STORY BEHIND THE ART OF LARA CALL GASTINGER

Weird, Wild, & Wonderful

Second New York Botanical Garden Triennial Exhibition

2014 - 2016

Smilax roots

Smilax sp.

From the beginning, when the Call for Entries for the Weird, Wild and Wonderful exhibition was announced, I knew that my subject would be roots. In botanical art, there is an emphasis placed upon the beauty of the flowering parts of a plant but I gravitate towards the parts of plants that are not so flowery or colorful. Here I wanted to bring attention to the life sustaining and supportive roots. They are not beautiful to everybody, but I think they are underrated. So I was excited to do this theme. People say my work reminds them of the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, which looks at the beauty in the roughness or imperfection of things – maybe roots have that aspect. 

Several years ago, I had been given a specimen of Smilax roots, which I believe to be Smilax rotundifolia, greenbrier. This can be a weed, although not a noxious one. I was intrigued by the roots’ chunky and twisting nature. I decided to make a collection but it was a challenge to find great specimens. I wanted established and big, meaty looking ones. Over the years, I would go to my parents’ farm and dig. Sometimes I wouldn’t find what I wanted, other times I would find one but I didn’t have the right tools to get it out. In the end, I went with a contrast of range - the originals are the middle ones and the younger ones on either side.

Another challenge was the composition – figuring out where to put heavier and lighter roots. I sketched each one on tracing paper and moved around their positions and figured out if they should overlap. I painted in a monochromatic tone with sepia (Schmincke), because I wanted to emphasize the structure.  

This painting can fit all the categories of weird, wild, and wonderful: Weird because this is a part of plants that people do not think about or see much. Wild because Smilax sp. can have such a variety of textures and shapes with spines, dense root balls, and stretching dynamic roots. Wonderful because roots can be elegant and beautiful and because they have such an important function in nutrient uptake and stability of the plant. So WWandW is in your backyard!

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Read more about this artist's work: Following in the Bartrams' Footsteps