EVENT 2 | FROM FORCES TO FORMS 3 "REPAIRING NATURE" | 🌾

I attended the event, From Forces to Forms 3 "Repairing Nature". This event revolved around distinguished artists that combine both science and art to create works inspired by environmentalism. Though each artist had very different art pieces, the visualization of how design engages with form-making is the common theme all artists shared.

Screenshot of Endlicher’s presentation on  Input Field Form #2

A new generation of digital tools means that forms of media can now be converted digitally (Davis 382). Davis expresses that the evolution of artistic tools allows artists to mimic reality and what is existing in the real world. Ursula Endlicher’s art piece Input Field Form #2 (2018) is an example of this. Endlicher turned a digital form like HTML into material form. She calls this process edible HTML because her system-based coding allowed her to manipulate agricultural layouts for growing plants (Endlicher). Amazingly, this art piece allows guests to eat food grown from the garden. Traditionally agricultural work is done by going outside, however, Endlicher’s art has created technology that allows people to build from an online program that mimics the patterns of nature. These characteristics were purposely integrated to bring awareness of how climate affects the growth of our crops and the process of agriculture.

Screenshot of Maria Antonia Gonzalez's presentation on Phylogenetic Tree of Maíz

Though the toolbelt of an artist is evolving and advancing, Walter Benjamin argues that the reproduction of art lacks the presence of time and space (Benjamin). Although I see his stance, I argue that art pieces can represent time and history regardless of what period they’re created in. In her discussion of the evolution and nature of maíz (corn), artist Maria-Antonia Gonzalez highlighted how her art represents the history of corn’s biological journey as a genetically engineered product (Gonzalez). In her piece, Phylogenetic Tree of Maíz, she represents a timeline starting from the natural corn during the time of Mesoamerica to present-day corn. Though her art piece was not created during Mesoamerica, her art piece represents a time in which this corn was in its purest natural form and allows audiences to make a distinction between what is natural and what is not natural, which I found very interesting. 

This event was insightful because it allowed me to learn how technology changes natural characteristics whether that be the way we harvest or how our food looks like. I recommend this event to anyone passionate about exploring the intersection of environmentalism and art.

Screenshot of the registration email (confirmation of attendance)

Citations

Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” 1935. 

Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995).” Leonardo, vol. 28, no. 5, 1995, p. 381., doi:10.2307/1576221. 

Endlicher, Ursula. “Input Field Form #2.” INPUT FIELD FORM #2 - Making Edible HTML!, 2018, www.ursenal.net/inputfieldform-2/. 

Gonzalez, Maria Antonia. “From Forces to Forms 3 "Repairing Nature.” Pratt Manhattan Gallery, 16 April 2022, New York. Lecture.