The Difficulty With A Tree is a performance and lecture by the conceptual artist Mary Ellen Carroll. It was conceived as a radio program for a commission that took place on August 24, 2018 at the Kunstmuseum Bern that was ruled by the “République Géniale” – an interdisciplinary archipelago that unites an exhibition by international artists. The “République Géniale” is an idea that goes back to the French artist Robert Filliou. Influenced by the spirit of change in 1968, he developed a new concept of art and of art education. Valerian Maly and Damian Christinger co-hosted the radio broadcast at 88 FM for Radio Free Bern from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. The arborist Alec Baxt was interviewed from Brooklyn, New York on the difficulty of people, not trees and his campaign to save the London Plane at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Andreas Eggimann and Benedikt Braun performed a live set on acoustic guitar that included two works, Avicii—for a better day and Mando Diao—dance with somebody.
