Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World

Exhibition

Stephen Goddard, curator

March 27, 2018–July 15, 2018

Galleries 315, 316, 317, and 408 Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World will explore humankind’s deep connections and fascination with the plant kingdom through works from the Spencer’s collection, a number of significant loans, and commissions by living artists. The exhibition will be organized through several themes: artists' studies of plant forms; historic and contemporary plant lore; art dealing with ecological sustainability and biomechanical plant hybrids; plants in a post-human world; and works dealing with current scientific research on how plants sense the world and communicate. An accompanying publication will document the project and include brief texts by artists and curators as well as biologists, ecologists, and philosophers. A range of educational programs will engage university students, youth and families, scholars, and citizen scientists with the exhibition's central themes and artists.

Exhibition images

Works of art

Antoine-Jean Weber (1797–1875); Louise Adéone Drölling (1797–1834), Une jeune personne calquant une Fleur (A Young Woman Tracing a Flower)

Sebald Beham (1500–1550), untitled (Maskeron)

Thomas Jeckyll (1827–1881), design for a bracket panel for a Japanese pavillion

William Sharp (1803–1875); John Fisk Allen (1785–1865), untitled (view of the form of the flower mentioned on the thirteenth page)

Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932), Eryngium Bourgatii Mannetreau

William Morris (1834–1896), Double Bough

Anna Atkins (1799–1871), Robinia pseudo-acacia (America)

William Sharp (1803–1875); John Fisk Allen (1785–1865), untitled (under side of a leaf)

William Sharp (1803–1875); John Fisk Allen (1785–1865), untitled (young plants, frontispiece)

Susan Davidoff (born 1953); Lawrence Lithography Workshop (active 2001–present), Regiones Botánicas de la Tierra: Antillas No. 1

Susan Davidoff (born 1953); Lawrence Lithography Workshop (active 2001–present), Regiones Botánicas de la Tierra: Antillas No. 2

Richard Alden Griffin (1944–1991), "Aoxomoxoa," The Grateful Dead, The Sons of Champlin, Initital Shock, January 24-25-26, Avalon Ballroom

Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932), Trollius Ledeboura, Troll-Dotter blume

Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932), Aspidium Filix Mas. Wurmfarn

Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932), Papaver Mohn

Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932), Körbchenblütler

George Andrew Tice (1938–2025), Tree #12

George Andrew Tice (1938–2025), Tree #19

William Sharp (1803–1875); John Fisk Allen (1785–1865), untitled (opening flower)

William Sharp (1803–1875); John Fisk Allen (1785–1865), untitled (intermediate stages of bloom)

William Sharp (1803–1875); John Fisk Allen (1785–1865), untitled (complete bloom)

Doug Starn (born 1961); Mike Starn (born 1961), Structure of Thought 15

Mark Kostabi (born 1960), Flaws are Opportunities

Carl Wilhelm Kolbe the elder (1759–1835), Die Kuh im Sumpf (The Cow in the Swamp)

Rodolphe Bresdin (1822–1885), Le bon Samaritain (The good Samaritan)

Isabella Kirkland (born 1954); Trillium Graphics (founded 1979); Feature Inc., Descendant

Isabella Kirkland (born 1954); Trillium Graphics (founded 1979); Feature Inc., Ascendant

Isabella Kirkland (born 1954); Trillium Graphics (founded 1979); Feature Inc., Trade

Isabella Kirkland (born 1954); Trillium Graphics (founded 1979); Feature Inc., Collection

Isabella Kirkland (born 1954); Trillium Graphics (founded 1979); Feature Inc., Back

Isabella Kirkland (born 1954); Trillium Graphics (founded 1979); Feature Inc., Gone

Terry Evans (born 1944), Field Museum, Helianthus, 1905

Rochester Lithographing and Printing Co. (active 1870–1900s), apple tree salesman's sample book

Eduardo Kac (born 1962), Edunia Seed Pack #1

Eduardo Kac (born 1962), Edunia Seed Pack #4

Esaias van Hulsen (circa 1585–1624), Console of scrolling foliate forms with flowers and two birds, and a hunter shooting rabbits

