M - Antennae The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture

investigations; for example, exploring the way highresolution
scanning may be employed to create highly
detailed fine art photographs, as well as how it may be
beneficial in biological studies to image macro species.
We have conducted primary research biology
experiments made open to the public via projected webcams
at art museums. The results of those biological
tests were recently published in a co-authored paper.
I am allergic to the term ‘blurring’ as it seems to
implicate a dumbing-down. How do you feel
about this?
I strongly do not think blurring in the context of genuine
art and science cooperation means dumbing-down.
Collaboration implements increased complexity. For in
collaborative multi-disciplinary projects, participants come
from different skilled backgrounds and work through
different models of approach. During the working
process natural blurring or overlaps occur between
disciplines - which is essential for a cross-pollination of
knowledge and skills. Innovation happens precisely
because participants approach problems differently. The
process is not exclusively art or science but
transdisciplinary research.
In an interview Nils Norman spoke about his aim
of replicating the visual language of town
planners in order to ‘infiltrate their world’ and by
commenting on it, to (re)inform that audience.
How does this relate to a perception of your
work by the scientific community?
Terms such as ‘infiltration’ concern me. Artists should not
need to employ a kind of espionage to inform an
audience. Precisely because they are artists means they
can make creative contributions to collaborative working
conditions. We are artists first and foremost. We look at
the world differently and that has value in and of itself.
For a town-planning project, learning the visual
language of this process would be a necessary first step
towards communication. If artists want to work inside of
rarified contexts, they have to learn a certain level of
knowledge in the field. Likewise, we would never imagine
a painter not investigating paint.
The model I employ is about cooperation and
not infiltration. When this work began, most biologists I
contacted were open to collaborating with an artist.
Some sent papers, others sent data and specimens while
with others we just discussed ideas. I took the time to
learn their language and study their methods. In 1996,
biologist Peter Warny was the first to nudge me towards
conducting quantifiable field-surveys. Within a couple of
years, I was working on amphibian field-research for the
former North American Reporting Center for Amphibian
Malformations (a former United States Geological Survey
program). My findings were shared with the amphibian
research community. As the projects have become larger
and more members of the public have been involved this
sharing of collected data has continued.
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Gregory Pryor has been described as working
“under the guise of the botanist” where he
produces an extensive catalogue of some
thousands of drawings of endangered plant
species; Paul Buchler says the greatest needs of
our society are the methodologies of artists, the
way artists think and work creatively and not the
art itself: with this in mind please could you say
something about how you view the labels
‘naturalist,’ ‘artist,’ ‘scientist’?
I really dislike the term ‘guise’ as it implies a false outward
appearance. Artists should not need to hide their identity
to make meaningful contributions to a community. I
really like Pryor’s plant drawings, he ‘visualizes’ species
decline aesthetically without a blatantly moralistic
attitude. Another artist that has a background of being a
botanist is George Gessert who engineers varieties of
flowers through selective breeding. Gessert creates
exquisite photographic portraits of his sculpted floral
subjects. In both Pryor and Gessert’s work there is an
admirable sense of respect for the subjects they study.
I disagree with Buchler about the dismissal of the
art object itself. Art has always played an important and
valuable role in society. Images and objects inspire and
can be engaging, independent from the artist. Artist-
implemented direct actions or interventions through
performative practices can be vehicles to activate
communities. The way artists ‘think’ along with their
processes and methods can make important
contributions to society. Both the naturalist’s passionate
study of the natural world and the approach of scientists
are both profoundly important to a future of increased
environmental awareness. I think what is needed is a
furthered effort towards communication and
cooperation among people with diverse backgrounds
and disciplines. Transdisciplinary creative strategies are
needed solve increasingly complex environmental and
social challenges.
The artist Fritz Haeg is an artist who creates
living installations through and with communities
but is he just gardening?
Haeg’s works are art and function as outdoor installation.
Gardening is his tool of expression and working with
communities is an activist strategy. Artists creating
community gardens offer an opportunity to the public for
environmental involvement. There is a rich trajectory of
artists working in this genre as well as creating living
outdoor installations involving plants. For example, the
apple garden from the Harrison’s Survival Series, Patricia
Johansson’s Endangered Garden, even Alan Sonfist’s Time
Landscape and on and on. The methods are perhaps
age-old but these artists are directing public focus back
towards the landscape. By making the process
participatory and experiential they are having an effect
on local communities.
Do you see yourself as a political activist?