Endangered Plants Focus of Botanical Art Show
Posted in Exhibitions on April 27th, 2010 by Plant Talk – Be the first to commentTraveling Exhibition Opens Next Week at the Garden
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Carol Woodin is Exhibitions Coordinator for the American Society of Botanical Artists and a freelance botanical artist. |
An organization of artists and illustrators who depict plants, the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) began a project in 2006 to tell two stories: the continuing relevance of botanical art and the often neglected story of plant endangerment, as the decline of the world’s plant life is one of the most significant issues of our time. The result is the traveling exhibition Losing Paradise? Endangered Plants Here and Around the World, which opens at The New York Botanical Garden Thursday, May 6.
Artists from around the country and the world worked to capture the threatened and endangered plant life in their neighborhood or farther afield over the course of about three years (such as the image above
© Jean Emmons, Ixia viridiflora, Green Ixia, watercolor on vellum). This project has encouraged ASBA members to learn about today’s endangered plants, to depict more of them, to grow relationships with people involved in studying and conserving them, and to develop ethical field study techniques. Endangered plants are by definition difficult to find, and in some cases, excellent orienteering skills are needed. Once found, they sometimes require multiple years of study for a completely accurate depiction. Collaboration with scientists, conservationists, and botanical gardens bridges the disciplines of art and science and enriches both. read more »