This is not an essay about John Harington or whether or not the word “loo” originates from the French “Guardez l’eau!” to warn passersby of the impending dump; the emptying of the chamber pot out the window! While I have long been fascinated by outhouses and bathroom rituals this piece is actually about plants!
We learn early on that as humans that we rely on plants for the food we eat, and the air we breathe and the water we drink. We are taught in elementary school that plants provide us with food (over 7,000 species of plants are being consumed today), fiber (in the form of clothing cotton/ flax/ hemp), shelter (in the form of wood for our homes), medicine, and fuel. We learn that the basic food for all organisms is produced by green plants. In the process of food production, oxygen is released. This oxygen, which we obtain from the air we breathe, is essential to life. The only source of food AND oxygen are plants (no animal alone can supply these).
Later on we also learn plants clean the water and regulate waterways, we learn plants can clean the air, we learn plants help with soil quality. Everything we are taught is from an anthropocentric lens, how plants serve our existence. Yet despite human’s need of plants, 40% of the world’s plant species are endangered and the intricacies of the plant-human relationship, plants are often overlooked, even compared to other aspects of the natural world (such as wildlife). Studies have recently revealed the concept of “plant blindness,” in which many people literally don’t see plants at all, as they become the equivalent of ecological wallpaper. We like to surround ourselves with representations of plants (in our homes, in our celebrations, in art art), yet we have little connection with the plants themselves, little knowledge of their qualities, or their true significance in our lives. People have always been fascinated by plants, plant hunters have traversed the globe looking for certain plants, or regular people take family vacations to see unique plant environments such as the California redwoods, Saguaro cactus, or the the bluebells or Lavender fields of Europe, and the cherry blossoms of Japan.
Anthrobotanical interconnections between plants and people actually go much deeper and are more nuanced. We are not taught how to live in relationship with plants. We are not taught that plants are alive, living beings (2015 study by Monica Gagliano (University of Western Australia) plants talk to each other and have memories, plants are sentient beings). We are not taught how to be in a reciprocal relationship with plants. Indigenous peoples around the world have long regarded plants as having spirits, I like to think we are slowly catching up. Scientists continue to discover the complexities of how plants take in and respond to information, even communicating with each other through underground networks and chemical signals.
Plants are an integral part of our daily lives necessary for the balance in our environment (on our planet ) and more and more we are learning for our personal health and well-being. Many of us are unintentionally are in daily relationship with plants. We are in a partnership with the living earth (Gaia)
It is from this approach I’d live to dive into Plants as Art, or as I like to put it art that breathes.
It’s impossible to explore the History of Art without plants, think paper, books, pigments, fiber just to begin. Some archeologists believe that mosses, in all their soft and airy glory, were the original paintbrush.
But aside from participating in the production of art, plants have, for the longest time, been the subject of art. Plants have been used in art to tell stories, teach us about our own cultural roots, and most recently, act as the canvas themselves. They have often been a muse for art, famous artists and artworks depict plants- Georgia O Keefe’s flowers, Van Gough’s sunflowers, Monet’s Water Lily’s to name the obvious. Paul Klee would say that observing nature can be a form of art itself. “For me, the closest you are to nature, the more you understand everything around you, and in that way, creating art becomes more spontaneous.”
More and more studies have recently been released showing Plants improve mental health- there is no mistake that during the pandemic more and more people adopted house plants, gardened and canned food they grew. Studies show that plant life has a positive impact on the human mind. This is especially true in urban environments where people feel disconnected from nature. (essay to follow on disconnection) The theory that humans are naturally drawn to nature and happier around it is called “biophilia” a term coined by Biologist Edward O. Wilson 1980s which has since inspired change in many fields.
Recently, there has been a dramatic increase of people wanting to make art with plants, a worldwide movement; botanical dye-ing, botanical contact printing, eco-printing on paper and fabric, alternative photography methods (anthotypes, chlorophyl prints, cyanotypes) nature printing, botanical inks, flower pounding and while these methods are not new, many are quite traditional, but the number of people participating in them has grown tremendously thus increases the need to talk about ethical use of plants, ecology of plant habitats and wildcrafting becomes a necessity. No surprise that the book “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer has become so popular and seems to be handed from person to person.
Art that Breathes show statement
Plants are alive, plants breathe, plants are living beings.
Plants are sentient beings
Working with plants is a collaboration, a dynamic relationship,
where there is no controlling the result. It’s about the process, being in the moment, feeling the connection.
It’s relational activity,
The results a fluid, gently changing
Life is not stagnant, life is always changing. Constantly in motion
Health is not stagnant, health is flow
Nothing in Nature is static
There is gentle movement even in the stillness
Nothing lasts forever
As humans we are always trying extend life, to beat the odds, we are so rarely present enough to notice the gentleness of the moment, the breath of plants.
The art that breathes.
Nothing lasts forever
I encourage everyone to experience art in collaborations with plants, think about what it might mean to you to partner, perhaps without an end goal in mind, without trying to fit them into a mold which has already been created. Whether you are using plants as pigments or plants to heal. It’s a dynamic relationship, pushes boundaries and creates change.
Frank Lloyd Wright, believed plants and forests were high art. He firmly encouraged his students to “study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”Following the FLW’s footsteps I’ve always told my students that in order to be an herbalist you have to be an ecologist, it seems that that can be expanded to being an artist, or simply being living on this planet. Plants have become our companions, breathing with us, living with us, and inspiring us to become more human.
Coming soon:
Part 2 Ethical Guidelines to Harvesting Wild plants/Wildcrafting
Part 3 To be an artist/herbalist HUMAN you must first be an Environmentalist
Part 4 The many uses of Nettle
These three essays are a companion piece to my show “Art That Breathes- showing March 2023 at the Loo Gallery at Zea Mays Printmaking in Florence MA
The Beyond “Braiding Sweetgrass” Booklist
- Thinking Like a Plant by Craig Holdrege
- Thus Spoke the Plant by Monica Gagliano
- Plants have so much to give us all we have to do is ask by Mary Siisip Geniusz
- The Biophilic Garden Connecting People, Plants and Inscape by Isla Burgess
- Partner Earth by Pam Montgomery
- What a plant knows by Daniel Chamovitz
- The Living World of the Plants by Dr. Gerbert Grohmann
I LOVE everything about this!