Page 190 - Antennae Issue #52

Exhibiting plants:
Curating the gaze on vegetal beings
The current proliferation of of work in in in plant studies includes a a a a a a host of of exhibits that focus on on the the vegetal Whether it it is in in in US campus museums at at the the the Universities of Kansas and and Arizona or or collaborations by German houses like the the the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum and and the the the Hygiene-Museum Dresden curators—often in in collaboration with academics—seem to to to be on on on a a a a a a a mission to to to cure plant blindness This article reviews plant exhibits geared at the the the general public taking place in in Germany the the the US the the the UK and France between 2018 and and and 2020 and and and it it analyzes how how these shows contribute to the the field of o plant studies with publications and and and online offerings text by Joela Jacobs
190 antennae
The The contemporary turn toward plants in in in in both popular and and and and and academic culture has drawn the the public not just into forests and and fields but also exhibition spaces Several large plant-focused exhibits have taken place across the the US and and and and Europe in in in 2018 and and and and 2019 alone Their accompanying events and and and and pub- lications have contributed both to the the the the the ongoing scholarly work and and and and the the the the the public perception of of of of the the the the the the importance of of of of plants plants Rather than only focusing on on on on on on on the the the the the the beauty of of of of plants plants these exhibits draw on on on on a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a range of of of of ideas from recent research to to to to an- cient knowledge to to to to to make apparent to to to to to visitors the the the many ways in which human life is is is entangled with the the the vegetal They are are on on on a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a mission to to to to to cure what Wandersee and and and Schussler have described as as as “plant blindness” and and and add to to the the responses as- sembled in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 2018 collection asking Why Look at Plants? edited by Giovanni Aloi 1 1 This essay will take readers into several exhibits primarily in in in in in in in in Germany and and the the US but also point to to to shows in in in in in in in the the the UK France and and and online in in in in in in in order to to to analyze the the the the many different approaches and and and strategies of mediating encounters with our vegetal kin through art art and and language In doing so the the the the the piece asks about the the the the the ways in in in in which these these exhibits reflect the the the the the the human human imagination of plants with a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a particu- lar focus on on on the the the the entangled human-plant relationships that emerge from these these examples Germany: Of Plants and People
Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden has a a a a a a a a a a complicated history Founded in 1912 by by a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a mouthwash heir heir the the the museum provided public access to to modern health information but was was also instrumentalized by by the the the the Nazis for for their propaganda of racial hygiene (a fact that the the the museum openly and and critically addresses) Today its permanent exhibition The Human Adventure is paired with well-researched large- scale thematic shows From April April 2019 to April April 2020 the the temporary exhibit exhibit was Of Plants and People: A A A A Stroll Around Our Green Planet curated by Kathrin Meyer 2 2 2 2 The The bilingual German/English exhibition features three parts: “To the the Roots” “Sowing and and and Reaping ” ” ” and and and “Living in in in in in in in the the the Planetary Garden ” ” ” The The accompanying book leads through the the the show and and and and intersperses approachable German-language essays written by scholars with poetry short prose excerpts and and images of the the artworks on on display 3
The exhibition is is is is as as much about about knowledge as as it it it is is is is about about art Renée Sin- tenis’ (1888-1965) sculpture Große Daphne Daphne (Big Daphne Daphne 1930) greets the visitor