Mushrooms within Contemporary Art
Frieze Magazine Article - https://www.frieze.com/article/francesca-gavin-mushroom-futurism-2021
The Artists Building a Future out of Mushrooms
Can fungus help us better understand what it means to be human?
BY Francesca Gavin in 07 APR 21
"We are living in the era of the mushroom. Recent studies of mycelium – the web-like, vegetative structure from which mushrooms flower – have confirmed its ability to send and receive communication between fungi, trees and other plants, a decentralized form of thinking without the use of a central brain. Correspondingly, fungi have become the metaphor of choice for technologists to encapsulate new modes of thinking, collaboration and communication."
"An average human body is covered, inside and out, with more than 100 species of fungi. Our digestive system, and thus our emotional and physiological well-being, could not function without this fungal microbiome.'
'mushrooms are unpredictable and self-serving, as Sheldrake argues in Entangled Life. They did very well before humans appeared on the planet, and will thrive long after we’re gone. "
This article gave me a lot of insight into how mushrooms have been used as inspiration for many mediums within art, books, science-fiction and film. I like how Gavin suggests that mushrooms have a 'decentralized form of thinking without the use of a central brain'. This got me to thinking how fascinating mushrooms are and how intelligent they are yet they don't have brain. So both humans and mushrooms have the 'thinking', yet only humans have an actual brain.
"Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group." Therefore mushrooms can make decisions and plan their routes without a brain - which is very inspiring to me.
A book that stood out to me that was mentioned in this article is Merlin Sheldrake’s expansive Entangled Life (2020) which explores the many scientific, philosophical, material, physiological and design questions raised by fungi.
'The more we learn about fungi, the less makes sense without them. They can change our minds, heal our bodies and even help us avoid environmental disaster; they are metabolic masters, earth-makers and key players in most of nature's processes. In Entangled Life, Merlin Sheldrake takes us on a mind-altering journey into their spectacular world, and reveals how these extraordinary organisms transform our understanding of our planet and life itself.'
I have bought this book and plan to read it throughout this project. Just from reading the blurb it is obvious to me just how important mushrooms are to humanity. I feel this is something I need to portray in my work, whether that's through an informative route or through a metaphoric route - I'm unsure yet.
TikTok enthusiast @mycolyco hooks up oyster mushrooms and cordyceps to modular synths, which turn electrical impulses into sound which I find fascinating as I use sound within my own work and this is something I would like to push further by exploring different technologies that I could use to create natural sounds.
He has also made videos on youtube explaining just how this is possible.
"In The Mushroom at the End of the World, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing writes about using the “uncontrolled lives of mushrooms” as a “guide when the controlled world we thought we had fails.” The resilience of huge underground fungal networks contrasts with the fragility of our own human institutions."
"The Growing Pavillion — a building in the Netherlands made from mushrooms — cleans the air as it grows. Produced by creative organization Company New Heroes and biotechnology company Krown Design, the biobased building — put in place for Dutch Design Week — was built using only materials that grow on this earth, including timber and mycelium.
Mycelium — the root structure for mushrooms — is a natural, workable material. According to Krown Design, to create the building, it filled molds with a hemp waste substrate for the mycelium to grow on. It took four days for the mycelium to fill the mold. It then pulled the material from the mold and dried it in an oven to kill the mycelium.
According to Krown, the result is a “strong, light” product, which is shock-absorbing, fire retardant, and provides insulation. " - By Charlotte Pointing
The thought of using Mushrooms as a structure to build with is fascinating. It doesn't refer directly to my work however it is something that I find interesting and inspires me to research more into the environment as a whole and how I could use natural structures in my videos somehow.
"Modelled on three different types of wild mushrooms – both poisonous and edible varieties – the sculpture, the artist explains, is a comment on Albanian politics, while its colours can be seen as a nod to the legacy of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s controversial visual policy in the Albanian capital, where nondescript buildings were painted liberally in vibrant colours during his tenure as the city’s mayor from 2000 – 2011."
I'm not a huge fan of this work however I like the process Holler has used and the concept behind the work.
