ARTS3050 Critical Reflection: Plant World (Cale and Stephanie)
ARTS3050 Critical Reflection: Plant World
What we have done
The world of plants is very broad so to gain a deeper understanding of our topic, we researched two articles each and summarised the information. We peer-reviewed each other’s content and brainstormed ideas that we believed would not limit our abilities and our efforts for this assessment. The articles we selected were ‘The Plant Contract: Art's Return to Vegetal Life (Prudence Gibson, 2008), The Life of Plants and the Limits of Empathy (Michael Marder, 2012), Food plants and medicine (Brian Shutes, 1984), and ‘Wearing the Garden (Elizabeth Anya-Petrivna, 2014). An analysis of the poem, ‘The Flower’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson, was done through a Close Reading exercise. The task enabled us to read in between the lines and consolidate our understanding of the relationship between the Anthropocene and the natural world. The Photo Essay and the Short Film are visual documentations of the concepts and issues surrounding the research we have done.
Concept/ Theme:
Plant Blindness is neglecting the fundamental and environmental function of a plant. So instead of comprehending the practical uses of the plant, its value is determined by how aesthetically pleasing it is to society. For example, if someone was to take a photo and all they had was a tree and a flower, they would prefer to have ‘pretty’ flowers in the background. This preference stems from the idea that the beauty of a plant can ‘uplift’ a photograph, they reinforcing the issue of valuing a plant based on its appearance. Plant Blindness is also the idea that flora is viewed as a backdrop whereas other things are made central. Another example would be in a film or photograph where the central figure is not nature - it is the person, animal or object that is captured within the lens of the camera. Again this exemplifies the notion that plants are automatically pushed into the background while anything anthropocene is pulled into the foreground.
How theoretical articles have influenced our work
Gibson’s article, ‘The Plant Contract: Art's Return to Vegetal Life’ states that “Humans will always see the bear not the woods, the lion not the grasslands, the camel not the desert dunes”. Gibson conveys that plants are continuously ‘locked’ in the background, whereas animals and other organisms are always placed into the foreground, which leads to the notion of plant blindness. This highlights that the ability to appreciate the unique biological features of plants is hindered by one’s preference for something else. We have decided to test this theory by including a bird in our short film and observing what the viewers will see first – the bird or the plants. We estimate that few will notice the plants while a majority may glance at the plants and re-shift their focus onto the bird. To many of the viewers, the plants exist as the setting for the central figure – the bird.
The author also suggests that “some plants are wicked, some are defiant, and others cannot be controlled”. We have explored this concept in our short film by including plants of different appearances, shapes, and sizes. The film, along with Gibson, exemplifies the unique biological qualities of plants. The use of personification shows that although plants do not share the biological features of a human, they are still living organisms. The connotations of wicked and defiant signify the idiosyncratic traits of flora and their ability to adapt their environments. An example could include the Crown of Thorns plant, which cloaks itself in a layer of thorns on each stem. Once the plant grows, the thorns become a thick barrier between the people and the flowers. Yet what makes the plant wicked or defiant has nothing to do with its environmental properties, it has something to do with its appearance. Thorns are usually associated with pain and blood, and the form the plant takes, once it has fully grown, is different to the shape of a ‘traditional’ flower. Therefore, the image of the Crown of Thorns has a striking resemblance to the element of ‘evil’ in fairy-tales or folklore. Gibson’s article has encouraged us to consider a wide variety of plants, their appearances and their environmental features.
Furthermore, Tennyson’s poem ‘The Flower’, demonstrates that the different perceptions people have of plants can have damaging effects, once we apply society’s beauty standards onto flora. For example, compare the Crown of Thorns, a Cactus, and a Rose. All three have thorns, two are deemed dangerous and potentially ‘ugly’ while one is adored and used as a symbol of beauty and romance. The damaging effect of prioritising appearance over environmental function leads to a decline in the species that is neglected. The aim of our assessment is to show all plants from a variety of angles and reiterate the importance and detrimental effects of plant blindness. This idea of ignorance is also presented in the article ‘Wearing the Garden’, which authenticates Tennyson’s idea that only ‘pretty’ flowers make it to the centre of attention. Both Tennyson and Anya-Petrivna confirm that society’s opinions dictate the value of the plant.
In both, Marder’s article, The Life of Plants and the Limits of Empathy, and Shute’s Food plants and medicine, the environmental functions and uses of plants are discussed. The analysis and facts provided by both authors displays the impact of plant blindness – pushing plants into the background will limit our understanding of its functions and uses. Nature has given us a myriad of phenomenal plants that we often take for granted. The issue stems from the tendency to judge and neglect plants based on appearances. The language we use to describe and express our attitude towards plants also has the power to annihilate our relationship with them. Thus, it is important that we make use of what we are given before the species become extinct.
How we have used these ideas
The photo essay visually represents the idea of plant blindness and the reactions of society towards beautiful and undesirable plants. The short film portrays the daily behaviour of the community and the attitudes we have towards plants. By including a diverse range of plants in the film, we are conveying that beauty should not be the only essential criterion of a flower. The inclusion of a person and her reaction to nature towards the end of the film was meant to convey the privilege we have of being able to connect and enjoy what nature has given us. The concept of plant blindness may seem insignificant yet the environmental function of flora is what makes the natural world so unique and extraordinary. These environmental properties are what makes a plant beneficial to communities,
for example, the chance to make medicine. There is also the opportunity to de-stress as we liberate ourselves from reality and enter the natural world of tranquillity.
Conclusion:
To summarise, our research has shown us that the attitude and words of people can influence the way others see things. Through written and visual forms, we have encapsulated this into the idea that society’s anthropocenic mentality has led us to neglect or ‘take for granted’ what is available to us, or what is right in front of us. Therefore, Plant Blindness is a concern for it dictates what is valuable to us, based on the extent of its ‘beauty’, rather than its uses.
By Stephanie Lim (z5113551) and Cale Leishman (z5075676)