Art Forms in Nature 101 1928

Curator: So striking. They’re almost like architectural renderings. There’s a delicacy to it. Editor: I agree. Looking at this series of gelatin silver prints from 1928 by Karl Blossfeldt titled "Art Forms in Nature 101", I'm reminded how photography was once heralded for its capacity to both objectively document the natural world, and… subjectify it at the same time. Curator: Precisely. Each of the three individual prints depict a botanical sample—almost as though you’re getting a sense of his mind as he was organizing and cataloging the natural world around him. You have this incredible magnification; suddenly details like the prickly hairs and textured surfaces of these plants emerge. You find this strange, sensual topography where shadows create abstract sculptures of living things. Editor: And to bring in my inner art nerd for a second: Blossfeldt made these images using a homemade camera that allowed him to magnify his subjects up to thirty times their actual size! When you realize that, these almost become portraits of the industrial revolution, in all its strange ambition and audacity. Think about the way nature was being perceived and exploited in this moment. His photographs capture that hubris. Curator: Hubris for sure… but what gets me is how personal the work feels. What was it like, standing there, waiting for that perfect shot? I love the way he teases the edge of abstraction and figuration simultaneously, creating an alternative reality to get lost in, you know? This could be set design from some dark science fiction film. Editor: Exactly. And that interplay really allows us to think about art nouveau aesthetics, in particular its complicated dance with industrialization. The photos ask us, are we really seeing nature for itself here? Or are we only understanding it through the lenses of scientific investigation, photographic technology, and burgeoning environmental exploitation? Curator: Good questions, honestly. After our conversation I want to find myself in my garden. With a camera. Maybe make art. Editor: Me too. Let's start planning.