Art Forms in the Plant World

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Art Forms in the Plant World

Karl Blossfeldt

At first intended as personal reference material in his work as a sculptor and teacher, the remarkable nature photographs of Karl Blossfeldt attained critical acclaim in 1928. Blossfeldt's purpose governed his photographic method and resulting magnificent prints: direct lighting to define form, sharp focus to expose detail and texture, enlarging up to 27 times actual size to reveal structure that previously was invisible or overlooked by the naked eye.

His subject matter - the leaves, buds, stems, seed pods, tendrils, and twigs of plant life - sparkles with an honest simplicity and clarity theat dispcloses not only the wonder and science of nature, but also the distinct similarities between the form developed by nature and that produced by man. His images imply that man's art mirrors nature and suggest that nature, in its continuous reproduction and adaptation also creates its own art.