An Evolution of Flora

Temple of Flora

This project references the botanical illustrations of Philip Reinagle and others for the book Temple of Flora, (Robert Thornton 1799) in which artists were commissioned to paint botanical illustrations of plants in their natural habitat, though the artists had not always seen their subjects in person. What resulted were not always scientifically accurate, but rather romanticized, melodramatic images of giant flowers that the artists hoped would convey the experience of seeing the flora in person.

Exaggeration of Human Perception

The example of these images demonstrate that human perceptions are subjective, and often tend to distort the environment, exaggerating some things while ignoring others. In this illustration of pitcher plants, the forms seem gigantic, towering over the landscape. With this work I pursued the ideal/imagined/abstracted forms of flora that exist mentally rather than a scientific or observational form of a physical plant.

Diagram of a Perfect Carnation

This illustration is a woodcarving titled Diagram of a Perfect Carnation, published in Gardener's Magazine of Botany, July-December 1850. It was imagined as a "perfect" ideal form that gardeners should attempt to recreate with their plants. This shows clearly how the ideal human representation of nature can override the variety and complexity of actual nature. If our ideas of nature are not nature itself, then what are they, and where may they lead us?

Digital Processes: Historical Parallels and Impacts

There are some interesting parallels between the Temple of Flora illustrations and the use of digital processes today. In the historical examples, many of the artists were separated from their subjects habitats and had to create some of their illustrations based off of descriptions or other drawings rather than physical experience. Similarly, digital design tools encourage artists to work in an idealized digital space, sometimes completely separated from the physical processes of the actual product. This can lead to work which feels more artificial or abstracted, like it was teleported to earth, rather than growing out of the ground. In both cases the separation of the artist from the subject or material places more emphasis on the imagination and internalized perceptions of the artist, which may be more exaggerated, romantic, hallucinatory, minimal or surreal.

Another potential parallel between Temple of Flora and digital processes, is the influence of corporate power. Some of the British desire for botanical illustrations like Temple of Flora was to catalogue, understand and posses the natural resources of newly conquered lands of the British Empire - lands often controlled by private trading companies like the British East India Company. As the handful of leading software companies like Mcneel (Rhinocerous), Autodesk (Fusion 360), Blender, Solidworks and others compete, there are updates and changes to the tools and processes that each company offers in their software. The power that the software companies have over the basic tools of digital fabrication has a significant impact on the way digital artists and designers think. As digital design and fabrication tools evolve and consolidate, it is worth questioning how this impacts the imaginations, processes and artworks of the artists and designers who use them.

Digital Imaginings: Pitcher Plant

Many generations of hypothetical floral forms were created using Rhinoceros 3D CAD software. The use of CAD software made it possible for the piece to evolve over time as adjustments were made to the form.

Digital Imaginings: Poppy

Digital design tools are powerful because they make it easy to edit and iterate forms. Digital tools also make it possible to scale objects to any desired size with precise measurements.

Digital Imaginings: Iris

With this piece I wanted to take advantage of the strengths of digital fabrication, using the tools to make multiple iterations and also to scale the final form to an exaggerated size in referece to the Temple of Flora illustrations.

Digital Imaginings: Lily

The forms based on lily seed pods and leaves have a desirable balance between complexity and simplicity. This form could create an engaging sculpture and be feasible to fabricate at large scale.

A rendering of the digital model with a metallic graphite surface.

This image shows the digital model (in dark green) partitioned into two-inch thick sections (light green). The sections are then arranged (in black) to be cut out on the CNC router.

One panel of foam containing sectioned parts of the sculpture. The CNC router mills away the foam to create the sections which are later assembled by hand.

Assembling the milled foam parts manually using adhesive

Assembling the parts, one leaf form is nearly complete

Inlaying threaded steel rod which will add strength and provide a secure attachment to the wooden base.

Covering the foam with non-toxic resin and fiberglass. This adds strength and unifies the form.

Not Pictured: a great deal of fiberglass layering, sanding and finishing.

The finished physical piece, installed in the Turchin Center for Visual Arts.

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