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The botanical mind : art, mysticism and the cosmic tree / edited by Gina Buenfeld and Martin Clark.

Contributor(s): Publisher: London : Camden Art Centre, [2020]Copyright date: ©2020Description: 232 pages : illustrations (black and white, and colour) ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781907208942
Subject(s): Online resources:
Contents:
The Ur plant / Gina Buenfeld
On being sessile / Martin Clark
The symbolism of the mandala / C.G. Jung
Gaia and the alchemical Tree of Life / Stephen Harding
The search for the original Tree of Knowledge / Terence McKenna
The magic of song, the invention of tradition and the structuring of time along the Shipibo (Peruvian Amazon) / Bernd Brabec de Mori
Transformed: Josef and Anni Albers in ancient America / Brenda Danilowitz
The philosopher's plant 3.0: Plotinus' anonymous 'Great Plant' / Michael Marder
The deepest are the stars / Emanuele Coccia
Summary: Humanity's place in the natural order is under scrutiny as never before, held in a precarious balance between visible and invisible forces: from the microscopic threat of a virus to the monumental power of climate change. Drawing on indigenous traditions from the Amazon rainforest; alternative perspectives on Western scientific rationalism; and new thinking around plant intelligence, philosophy and cultural theory, The Botanical Mind Online investigates the significance of the plant kingdom to human life, consciousness and spirituality across cultures and through time. It positions the plant as both a universal symbol found in almost every civilisation and religion across the globe, and the most fundamental but misunderstood form of life on our planet. This new online project has been developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the closure of our galleries due to the pandemic. 'The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and The Cosmic Tree' was originally conceived as a trans-generational group exhibition, but has been postponed. In the meantime, we have launched this complimentary online programme of new artist commissions, podcasts, films, texts, images and audio, expanding on and enriching the ideas and issues informing the show over at botanicalmind.online ... During this period of enforced stillness, our behaviour might be seen to resonate with plants: like them we are now fixed in one place, subject to new rhythms of time, contemplation, personal growth and transformation. Millions of years ago plants chose to forego mobility in favour of a life rooted in place, embedded in a particular context or environment. The life of a plant is one of constant, sensitive response to its environment - a process of growth, problem-solving, nourishment and transformation, played out at speeds and scales very different to our own. In this moment of global crisis and change there has perhaps never been a better moment to reflect on and learn from them. Artists include: Eileen Agar ; Anni Albers ; Josef Albers ; Sarah Angliss ; Consuelo "Chelo" González Amézcua ; Gemma Anderson with Wakefield Lab and John Dupré ; Anna Atkins ; Kirk Barley ; Jordan Belson ; Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater ; Karl Blossfeldt ; Carol Bove ; Jagadish Chandra Bose ; Kerstin Brätsch ; Hildegarde von Bingen ; Andrea Büttner ; Adam Chodzko ; Ithell Colquhoun ; Bruce Conner ; Das Institut ; Mirtha Dermisache ; Minnie Evans ; Cerith Wyn Evans ; Charles Filiger ; Robert Fludd ; Monica Gagliano ; Giorgio Griffa ; Brion Gysin ; Friedrich Wilhelm Heine ; Ernst Haeckel ; Anna Haskel ; Tamara Henderson ; Channa Horwitz ; Textiles from the Huni Kuin (Kaxinawa) people ; Joachim Koester ; Rachid Koraïchi ; Hilma af Klint ; Emma Kunz ; Yves Laloy ; Ghislaine Leung ; Linder ; Simon Ling ; Agnes Martin ; André Masson ; John McCracken ; Henri Michaux ; Matt Mullican ; Wolfgang Paalen ; Paul Păun ; Stefan A. Pedersen ; Santiago Ramón y Cajal ; Steve Reinke and James Richards ; Edith Rimmington ; Adele Röder ; Daniel Rios Rodriguez ; Rupert Sheldrake ; Textiles and ceramics from the Shipibo-Conibo people ; Penny Slinger ; F. Percy Smith ; Janet Sobel ; Philip Taaffe ; Priscilla Telmon and Vincent Moon ; Fred Tomaselli ; Delfina Muñoz de Toro ; Alexander Tovborg ; David Tudor ; Lee Ufan ; Scottie Wilson ; Terry Winters ; Adolf Wölfli ; Bryan Wynter ; Henriette Zéphir ; Anna Zemánková ; Unica Zürn ; artists from the Yawanawá community.
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode
Book Book CGLAS Library Gold 704.949291 BUE (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Checked out 04/03/2025 12795

Published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name held at Camden Art Centre, 24th September 2020-28th February 2021.