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"Adham Faramawy’s 360-degree dance film My fingers distended as honey dripped from your lips and we danced in a circular motion investigates the idea of embodied viewing – considering how being immersed in a 360-degree dance might make a person more aware of their own body. Allowing the technology to delineate their movements, four dancers move anti-clockwise around the viewer, fluidly shifting from solo to duet to trio. Meanwhile, animations of a fungus start to appear and ultimately metabolise the video. This piece builds on Faramawy’s existing body of work, which uses technology to address issues of materiality, touch, embodiment, and identity construction."
Faramawy’s video is abstract yet narrative and with an investigation into the idea of embodied viewing which relates directly to my own practice in the past, and he used video as a medium like myself. I like how he considers the audiences perspective and perception. I also identify with his use of technology to explore and address issues of tough and embodiement.
"Seana Gavin is a London-based artist. With surgical precision, she overlays and conjoins distinct images drawn from vintage photographic material to create otherworldly scenes, transforming them into dreamlike, fantasy environments where the past and future coexist."
"At the core of my collage work I am creating other worldly landscapes and environments. I am interested in different states of consciousness where the rules of reality do not apply [...] I’m also inspired by ideas of life on other planets as well as thoughts of future worlds. Mushrooms often become part of those environments. I guess I have always associated mushrooms and fungi with fantasy environments from childhood fairy tales like Alice in Wonderland and old science fiction films. I spent my childhood in Woodstock upstate NY, which definitely left its mark on me. The town was covered in psychedelic references left over from the 1969 festival. I was also obsessed with looking at my father’s vintage science fiction graphic novels and books of 60s visionary art. Then later as a teenager in London I did experiment with psychedelic drugs which may be where I get some of my imagination from! " - Seana Gavin - https://lichenjournal.com/How-the-natural-world-and-fantasy-inspire-artist-SEANA-GAVIN-s
Gavin uses collage to create imaginary, dreamlike worlds. She draws on her own experiences and upbringing which I identify within my own practice. She is interested in different states of consciousness which I can see a relation within my own work and her technique of collage is something I would like to try.
Sensory Ethnography Lab
Leviathan - by Verena Paravel & Lucien Castaing
'In the very waters where melville’s pequod gave chase to moby dick, leviathan captures the collaborative clash of man, nature, and machine. shot on a dozen cameras — tossed and tethered, passed from fisherman to filmmaker — it is a cosmic portrait of one of mankind’s oldest endeavors.' - http://www.arretetoncinema.org/leviathan/trailer.html
This film captures the clash of man, nature and machine which is something that is heavily seen within my video practice. The use of the camera on the ends of objects that get tossed around and tethered is something I would like to push further within my own practice. I like the angles and perspective. As humans we are taken as a viewer to the perspective of things we would never even think about, the unobserved, the unnoticed. I like this idea and the questions it brings and the visuals it displays.
Single Stream by
Picture -- Paweł Wojtasik, Toby Lee
Sound -- Ernst Karel
Cinematography/Steadicam -- Sergei Franklin
Assistant Camera -- Marcos Herrera
Color correction -- Malika Franklin, Paweł Wojtasik
Produced by -- Toby Lee, Paweł Wojtasik
Associate Producer -- Jonathan Hogg
Executive Producer -- Jesse Eidsness
'Single Stream takes a close look at the problem of waste, through a visual and sonic exploration of a recycling facility. The title refers to the “single stream” method of recycling in which all types of recyclables are initially gathered together, and sorted later at a specialized facility. With Single Stream, viewers enter one of the largest of these materials recovery facilities in the US. Inside a cavernous building, a vast machine complex runs like clock-work, sorting a steady stream of glass, metal, paper and plastic carried on conveyor belts criss-crossing the space, dotted with workers in neon vests. The interwoven movements of human and machine produce sounds and images that are overwhelming, but also beautiful, and even revelatory. Blurring the line between observation and abstraction, Single Stream is a meditation on our society's culture of excess and its consequences.' - http://www.single-stream.net/about
This film, again looks at the perspective of the machine, to give the human viewer a machine perspective. I like this idea. The use of sounds and images that create beautiful yet overwhelming feelings which I am attracted to within my own practice. Using abstract and ambiguous imagery is something I like to explore. The context of the film within the Anthropocene is also something I touch on within my own practice and something I would like to explore more. Connecting technology, to body and to consciousness and nature.
