Page 168 - Antennae Issue #52

These elements of playful misdirection and uncer- tainty evoke the fric- tions involved in in in pairing specimens we we recognize what we we should reclaim?”30 Perhaps it it is to follow the fern and let it it serve as finder Following the the fern’s path requires that we take care when dealing with the the known A two page page spread of Osmunda regalis incorporates visual wayfinding sym- bols and and text from Fern Finder—“If they look like this this ” ” and and “next page”—as well as as the the the the the symbol indicating the the the the the habitats in in in in in which this this species is is is found These appear to to offer a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a logic to to the the the the the the layered image—follow the the the the the the instructions and and identification will follow follow but they chart a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a meandering path embedded in in in in in the the the the practice o of read- ing ing ing Fern Fern Finder Finder Some elements match exactly: The habitat habitat symbol symbol corresponds with the the habitats where Fern Fern Finder Finder indicates royal ferns grow Finding the the symbols depicted here here is is is more challenging and requires working backwards through two decision trees from the the page describing the the Royal fern (Osmunda regalis) choosing correctly how to move backwards at each point 31
Additionally Finder uses the the layering process of of of silkscreen to to to explore this uncertainty A A layer layer of of of of of orange pigment fails to to align with the the purple outline of of of of of a a a a a a a a a a a a a a reference line line drawing of of of of variations of of of of a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a fern part (pinna) from Fern Finder These misalignments create visible gaps between layers and a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a halo effect as colors ap- pear to to float atop each other evoking a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a sense of o offset motion or or or a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a temporal blip Setting the the deliberately mis-layered line drawings directly against precisely aligned fragments of purple and orange in in in in in Gerard’s visually dense “Wall Ferne” exposes the the the processes through which knowledge—whether visual visual historical or or or or scientific— is is is is is constructed 32 In doing so it it it invites the the the the the viewer to to to to wrestle with a a a a a a a a a a longing for align- ment ment ment the the the the desire to to to to to to order the the the the moment of visual chaos and arrange history’s layers into into narrative discipline or or or or to to to to to to dive into into the the the the the the cracks that misalignment creates with- out knowing knowing whether they contain paths to to to to other ways of of knowing knowing or or blind alleys These elements of of playful misdirection and and uncertainty evoke the the the the the frictions involved in in in in in in pairing specimens Gerard and and and other early modern European natural historians and and botanists used used naming conventions conventions that often feel strikingly similar to to to the the the the Linnean taxonomic conventions conventions used used by modern scientists Text atop the the the the image of the the the the royal fern from the the the the Herball in in in in Finder carries a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Latinate name “Os- munda Regalis” Yet it also lists alternatives “Water-Ferne or or Osmund Royall” 33 Naming conventions and modes of of categorization were inconsistent reflecting the distinctive project of of what historian Brian Ogilvie calls “Renaissance Folkbiology” 34 Finding exact taxonomic matches between herbarium specimens Gerard’s Gerard’s Herb- all and and Fern Fern Finder Finder often proved impossible due to to Gerard’s Gerard’s modes of of classifica- tion and and and and his limited access to to North American specimens or or or Fern Fern Finder’s focus on on the the central and and and and northeastern United States and and and and eastern eastern Canada As As a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a result botanical knowledge and and and textual tracing provide only partial insights into Finder Instead it it depends upon “search image” As As Kimmerer writes the brain creates categories by by differentiating complex visual data by by identifying patterns through experience experience creating a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a stored image that can be used to to iden- tify visual phenomena Without the the requisite experiences and the the correct search image what is is is is is is visible visible to to to an an an experienced observer will remain invisible 35 Finder invites the the viewer to to to to imagine unique and and subjective visual experiences to to to to seek the the search image that prompted pairings where historical and and and taxonomic uncertainty or or or or aesthetic logic disrupted the the the the categorizing process and and and to to to engage in in in in in in their their own project of of close looking allowing their their experiences to to to locate and and and categorize with and and against the the grain of of of formal taxonomy or or or or historical fidelity Finder however is is is not solely a a a a a a a a a a a story of of of of limits After all making compost is is is is a a a a a a a a a a a a a a future-oriented exercise The processes of of of decay and the the recombination of of of past forms creates the the the the material with which we can nourish future future plants Heat the the the the work of of of biological organisms and the the the the processes of of of chemical reactions convert life-giving necessities fixed in in in in in fin in inert pasts into the the the the stuff of of of of of living futures Fluorescent yellow and orange part of of of a a a a a a a a a a a category of of of colors defined by their luminescent visibil- ity which alone among pigments allow human eyes to to see ultraviolet light intrude into the musty institutional palette derived from acid-free paper products and bal-
Melissa Oresky
Finder p 2 Artist’s Book Three-color silkscreen 2020 © Melissa Oresky
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