Page 184 - Antennae Issue #52

184 antennae
Richard Lowenberg
“Plant GSR Control of Audio-Video Tape Seed” drawing 1971-1978 © Richard Lowenber other sensory devices responding to to the the the the person” 46 With the the the the help of John Lifton (who in in in in 1975 had had presented his “Green Music” installation at at the the the the the the Whitechapel Gallery in in in in London) 47 Jim Wiseman (who (who had had had built copies of of the the the the Paik/Abe video synthesizer and and and of of of the the the the the Sandin Image Processor) and and and and Tom Zahuranec (who (who had had wired a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a rhododen- dron into the the the the oscillators of of a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Buchla Synthesizer live on on on radio in in in in 1972 and and and invited the the the the audience to to to telepathically communicate with it) 48 Lowenberg
conceived a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a spec- tacular media-performance based on on on on the the the the interfacing of of of plants and different types of of of synthesizers In addition to to to the the the the the restaging of of of of Lifton’s “Green Music” in in in in in in San Francisco (an installation based on on on on on on the the the the bio-electric sensing of of of of plants’ reactions to to to to the the the the presence of of of humans and and implicating a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a battery of of of monitoring devices) an an an an an an an experiment involv- ing ing ing wired plants plants and and and six performers connected to to bio-telemetric systems was was shot in in in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a Hollywood studio Bioelectric information from humans and and and and plants plants was was inputted to audio and and and and video video systems which outputted glitching colored videos and and and and plant plant plant noise in in in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a feedback loop connecting plants humans and and and machines: in in in in in in in sum open- ing ing up the the doors of perception The communicative model inherent to Backster’s hypothesis reaches here here its its cybernetic paroxysm In its its embodiment as as bio-media performance (as “bio-dis-play” in Lowenberg’s terms) The Secret Life of Plants is is is a a a a a a a a a