Michiel Snyders (1586–1672), untitled (bouquet of flowers in ornate vase, with insects)

Ryan Oakes (born 1982); Trevor Oakes (born 1982), Cauli-Cosmos

Ryan Oakes (born 1982); Trevor Oakes (born 1982), Pine Cone Rhythm

Richard Selesnick (born 1964); Nicholas Kahn (born 1964), King of Weeds

Jost Amman (1539–1591); Wenzel Jamnitzer (1507 or 1508–1585), Title page (III. Terra. Hexaedron)

Jost Amman (1539–1591); Wenzel Jamnitzer (1507 or 1508–1585), Plate B6

Jost Amman (1539–1591); Wenzel Jamnitzer (1507 or 1508–1585), Plate C1

Jost Amman (1539–1591); Wenzel Jamnitzer (1507 or 1508–1585), Plate C2

Jost Amman (1539–1591); Wenzel Jamnitzer (1507 or 1508–1585), Plate C3

Dain L. Tasker (1872–1964), Fuschia [Fuchsia]

A. Mary Kay (born 1954), Number 47. Milkweed, Iris, Trumpet Vine Seedpods

A. Mary Kay (born 1954), Number 11. Leaf Skeleton

A. Mary Kay (born 1954), Number 28. Stem and Seeds

A. Mary Kay (born 1954), Number 20. Hosta Leaves

Katie Paterson (born 1981), Future Library (certificate)

Jean-Émile Laboureur (1877–1943), L'Entomologiste (The Entomologist or The Insect Collector)

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), JANUARY: Reading Seed Catalogs

Justin Amrhein (born 1979), Mechanical Orchid Triptych, Cypripedium Acaule aka Lady Slipper

Justin Amrhein (born 1979), Mechanical Orchid Triptych, Vanda Coerulea aka Blue Vanda

Justin Amrhein (born 1979), Mechanical Orchid Triptych, Psychopsis Papilio aka Butterfly Orchid

Laurence Aëgerter (born 1972), Healing Plants for Hurt Landscapes

Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), Moss (Muscinae)

Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae)

Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), Orchids (Orchidae)

Justin Amrhein (born 1979), Mechanical Orchid Parts Catalogue

Peter Randall-Page (born 1954), Fibonacci Flip II

José Antonio Suárez Londoño (born 1955); Felix Harlan (born 1951); Carol Weaver (born 1955); Harlan & Weaver (founded 1984), untitled

unrecorded Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) or Mi'kmaq (Micmac) artist, small basket with lid

Israhel van Meckenem the younger (1440 or 1445–1503); Master of the Housebook (circa 1470–1500), The Lovers

Mark Dion (born 1961), The Seed Smuggler's Luggage

Dornith Doherty (born 1957), Vault Interior, Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Spitsbergen Island, Norway

Jim Richardson (born 1947), Kernza® (intermediate wheatgrass), Thinopyrum intermedium

Jim Richardson (born 1947), Compass Plant, Silphium laciniatum

Anaïs Tondeur (born 1985), Chernobyl Herbarium

Rohini Devasher (born 1978), Archetype - 1

Rohini Devasher (born 1978), Chimera - 2

Laurence Aëgerter (born 1972), Taraxacum officinale i.a. - Gaza, Palestina

Mathias Kessler (born 1968), After Nature (coding and re-coding nature)

Heather Ackroyd (born 1959); Dan Harvey (born 1959), The Satanic Formula (after Senanayake)

Terry Evans (born 1944), Flora of Kansas, Anton Olson, white daisy, 1886

Terry Evans (born 1944), Flora of Kansas, Anton Olson, blue wild indigo, 1886

Terry Evans (born 1944), Flora of Kansas, Anton Olson, oenethera, 1886

Terry Evans (born 1944), Flora of Kansas, Anton Olson, grass, 1886

Terry Evans (born 1944), Flora of Kansas, Anton Olson, green milkweed, 1886

Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717), Plate XXVI Cacao

Albertus Seba (1665–1736), Volume 1, Plate I, Skeletons of Various Fruits

Nehemiah Grew (1641–1712), Plate 34, Sumach Branch Cut Transversly

Laurence Aëgerter (born 1972), Althaea officinalis – i.a. Al Ahmadi, Kuwait

Laurence Aëgerter (born 1972), Ruta graveolens i.a. - Barrington crater, Arizona, USA

