Artist still pines for Prometheus, the Methuselah of bristlecones
Artist Jeff Weiss commemorates the memory of a tree named Prometheus in a snow globe containing an ethereal white rendering of the gnarled bristlecone pine that lived for roughly 5,000 years in eastern Nevada. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
The piece of 1,000-year-old tree used by artist Jeff Weiss and bonsai artist Robert Pressler to create a living facsimile of Prometheus at Kimura Nursery in Northridge. Pressler had to carve the tree to give it the correct shape. The 5,000-year-old bristlecone pine Prometheus was in Great Basin National Park in Nevada until 1964. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
Artist Jeff Weiss organized a commemoration for Prometheus on the 50th anniversary of its demise in 1964. The ceremony included the following items: a white snow globe with a rendering of the tree, a set of white headphones attached to an iPod Nano for Weiss’ commentary, a numbered glass watering bottle and a printed invitation describing the proceedings. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)