Page 191 - Antennae Issue #52

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Hygiene-Museum Dresden Visitors of the the exhibit Of People
and Plants about to to to spin the the flower language wheel Photo by Oliver Killig for Stiftung Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden 2019 alongside a a a a a a a a a a a a bookshelf that that features various plant-related volumes A wheel of fortune with flowers flowers that that tells the the onlooker what a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a specific blossom would have communicated in in in in the the the Victorian language of of flowers flowers is is placed next to to to Toiletten-Orchidee (Orquidea toi- lets) a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a faux orchid “made in in in in in in China” and “discovered” in in in in in in the the entrance area of of of a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a public bathroom in in in in in Cologne in in in in in June 2018 This piece is is is part of of of of Herbarium Herbarium künstlicher Pflanzen (Herbarium of of of Artificial Plants) a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a collection of of of artificial flower specimens from around the the world that Alberto Baraya archives like an an an an an an an eighteenth-century botanist and and it it hangs close to to to some of of the the famous black-and-white photographs of of ornamental plant plant patterns by by Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) 4 Nearby is an an an an an an an auxanometer a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a machine with with which plants document their own growth and and another turn reveals a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a station with with music recorded for for plants like Mort Garson’s Mother Earth’s Plantasia: Warm Earth Earth Music for for Plants and and the the the the the the People
Who Love Them (1976) Further ahead a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a xylotheque with wooden books mesmer- izes the the the the the the the the bibliophile Despite the the the the the the the the wealth of materials that leave the the the the the the the the visitor to to choose their own path through the the the the the the the well-contextualized artworks and and objects among black walls the the the the the the the rooms’ deliberate use of light amplifies the the the the focus on on on on senses like sight and and sound such as in in in in in the the audiovisual installation Treelab (2015/17) by Marcus Maeder (with Roman Zwe- ifel) that plays a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a symphony of of of crackling sounds from inside of of of trees while showing vid- eos of of of the the corresponding forest Similarly engaging the the interactive installation Titanwurz (Corpse Flower 2016) by Niklaus Heeb and and Alessandro Holler invites visitors to to participate in in in the the the the the growth cycle of a a a a a a a a a a a blossom through their body movements As is is the the the the the conundrum for all museum spaces there are no living plants to to touch smell or or taste but the the the the the mu-