The Planter Show takes the form of a flower pot as a starting point to consider the sculptural, functional, and cultural implications of putting plants into containers. In the last few years, an increasing number of artists have made planters, standalone sculptures that include plants, or included potted plants in installations. Building on this trend, The Planter Show includes numerous works by emerging and established artists from Los Angeles, ranging from straightforward pots with holes in the bottom to sculptures that reconsider the hybrid outdoor-indoor space created by a plant in a portable container. The four-day show also includes terrariums, free ready-to-plant cuttings, a container gardening ‘zine, and an indigo dye workshop.
The Planter Show is curated by Lisa Sitko and Matthias Merkel Hess, and presented by
ForYourArt at their 6020 Wilshire Blvd. activity space.
EVENTS
Opening
Thursday, September 6, 7-10 pm
Film Screening: Cereus & Whatnot, by Carolyn Kaylor, 43 min, 2006
Friday, September 7, 8pm, free
Cereus & Whatnot is a dramatic allegory inspired by and partly about an enigmatic plant commonly known as the Night Blooming Cereus. Employing documentary and narrative elements, it is a meditation on nature in captivity, life, death and cinematic expectation. Shot on super 8 and 16mm film, printed to 16mm, color, mono optical sound.
Indigo Dying Workshop
Saturday, September 8, 2-4 pm
Planter Workshop: From Purple to Green Thumb
Workshop led by Matt Merkel-Hess with special guests
Sunday, September 9, 1-3 pm
Have an empty pot and don’t know what to do with it? Or do you find yourself killing houseplants, even supposedly easy to care for succulents and cacti? This fee based workshop will cover the basics of potted plants, including: plant and pot selection, types of soil, placement indoors and out, and how to diagnose common problems with plants. Special guests will cover more advanced topics such as container gardening and amateur plant competitions.
“Treat plants as individuals and not just pots of dirt with something green coming out the top. Very simple treatment indeed: it includes recognizing that plants have personal needs, they are subject to disease, fright, mischief and loneliness—just as you are. Plants thrive on attention, on love.” — from House Plants for the Purple Thumb by Maggie Baylis, 1973.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Elliott Agnew, Tanya Batura, Sarah Beadle, Joshua Callaghan, Bianca D’Amico, Julia Dzwonkoski & Kye Potter, Gay Gardens, Julia Haft-Candell, Linda Hsiao, Mitsuko Ikeno, Shoshi Kanokohata, Carolyn Kaylor, Knowhow Shop LA, Claire Kohne, Kelly Lamb, Chris Lipomi, Matthias Merkel Hess, Alex Miller, Chris Miller, Miracle Bookmobile, Joshua Nathanson, Chelsea Novalle, Taidgh O’Neill, Shin Okuda, Joel Otterson, Jared Pankin & Kelly McLane, Kathleen Ryan, Connie Saxe, Lisa Sitko, Marisa Suárez-Orozco, Joel Tauber, Kerry Tribe, Monique Van Genderen, Nicolau Vergueiro, Margo Victor, Pilar Wiley, Tracy Wilkinson, and Lena Wolek.