Includes bibliographical references.

The Ur plant / Gina Buenfeld

On being sessile / Martin Clark

The symbolism of the mandala / C.G. Jung

Gaia and the alchemical Tree of Life / Stephen Harding

The search for the original Tree of Knowledge / Terence McKenna

The magic of song, the invention of tradition and the structuring of time along the Shipibo (Peruvian Amazon) / Bernd Brabec de Mori

Transformed: Josef and Anni Albers in ancient America / Brenda Danilowitz

The philosopher's plant 3.0: Plotinus' anonymous 'Great Plant' / Michael Marder

The deepest are the stars / Emanuele Coccia

Humanity's place in the natural order is under scrutiny as never before, held in a precarious balance between visible and invisible forces: from the microscopic threat of a virus to the monumental power of climate change. Drawing on indigenous traditions from the Amazon rainforest; alternative perspectives on Western scientific rationalism; and new thinking around plant intelligence, philosophy and cultural theory, The Botanical Mind Online investigates the significance of the plant kingdom to human life, consciousness and spirituality across cultures and through time. It positions the plant as both a universal symbol found in almost every civilisation and religion across the globe, and the most fundamental but misunderstood form of life on our planet. This new online project has been developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the closure of our galleries due to the pandemic. 'The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and The Cosmic Tree' was originally conceived as a trans-generational group exhibition, but has been postponed. In the meantime, we have launched this complimentary online programme of new artist commissions, podcasts, films, texts, images and audio, expanding on and enriching the ideas and issues informing the show over at botanicalmind.online ... During this period of enforced stillness, our behaviour might be seen to resonate with plants: like them we are now fixed in one place, subject to new rhythms of time, contemplation, personal growth and transformation. Millions of years ago plants chose to forego mobility in favour of a life rooted in place, embedded in a particular context or environment. The life of a plant is one of constant, sensitive response to its environment - a process of growth, problem-solving, nourishment and transformation, played out at speeds and scales very different to our own. In this moment of global crisis and change there has perhaps never been a better moment to reflect on and learn from them. Artists include: Eileen Agar ; Anni Albers ; Josef Albers ; Sarah Angliss ; Consuelo "Chelo" González Amézcua ; Gemma Anderson with Wakefield Lab and John Dupré ; Anna Atkins ; Kirk Barley ; Jordan Belson ; Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater ; Karl Blossfeldt ; Carol Bove ; Jagadish Chandra Bose ; Kerstin Brätsch ; Hildegarde von Bingen ; Andrea Büttner ; Adam Chodzko ; Ithell Colquhoun ; Bruce Conner ; Das Institut ; Mirtha Dermisache ; Minnie Evans ; Cerith Wyn Evans ; Charles Filiger ; Robert Fludd ; Monica Gagliano ; Giorgio Griffa ; Brion Gysin ; Friedrich Wilhelm Heine ; Ernst Haeckel ; Anna Haskel ; Tamara Henderson ; Channa Horwitz ; Textiles from the Huni Kuin (Kaxinawa) people ; Joachim Koester ; Rachid Koraïchi ; Hilma af Klint ; Emma Kunz ; Yves Laloy ; Ghislaine Leung ; Linder ; Simon Ling ; Agnes Martin ; André Masson ; John McCracken ; Henri Michaux ; Matt Mullican ; Wolfgang Paalen ; Paul Păun ; Stefan A. Pedersen ; Santiago Ramón y Cajal ; Steve Reinke and James Richards ; Edith Rimmington ; Adele Röder ; Daniel Rios Rodriguez ; Rupert Sheldrake ; Textiles and ceramics from the Shipibo-Conibo people ; Penny Slinger ; F. Percy Smith ; Janet Sobel ; Philip Taaffe ; Priscilla Telmon and Vincent Moon ; Fred Tomaselli ; Delfina Muñoz de Toro ; Alexander Tovborg ; David Tudor ; Lee Ufan ; Scottie Wilson ; Terry Winters ; Adolf Wölfli ; Bryan Wynter ; Henriette Zéphir ; Anna Zemánková ; Unica Zürn ; artists from the Yawanawá community.