“I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.

You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.”

--Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

 

This seminar is concerned with the wondrous living world under our feet, as a means of comprehending the intelligence of plants. We will explore the power of botanical roots alongside Charles Darwin's research and discuss the prospects for sympathetic collaboration between humans and the natural world, as well as between art and science. We will then begin to work with our hands with the material of soil, seed and water, as a means of understanding the growth process and broaching experimental possibility.