Laurence Aëgerter (born 1972), Cannabis sativa i.a. - Coastal Japan

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), FEBRUARY: Planting Seeds

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), MARCH: Watering the Cold Frame

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), APRIL: Edging the Beds

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), MAY: Cultivating Lettuce

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), JUNE: Training a Passion Vine

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), JULY: Fertilizing

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), AUGUST: Deadheading

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), SEPTEMBER: Mowing

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), OCTOBER: Bringing in Chrysanthemums

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), NOVEMBER: Digging Dahlia Tubers

Andrew Raftery (born 1962), DECEMBER: Contemplating in the Snow

Clyde Butcher (born 1942), Ghost Orchid I

Clyde Butcher (born 1942), Ghost Orchid Dancing

Sandy Winters (born 1949), The Signal and the Noise

Sandy Winters (born 1949), Long Night's Journey into Day

Karl Kröner (1887–1972), Waldflechte (Forest Lichens)

William Sharp (1803–1875); John Fisk Allen (1785–1865), portfolio cover

Mark Dion (born 1961), Field Guide to Dr. Fairchild's Kampong Laboratory with Notes on the Surrounding Garden and Flora

Mark Dion (born 1961), The Jenks Society presents A Brief Guide to THE LOST MUSEUM, Providence, R.I.

Mark Dion (born 1961); Printed Matter, Inc., A Field Guide and Handbook of Thoughts, Musings, Observations, Case Studies, and Histories (Alternative, Conventional & Otherwise) on on the Elevated Structure Formerly and Now Known as the HIGH...

Mark Dion (born 1961), Field Guide – Buffalo Bayou Invasive Plant Eradication Unit

Mark Dion (born 1961), Field Guide to Ohio University Collections

Mark Dion (born 1961), Mobile Gull Appreciation Unit / Field Guide

Mark Dion (born 1961), Field Guide to the Wildlife of Mark Dion’s Seattle Vivarium, Olympic Sculpture Park

Mark Dion (born 1961), Mark Dion’s Urban Wildlife Observation Unit, Field Guide to the Wildlife of Madison Square Park, July 11–October 31, 2002, a Project of the Public Art Fund

Dornith Doherty (born 1957), Nordic Genetic Resource Center Seed Vials, Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Dornith Doherty (born 1957), Barley Collection, Vavilov Institute for Plant Industry, St. Petersburg, Russia

Dornith Doherty (born 1957), Seed Vault, Kuban Experimental Station of the VIR, Krasnodar Territory, Russia

Dornith Doherty (born 1957), Greenhouse, Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, West Sussex, England

Dornith Doherty (born 1957), Antique Seed Collection, Western Australia Threatened Seed Centre, Kensington, Western Australia

Dornith Doherty (born 1957), Acai Research, EMBRAPA Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasilia, Brazil

Dornith Doherty (born 1957), Incubator USADA ARS, National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

Sarah Hearn (born 1978), Artificial Lichen Colony 10

American Prairie Lepidella (Amanita prairiicola Peck) Collected by Elam Bartholomew in the open Kansas prairie, September 17, 1896

Wolf lichen (Letharia vulpina (L.) Hue) Collected by Theodore L. Esslinger in Klickitat County, Washington, August 10, 1999

Mead's Milkweed (Asclepias meadii Torr) Collected by Ralph E. Brooks in Douglas County, Kansas, June 8, 1982

Western Prairie fringed orchid (Habenaria leucophaea (Nutt.) A. Gray [now recognized as Platanthera praeclara Sheviak & M.L. Bowles]) Collected by Magrath in Jefferson County, Kansas, June 23, 1969

Whitetinge sedge (Carex albicans Willd. ex Spreng. var albicans) Collected by Lewis David de Schweinitz, circa 1812–1821

