No. 43: Alex Crowder
Holobionts, photographer Will Mullan, David Attenborough's The Green Planet, artist Andy Goldsworthy and a screening of Sing Sing.
Alex Crowder is the founder and creative director of Field Studies Flora – a floral design studio that collaborates with a foraging team, local farmers and flower brokers at the New York flower market to showcase unique and often overlooked flora. Alex’s work is rooted in her upbringing in the countryside of The Ozark Mountains split by big and small rivers, limestone bluffs and interstates, marked by tornadoes, summer downpours, monocropping, miles-long stretches of rewilded fields, megachurches and stripmalls. The materials she played with as a child such as clover, sticks, thistle or a fallen branch are often what she is hauling over to clients like the newly opened Quarters in Tribeca or private homes in the Upper East Side. Everything Alex sources for her clients is from within 150 miles of New York City:
It all brings me deep joy, but my most favorite part is when someone realizes that the exquisite flower displayed in their arrangement is the same one growing out of the sidewalk in front of their building – that sense of childlike wonder, whether I’m experiencing it or witnessing it, gets me high.
From Alex –
I. a new friend
I had the pleasure of meeting Will Mullan at a Natoora event this spring, as we both contributed essays to their React Report on biodiversity. Will is nearly consumed by his love of apples and writes and speaks about them exquisitely. You can read his writings and view his borderline erotic photos of them via his Instagram or in several of his published works. As I write this I can see his “pomological series volume three” set on my dining table; a collection of “portraits and detailed descriptions of 70 new apple and pear varieties that were introduced to the world in the 2022 Pomological Exhibition.” This is a yearly exhibition Will and his friend and fellow pomologist, Matt Kaminsky, organize. I’m actively attempting to get my hands on all of his published work because, much like the apples he’s in love with, it's pleasurable to consume.
II. a tv show
David Attenborough made a docuseries all about plants! Imagine watching plants attack each other like a cheetah attacks an antelope in the plains. We’ve never been able to witness such drama because plant life often moves at a much different speed than animal life. Using time-lapse photography, the Green Planet crew showcased the theatrics of the plant world in ways we have never seen before. My mouth was agape the entire time I watched it and I’ve since rewatched it at least 5 times. The episode titled “Seasonal Worlds” is my favorite. Plants are so overwhelmingly intelligent and elegant, I’ll never get over it.
III. an artist
While perusing the shelves of my college library, I stumbled upon a book of Andy Goldsworthy’s. Immediately, I was moved to tears and to this day, his work elicits the same reaction. I don’t recall which book it was, but I know I kept it in my dorm room long past the return date. Now, nearly 20 years later, I have several of them in my library and I often click through his database online. Goldsworthy’s writing is worth noting as well; his descriptions are slightly halting, often funny, and always comprehensive.
“...tore yellow leaf in two, spat underneath one half, pressed it on to the ruddy leaf” (top right image)
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IV. an idea
I first learned about holobionts from David Zilber, the brilliant fermenter, chef and author. Basically, we now understand that both plants and animals (including humans) aren’t made up of just one organism but an entire ecosystem of organisms – this is called a holobiont. Zilber has used this understanding to further discuss the importance of our microbiomes and the effects a diet rich in fermented foods can have on our bodies. But the term was first coined by Lynn Margulis, the evolutionary biologist, and I can’t stop thinking about it. If you spend any time collaborating with the natural world, which we are all a part of, it is impossible to miss that we all contain multitudes and are entirely interdependent on each other. The key to the survival of living organisms, ourselves included, is the ability to collaborate and recycle energy.
V. a film
I recently attended an A24 screening for the film, Sing Sing. It comes out later this summer. GO SEE IT. Colman Domingo stars in a cast of formerly incarcerated men who were all members of the theater troupe, Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) at Sing Sing correctional facility, a maximum security prison in upstate New York. I was lucky enough to be able to hear Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin, (an RTA alumni and star of the movie) speak after the screening. It is a deeply moving portrayal of the tenderness and vulnerability that exists between the men of the troupe and portrays the incarcerated in their full humanity, instead of caricatures of inmates. You’ll never be able to hear the word “beloved” the same way again.
~ bulletin ~
los angeles
On view: Sabrina Piersol’s The Blue of It at Sow & Taylor opens Saturday. Group show Water & Flower opens at Wilding Cran on Saturday. Alicja Kwade and Agnes Martin’s Space Between the Lines at Pace Gallery. Emily Ferguson’s It Girl upstairs at Nicodim (read her Affection Archives feature!). David Zwirner’s 30th anniversary show. Angel Otero’s The First Rain in May and the late Winfred Rembert’s Hard Times at Hauser & Wirth. Lois Dodd & Ellen Siebers at Parrasch Heijnen. Ryan Sullivan, Sebastian Silva, Roberto Matta, JB Blunk, and pascALEjandro at Blum. Phil Davis’ Chorus at Fernberger. Camille Claudel sculptures at the Getty Museum. Ed Ruscha’s Now Then at LACMA.
new york
On view: Travis Fish’s That Dog In Me at Jupiter Gallery. Derrick Alexis Coard’s I Am That I Am at Salon94. Maja Ruznic’s The World Doesn’t End at Karma. Group show Coetir (Of The Woods) featuring 24 artists’ works at TIWA Gallery. Group show Social Practice including works from Paul Cooley, Dan Flanigan, Cristina de Miguel and more at Amanita. Amanda Wall’s Sky Got Dark at Almine Rech. Christopher Wool’s See Stop Run at 101 Greenwich St. Jenny Holzer’s Light Line at Guggenheim. Joshua Charow’s Loft Law at Westwood Gallery. Photos from Stephen Shore’s topography series at 303 Gallery. Dan Flanagan’s Nora at Harper’s Chelsea. Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion at the Met.
Affection Archives is a weekly look into the archives of yours truly (Arielle Eshel) and humans I admire. If you’d like to add an event to the bulletin, DM on Instagram or reply to this email.