PLANT-THINKING SEMINAR
Based on the book Plant Thinking : A Philosophy of Vegetal Life by Michael Marder, this reading seminar is a starting point for discussion and aims at engaging and nurturing a creative community of thought interested in a better understanding of vegetal life.
SCHEDULE
Start: November 7th
End: December 19th
Weekly meeting, every Friday 2-4PM (11AM-1PM, Phoenix)
Nov 7– Week 1: Overview of the book, discussion
Nov 14 – Week 2: Chapter 1
Presentation:
-Sonifying Plants Project by Andy Poblete
Notes of the week here
Nov 21 – Weeks 3: Chapter 2
reschedule of the meeting with Michael Marder for Dec. 5th
Nov 28 – Weeks 4: Chapter 2
Presentation:
-Desert Life by Byron Lahey and Amy Renee
-Arctic Life by Elysha Poirier and Katherine
Dec 4 – Weeks 5: Chapters 3 & 4
Presentation:
-Laura Boyd-Clowes or Natasha Myers (TBC)
This week, Michael Marder himself will be joining the Plant-Thinking conversation in the first hour of our seminar for a Q&A.
Exceptionally, the seminar will be at the Ressource Center (EV 11.725)
Dec 11th – vernissage Le Possible/The Possible by Cynthia Hammond
Dec 12 – Weeks 6: Chapters 3 & 4
Artist talk by Dr Cynthia Hammond
Title: Le Possible
http://www.cynthiahammond.com/
Abstract: In October 2014, the Canadian-Pacific Railway company bulldozed a section of a protected urban landscape in Montreal, called Le Champ des possibles, or the field of possibilities. This landscape had been given the status of a public park in 2013, but compared to most of Montreal’s green spaces, it is a very unusual park. Formed initially through the construction of the railway, this postindustrial landscape self-seeded during a generation of municipal neglect. In time, its indeterminate characteristics and remarkable biodiversity endeared it to nearby residents. It has also been home to itinerant populations, numerous art installations and events, and many species of plant, bird, and insect. In this seminar,Cynthia Hammond will present the urban and biogeographical history of Le Champ, and talk about the vitality of human-biological collaboration on the site since 2009. She will also present her project in progress, Le Possible, a response to and call for action about the recent devastation. Le Possible is a collaboration with artist Camille Bédard, urban curator Shauna Janssen, architect Itai Peleg, and urban naturalist Roger Latour. This work will be on display at Studio XX from Dec. 11-Dec 20th, as part of
the exhibition, To Participate, curated by Mark Clintberg and Erandy Vergara-Vargas.
Dec 19 – Week 7: Chapters 4 & 5
project presentation and discussion
(double long session)
RESSOURCES
READINGS
Patterns of growth and perception: the site, the city and the wild by Flower Lunn
“Tree Rings,” The Atlantic by Hugh Crawford
DOCUMENTATION
http://vegetal.posthaven.com/polytemporal-timelapses-of-plss-plants
Plant Thinking and Human Movement, project by Oana Suteu Khintirian
Interview with Michael Marder on Plant-Thinking
