tree branches
Courtesy of the artists