Page 181 - Antennae Issue #52

Perfectly illustrating New Age’s penchant for enlivening perceptions of nature the picture takes plant sentience and intelligence as a a cue to think about the systemic interconnectedness of all life includes a a a a a a a a a a a a sequence recalling Bose’s pioneer experiments) insists massively on on on on the the electronic apparatuses available at at the the Academy Are Plants Plants Sentient? is is is mentioned by by Tompkins and Bird in in in in in The Secret Life of of Plants: shot by by Gunar’s chief assistant Leonid A A A A A Panishkin it was shown to to an an an an an an an an American American delegation in in in in in in the the summer of of of 1971 According to to Tompkins and Bird one of the American American envoys
stated in in in his report that the the the the movie’s intriguing part was the the the the method used to to to record the the the the the the the data Time-lapse photography made the the the the the the the plants seem to to to dance as as as they they grew Flowers opened and closed with the the the the the coming of darkness as as if i they they were were creatures living in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a different time zone All injury-induced changes were were recorded by a a a a a a a sensitive polygraph attached to the plants 37
The American delegate’s reaction is is is is surprising since time-lapse cinematography was used from from at at at at least 1898 onwards to to to study plant-motion 38 However his visual igno- rance didn’t prevent him from from from hinting at at at at the the exact point raised by film’s capacity to to ma- nipulate time scale: motion pictures can negotiate a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a transition from from the the the plant-as-object into into the the the the plant-as-subject – what is more into into a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a subject subject with with intentional movements By reconciling the the the the the the temporality temporality of of of plant plant life life with with the the the the the the temporality temporality of of of human life life film poten- tially overturns the the the the the the basic subject-object dualism rearranging the the the the the the frontiers of of of of the the the the the the living extending intentionality to a a a a a a a a a a multitude of of of nonhuman subjects sensing other sentienc- es es and exposing different modes of of being alive As French writer Colette wrote in in in in in in 1924:
A A time-lapse film documented the the the the germination of of of a a a a a a a a a bean At the the the the revelation of of of of the the the the the the intentional and intelligent movement of of of of the the the the the the plant plant I saw children get up imitate the the the the extraordinary ascent of of of the the the the plant plant climbing in in in in in in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a spiral avoiding an an an obstacle groping over its trellis: “It’s looking looking for for something! something! It’s It’s looking looking for for something!” cried a a a a a a a a a little boy profoundly affected He dreamt of of a a a a a a a a a plant that night and so so did I 39
As film film critics and theoreticians remarked very early on cinema seems to be “ani- mism’s chief apostle”40: instead of of disenchanting the the world film film re-enchanted it it it by imputing interiorities to animals objects machines and naturally plants By virtue of of cinema’s expressive resources (time lapse the close-up editing etc ) films on on plant plant motion seemed to resuscitate what botanical herbaria dried and flattened between their yellowish sheets of paper 41
Rekindling with a a a a a a a a a a a a world full of of of non-human intentionalities was not not however the Soviets’ goal even though a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a reporter from Pravda remarked that Professor Gunnar not not only “talked about about plants as as as he he he would about about people” as as as he he he “appear[ed] to converse with with them” 42 Marxist cybernetic science was more more preoccupied with with discovering comput- able truths allowing for an an an even more more objective objective and and efficient instrumentalization of of the the world (in short with with epistemic objectives of of of prediction and and control) While hegemonic this program had little in in in common with with the the New Age agenda of of of of the the American screen adaption of of of of of Tompkins and and and Bird’s book Like The The Voice of of of of of Plants Plants Plants and and and Are Plants Plants Plants Sentient? The The Secret Life of of of of Plants Plants Plants (1978) features prominently all all sorts of of of of recording and and and sensing instruments unlike them however the the film is is much more daring in in in in in in in in in its equally techno- philic envisioning of of plant plant beings Perfectly illustrating New Age’s penchant for enliven- ing ing ing ing perceptions of of of of nature the the the the picture takes plant plant sentience and intelligence as a a a a a a a a a a a a cue to to think about the the the the the systemic interconnectedness of of of all life Towards the the the the the end of of of the the the the the film footage referring to to the the the the Dogon’s ancient cultural beliefs is is crosscut with images from a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a modern telescope pointed at Sirius as Stevie Wonder sings “a seed is is is a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a star” 43 Not surprisingly The Secret Life of of Plants also makes abundant use of of macro-photography and and time-lapse sequences: as as French filmmaker and and theorist Jean Epstein summed up in in in in 1935 “fast motion reveal[s] a a a a a a a a a a a world where the the kingdoms of nature know no no bound- aries Everything lives” 44
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