BOOK FORMAT Hardcover, 9.75 x 12.25 in. / 160 pgs / 65 color.
PUBLISHING STATUS Pub Date 6/28/2016 Out of stock indefinitely
DISTRIBUTION D.A.P. Exclusive Catalog: SPRING 2016 p. 117
PRODUCT DETAILS ISBN 9783775740463TRADE List Price: $85.00 CAD $112.50
AVAILABILITY Not available
TERRITORY NA LA
“A doubled play with mimicry unfolds in Voit’s twofold appropriation — on the one hand, photographic style from Blossfeldt and, on the other, an entire world of artificial flowers — and does so with an effect that is as curious as it is remarkable.”
The Alphabet of New Plants is a photo album of beautiful flowers—yet something seems to be not quite right, be it the scruffy contours of a stem made of plastic or the structure of the fabric used for the leaves. In fact, these are artificial flowers, like those that are mass produced in countless variations for decorative purposes. Making direct reference to Karl Blossfeldt’s 1928 The Alphabet of Plants, German photographer Robert Voit (born 1969) assembles an archive of "new" flowers and portrays them against a neutral background, playfully exposing man’s urge to imitate nature. Voit’s earlier series, New Trees, also addressed the imitation of nature, featuring large-format photographs of mobile telephone antennae that blend into the landscape camouflaged as trees, cacti or palm trees. Extending these themes, Voit blurs the distinction between the natural and the artificial with the meticulous close-ups of this new volume.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Hyperallergic
Allison Meier
The New Plants have a playful absurdity, showing the viewer at once something that’s beautiful for the natural forms they borrow, but cheapened by the rough, human-made edges.
FORMAT: Hbk, 9.75 x 12.25 in. / 160 pgs / 65 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $85.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $112.5 ISBN: 9783775740463 PUBLISHER: Hatje Cantz AVAILABLE: 6/28/2016 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of stock indefinitely AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA
Published by Hatje Cantz. Text by Christoph Schaden, Steffen Siegel.
The Alphabet of New Plants is a photo album of beautiful flowers—yet something seems to be not quite right, be it the scruffy contours of a stem made of plastic or the structure of the fabric used for the leaves. In fact, these are artificial flowers, like those that are mass produced in countless variations for decorative purposes. Making direct reference to Karl Blossfeldt’s 1928 The Alphabet of Plants, German photographer Robert Voit (born 1969) assembles an archive of "new" flowers and portrays them against a neutral background, playfully exposing man’s urge to imitate nature. Voit’s earlier series, New Trees, also addressed the imitation of nature, featuring large-format photographs of mobile telephone antennae that blend into the landscape camouflaged as trees, cacti or palm trees. Extending these themes, Voit blurs the distinction between the natural and the artificial with the meticulous close-ups of this new volume.
