A Non-History of Plants traces the visual relationship between humans and the vegetal world through more than thirty artists, moving not chronologically but through the twin frameworks of science and fiction to map our projections, fears, and fascinations onto plant life.
About This Book
Plants have never been neutral subjects. From animist belief systems to anxieties around genetic mutation, from nineteenth-century botanical photography to contemporary art, the human gaze on the vegetal world is saturated with meaning. This publication — produced in association with the Maison Européenne de la Photographie — uses lens-based imagery as its primary evidence, assembling works across time and geography to argue that plants are not passive objects of study but subjects with their own intelligence and expressive capacity. Organised around scientific and fictional frameworks rather than a linear timeline, the book operates with the logic of science fiction: beginning in the familiar and moving steadily into uncertain terrain. Essential reading for those working at the intersection of photography, botanical art history, and plant philosophy.
Key Features
- 216 pages of lens-based and art photography spanning the mid-nineteenth century to the present day
- Essays and contributions by Felix Hoffmann, Simon Baker, Giovanni Aloi, Natsumi Tanaka, and Michael Marder
- Edited by Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Victoria Aresheva, and Clothilde Morette
- More than thirty artists brought together across different periods and geographies
- Published by Spector Books, ISBN: 9783959058582
What You'll Discover
- How photography has functioned as a primary witness to shifting human attitudes toward plant life — from scientific classification to speculative fiction
- The subjectivity and communicative capacity of plants, examined through art works that challenge the assumption of vegetal passivity
- A structural argument for reading plant imagery through two conceptual lenses — the scientific and the fictional — rather than through conventional art-historical chronology
- The cultural weight carried by botanical representation: how political narratives, animist traditions, and genetic anxieties all find expression through the figure of the plant
About the Author
The volume brings together texts by Felix Hoffmann, Simon Baker, Giovanni Aloi, Natsumi Tanaka, and Michael Marder — contributors whose combined work spans photography history, critical theory, and plant philosophy. The publication was produced in association with the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, and edited by Victoria Aresheva and Clothilde Morette.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 216
- Dimensions: 15 x 23 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783959058582
- Publisher: Spector Books
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Photographers, curators, and researchers working with botanical imagery; readers drawn to plant philosophy and the writings of thinkers like Michael Marder; art historians with an interest in the intersection of science, technology, and visual culture.