New York-based artist John Eric Broaddus (1943-1990) worked in many areas of the arts and was known for his theatre sets and for his own highly original costumes which he wore as a performance artist. He was also a painter but is perhaps best known for his artists' books.

'Above the trees' is a one-of-a-kind book in two volumes produced in 1985. Broaddus used a technique similar to the one used by the artist Tom Philips in his work 'The Humument', that of taking an existing printed book and altering it page by page so that just a few words and lines of text are left exposed, thus creating a new work.

Broaddus used two identical books that he described as 'horrid vanity press novels about Armageddon' and spray-painted the pages and added stuck-on images, drawings and intricately cut-out shapes using a distinctly 'new-age' aesthetic. The elaborate, vividly-coloured and highly sculptural pages demonstrate Broaddus's interest in both detail and drama. The finished work is as intricate and highly decorated as his costumes and stage sets. In fact Broaddus likened the pages of a book to pieces of a stage set that slowly get peeled back.

Each of the two books has a decorated slip-case wrapped in a painted cloth.