Wimbledon grass art
More grass art, starting with a tennis theme. Via Creative Review.
The Wimbledon portraits are examples of the Photographic Photosynthesis Work of artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey. Apparently the artists create images “by projecting a bright black-and-white negative image onto a patch of grass as it grows (in an otherwise dark room), [using] the natural photosensitive properties of the grass to reproduce photographs.”
Afterlife (2001) by Ackroyd and Harvey
“Ackroyd and Harvey stumbled onto this technique after producing an installation that involved covering an indoor wall with living grass. A ladder was leaning against the wall, and the artists noticed that even after it was removed, a faint outline of the ladder remained on the grass. They set about experimenting with ways of enhancing this effect, and soon they were using a slide projector as an artificial light source for growing their unique photographs. A typical exposure time is just over a week, with the image projected for 12 hours a day.
For their work, Afterlife (shown above), Ackroyd and Harvey have ”captured their subjects on a nearby zebra crossing [...]. The portraits of these passers-by are imprinted larger than life onto screens of growing grass but are not just pictures of other people in an unusual medium. Looking at these images striding through the gallery and life, we see our own reflections caught briefly in the act of passing on.”
And then there’s Bull.
Bull (2003) by Ackroyd and Harvey
WebUrbanist provides further examples of grass, plant and moss art.
And then there’s the Green Graffiti of Brooklyn Artist Edina Tokodi:
Finally, for a cow of a completely different texture, here’s one made from Astroturf.
Related MadSilence posts:
The art of the lawn
Rice art of Japan
~MadSilence
4 Comments
September 18, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Terrific post. I am continually provoked and delighted by what you bring forward.
MadSilence speaks:
Deborah, we assume by “provoked” you mean, not that we’ve made you angry, but rather elicited or stirred up an emotion or response, in this case delight. We also find the artwork of Ackroyd and Harvey enjoyable and an interesting story how they first “discovered” photographic photosynthesis work. It’s really cool especially at Wimbledon! Glad you enjoyed it.
MadSilence
September 20, 2008 at 3:36 am
The artists are quite clever; I like that. But other than the Wimbledon artwork, the other forms of grass art are hideous and uninteresting.
September 21, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Facinating indeed. How do people come up with great ideas? I am amazed at the effort put into it….:)
September 23, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Sugali, tennis & grass art seem a natural combination…or is Wimbledon played on clay? Ackroyd & Harvey stumbled upon an interesting concept in art.
And Leafless I agree that the other forms of green art leave something to be desired…
MadSilence