Pyrus Malus Possibly 1788

Editor: This is "Pyrus Malus," possibly from 1788, by Joseph Jakob Plenck. It's a print made with gouache and watercolor and reminds me of illustrations you'd see in old botany books. What do you make of it? Curator: Beyond the apparent beauty of the apple and its blossoms, botanical illustrations of this era participated in a broader colonial project. The detailed categorization and visual documentation of flora were directly linked to resource extraction and control. Editor: Colonialism and botany? I hadn't thought of that connection. Curator: Consider who was commissioning and consuming these images. Were they created to serve scientific understanding, or to facilitate economic exploitation? The precise rendering can be seen as a form of appropriation. Even the act of naming, of assigning a scientific label like 'Pyrus Malus,' asserts a certain power. Do you think there's an inherent bias in the act of documentation itself? Editor: That's a really interesting point! It reframes the picture completely. Instead of just a pretty apple, it becomes evidence of a particular kind of historical gaze. Curator: Exactly. The image then speaks to the complex relationship between scientific observation, artistic representation, and the systems of power at play during the late 18th century. So, it makes us reconsider how we engage with scientific and natural imagery even today, especially its historical ties. Editor: I never thought I’d see so much beneath the surface of an apple illustration. Curator: These layers exist in almost every work. It's up to us to engage critically with what’s represented and what’s implied.