Page 176 - Antennae Issue #52

However when it came to rock they leaned away from the music source displaying smaller leaves and eventually dying humanism and and call for the the reliance on alternate ways of of arriving at at an an an an an understanding of of the the universe about about us This appeal found receptive ears in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a world worried about about pollution overpopulation unemployment growing crime and and – – perhaps most impor- tant – – a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a nasty and and persistent war in in in which technology played a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a major role 11
More than “anti-intellectualism” “anti-scientism ” ” ” ” or or or “anti-humanism” it’s the the “reliance on alternate ways of of arriving at at at at an an an an an an an an an understanding of of the the the the universe about us” that interests me me me As we will see the the the the hippie desire to heal the the the the crisis in in in in in human/nature relationships overinvested (and sometimes romanticized) the the the the the communicative system- ic ic ic ic model behind Backster’s theses according to to which “mind” can extend beyond the the the the the body into its surroundings Regarding his theories they would’ve probably remained confidential if not for for the the the the the flare of of of journalist (and former OSS spy) Peter Tompkins the the the the the author of of of of of such celebrated New Age classics as as Secrets of of of of of the the the the Great Pyramid Pyramid (1971) and and and Mysteries of of of of of Mexican Pyramids (1976) With the the help of of of of of botanist and and science vulgarizer Christopher Bird Tompkins wrote The Secret Life of of of of Plants mainstreaming Backster’s findings and and rediscovering along the way a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a number of of forgotten plant-intelligence champions such as Bengali biologist Jagadish Chandra Bose Propelled by a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a lavish ad- vertising campaign including a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a partial pre-publication with a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a catchy title in in in in in in the the the pages of of Harper’s Magazine – – “Love Among the the the the Cabbages: Sense and and Sensibility in in in in in in in the the the the Realm of of of Plants”12 – – the the the the book became a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a bestseller and and was quickly translated into many differ- ent languages Taking advantage of of of the the the volume’s worldwide success producer Michael Brown adapted it for the the the screen in in in in 1978: directed by by Walon Green The Secret Life of of Plants Plants included an an an an original soundtrack by by none other than Stevie Wonder But The The Secret Life of of of Plants was not the the the the only book to get the the the the most out of of of the the the the untapped powers of of of of plant sensibility and and and communication The The The same year Dorothy Re- tallack’s The The Sound of of Music and and and and and Plants was also to to sell well 13 Like Backster (and Loehr before him) Retallack a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a “doctor’s wife housekeeper bookkeeper mother mother [and] grand- mother mother to to fifteen”14 had conducted a a a a a a a a a a a a a number of “experiments” in in the the the the the late 1960s using the the the the the “biotronic control chambers” available at at Temple Buell College Denver Her thesis: rock music music was was was harmful to to to to plants plants (and therefore to to to to humans too) Retallack was was was not the the the the the first first to to to to to to investigate the the the the the effects of of classical music music on plants’ growth rate she was was was the the the the the first first however to to to to to to expose them to to to to to to a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a tape of of Led Zeppelin Vanilla Fudge and and Jimi Hen- drix According to to to to to her findings plants seemed to to to to to like Bach and and Ravi Shankar much to to to to to Retallack’s surprise they they even gave positive evidence of enjoying jazz However when it it came to rock rock they they leaned away from the the the the music source displaying smaller leaves and eventually dying “Some of of those plants look like the the the the the people who attend rock rock festivals” confided an an an appalled Retallack Retallack to the the the the pages of of the the the the New York Times 15
Despite Retallack’s old-school moral panic about rock the the the the idea that plants were sensitive to to music’s soothing capacities resonated with New Age’s beliefs in in in the the heal- ing ing ing energies of musical melodies In October 1970 CBS aired “a Rock-versus-Shankar experiment” involving plants plants (and significantly filmed with time-lapse cameras): Retal- lack’s name became known all-across the the the the US Albums of “music to grow plants” were then making their appearance in in in record shops such as the the the the the one that Dr George Mil- stein produced exactly the the the the the the same year complete with a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a booklet and a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a packet of of coleus seeds 16 During the the the the 1970s a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a few plant music music discs were released Some of of them simply compiled chamber and classical music music hits others such as as as Baroque Bouquet’s Plant Music (1975) or or or or Roger Roger Roger’s De la la la la musique et et et des secrets pour enchanter vos plantes (1978) offered original compositions for their green audiences 17 Among these Mort Garson’s Plantasia (1976) (1976) with its percolating Moog rhythms acquired a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a legendary status 18 One album in in particular Molly Roth’s Plant Plant Talk/Sound Advice (1976) (1976) evokes Baldessari’s parody as spoken word artist artist Roth Roth talks to ivies ferns and and other plants wondering if they understand English 19 At the the the same time a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a few artists became inter- ested in in in in in in bio-sensing and and plant-generative music music among which John Cage who used “amplified plant plant materials” (i e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e cacti) as as musical instruments in in in in in pieces like Child of Tree (1975) and Branches (1976) Others such as as eco-feminist Annea Lockwood explored the the effect of plant plant growth on musical instruments But what about film? What role did it play in this peculiar plant plant craze?
176 antennae