Into the Hinterland - Directed by: Julia Yezbick Camera Operator: Julia Yezbick Sound Recording and Composition: Julia Yezbick Edited by: Julia Yezbick Sound Mix: Ernst Karel Colorist: Daniel Stuyck (http://danielstuyck.com/)
Running time: 39 mins Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Original Format: HD video Screening Format: DCP Language/Subtitles: English (Without Dialogue)
'The Detroit-based performance ensemble, The Hinterlands, practice a form of ecstatic training which they see as a provocation towards the unknown. The “hinterlands” evokes an unknown space both physical and imaginary whose mystery is its very source of generation and from which true creativity emerges. Their practice is one of ecstatic play, of finding the edge of one’s balance, and the limits of one’s body.'
Yezbick took part in the process of the film and used the camera on different parts of her body so to give the viewer the perspective of the should, neck, arms, feet. This embodiment of the camera immerses the viewer into the process and experience of creativity and space. I really love this idea and would like to find a way to do something similar with my own body and find a camera that I could strap to my body that isn't just a phone!
Adam Chodzko
Thru hole I blind/O/Thru hole oui see (2020)
Stills from Thru hole I blind/O/Thru hole oui see (2020)
Single screen video with sound
A series of objects for the viewer to assemble in order to watch the video.
17 minutes
'Thru hole I blind/O/Thru hole oui see explores the ways that forests are mapped, understood and perceived. The work draws on rich and diverse knowledge of the New Forest generously made available by a wide array of local specialists and organisations including Forestry England, National Parks Authority and The Verderers of the New Forest. The video is structured like a dream traversing this forest of information.'
Chodzko is an artist who works across different forms of media, primarily video exploring our conscious and unconscious behaviours, social relations and collective imaginations through artworks created as speculative forms of ‘social media.’ I particularly like his video 'Thru hole I blind/O/Thru hole oui' as it looks at Nature close up and personal. He maps forests and in particular the New Forest which is close to where I live. The idea that the forest and trees are all so connected with humans through energy is an idea I have of my own and I love this exploration of this. The macro shots are very similar to the way I like to film.
Steve McQueen
Installation view of Giardini, Steve McQueen, British Pavilion, 2009. Photo: Prudence Cuming ©
British Council, courtesy Marian Goodman Gallery, New York and Paris, Thomas Dane Gallery, London
"Acclaimed artist and director Steve McQueen represented Britain at the 53rd Venice Biennale. He presented a new film entitled Giardini inspired by the parkland area of Venice where the British Pavilion is situated. This was the first time that artist film had been shown on this scale at the Pavilion.
Giardini is a split screen film that documents the Venetian gardens out of season, as this area is only open to the public for half the year when the Biennale exhibition occurs. By using the medium of film McQueen allows the viewer to experience the empty gardens where stray dogs wander scavenging for food, strangers skulk in the shadows and lovers meet. With its poetic simplicity Giardini revels in the beauty of the unseen and unheard, whilst in turn exposing the spectacle of the Biennale and its fleeting nature."
MQueen's work allows the viewer to see the parkland area of Venice where the British Pavilion is situated in detail and maybe show them views of the parkland that they may not have noticed otherwise. I like the lighting and simplicity of the shots in the video. He also has some shots close up of natural textures which is similar to the kind of thing I want to include in my work. I like that he has used a split screen to show different views at the same time, it shows another world that are in the same vicinity at the same time. Which is something I like to do in my own practice and that's important to me. His film is about showing the viewer the forgotten places in those spaces around them that they may walk through or around everyday but they just don't notice because they're going about their day rushing or busy within themselves. I like that idea and showing nature as pure and beautiful as it is and as it happens.
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