sLowlife, A Unique Exhibition Opens at the Montshire September 15
Many of us think of and treat plants as inanimate objects. However, a plant grows, reacts to changes in its environment, reproduces, responds to disease and injury, and undergoes a slow decline into old age and death – a saga that sounds hauntingly familiar. Contrary to our conscious perception, plants do move…be it ever so slowly.
Through vivid time-lapse photography and movies, sLowlife accelerates the time-scale of plants into our own frame of reference, speeding up their everyday lives to a pace that resonates with our own. “We take great pride in the living landscape of our 100-acre museum here at the Montshire,” states Bob Raiselis, Exhibits Director at the Montshire, “and this new exhibition will help visitors to understand just how alive that landscape is.” Raiselis continues, “By turning time on its head, the creators of sLowlife have given us a whole new way to look at plants, their activities, their movement, and their lives.”
sLowlife is an exciting exhibition that uses science, art, and technology to provide alternative dimensions for experiencing plants. It presents unusual and sometimes unnerving perspectives on how a plant reacts, both short-term and long-term, to its inner and outer worlds. Using scientific data from the plant studies on which the exhibition was based, nationally known composer John Gibson, Indiana University, created a fascinating musical score to accompany the exhibition.
sLowlife is a collaborative project of the United States Botanic Garden (USBG), the Chicago Botanic Garden and Roger Hangarter, Indiana University. Additional support has been provided by the American Society of Plant Biologists, Indiana University and the National Science Foundation. The local appearance of sLowlife is made possible by Longacre’s Nursery Center and Henderson's Tree Service & Fine Gardening. sLowlife is based on an original concept by Hangarter and Dennis DeHart, State University of New York.
Slowlife exhibition will be at the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont from Saturday, September 15–Sunday, November 25, 2012.