Canadian anemone (Renunculaceae/Anemone pennsylvanica [Anemone canadensis L.]) Collected by Lewis Lindsay Dyche in Lawrence, Kansas, circa 1878–1915

Blacksamson echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia DC.) Collected by Ronald L. McGregor in Johnson County, Nebraska, December 5, 1960

Sweetgrass (Savastana odorata (L.) Scribn. [now recognized as Hierochloe odorata (L.) P. Beauv.]) Collected by Frederick Funston on Khantaak Island, Alaska, June 20, 1892

Albertus Seba (1665–1736), Volume 1, Plate IV, Deciduous Leaves from Various Plants

Albertus Seba (1665–1736), Volume 1, Plate II, Root Systems of Various Plants

Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717), Plate XXX Castor Oil Plant with Ricini Longwing Butterfly

Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717), Plate XXXIV Grape Vine with Gaudy Sphinx Moth

Heather Ackroyd (born 1959); Dan Harvey (born 1959), Andi | Standing Rock Dakota

Heather Ackroyd (born 1959); Dan Harvey (born 1959), Lottie | Leith Hill No Drill

Sara Taliaferro (born 1962); Rachel Straughn-Navarro, Big Botany, Big Ideas

Events

April 21, 2018

Activity

Gel Printing with Plants

1:00–4:00PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Sam and Connie Perkins Central Court, 317

May 19, 2018

Activity

Nature vs Machine Drawings

1:00–4:00PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Sam and Connie Perkins Central Court, 317

May 24, 2018

Talk

Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World

10:00–11:00AM

Spencer Museum of Art, Sam and Connie Perkins Central Court, 317

April 13, 2018

Tour

SOC 519 Sociology of Global Food

9:00–10:50AM

Spencer Museum of Art, 315, 316, 317, 408

March 27, 2018

Talk

What a Plant Knows

5:30–6:30PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Auditorium, 309

March 28, 2018

Conference

Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World

10:00AM–5:00PM

Spencer Museum of Art

March 30, 2018

Performance

Goldenberg Duo

12:00–1:00PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Sam and Connie Perkins Central Court, 317

April 11, 2018

Talk

PLANT-CAPITAL: Objectification and Agency in a Consumerist World

5:30–6:30PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Auditorium, 309

April 21, 2018

Performance

Afternoon on a Hill

4:00–5:00PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Sam and Connie Perkins Central Court, 317

April 22, 2018

Talk

Up Close: Big Botany and a Look at Lichen

2:00–4:00PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Sam and Connie Perkins Central Court, 317, Spencer Museum of Art, Kemper Family Foundations Balcony, 408, Spencer Museum of Art, H.W. (Bill) and Marynell D. Reece Memorial Plaza

April 29, 2018

Activity

Day of Creativity: People. Plants. Play.

12:00–3:00PM

Spencer Museum of Art

May 2, 2018

Talk

Inside Big Botany

5:30–6:30PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Auditorium, 309

March 13–March 27, 2018

Engagement

Sandy Winters

Spencer Museum of Art

March 15–March 27, 2018

Engagement

Mathias Kessler

Spencer Museum of Art

March 15–March 27, 2018

Engagement

Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey

Spencer Museum of Art

May 3, 2018–February 14, 2025

Talk

Humankind: Solidarity with Non-Humans

10:00–11:00AM

The Commons, Spooner Hall, 1340 Jayhawk Blvd

May 31, 2018

Screening

Leaning into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy

6:00–7:30PM

Spencer Museum of Art

June 8, 2018

Talk

Six Degrees of Separation

1:00–2:00PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Jack and Lavon Brosseau Center for Learning, 318

June 14, 2018

Screening

Day of the Triffids

6:00–7:30PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Auditorium, 309

June 28, 2018

Screening

Annihilation

6:00–8:00PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Auditorium, 309

July 15, 2018

Screening

Little Shop of Horrors

2:00–3:30PM

Spencer Museum of Art, Auditorium, 309

Exhibition images

Works of art

Events

Resources

Documents

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Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World

Exhibition Overview

Exhibition images

Works of art

Events

Resources

Documents

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