Artist Jonathon Keats used to make porn movies for plants, but with new project Strange Skies he's gone legit. It's a travel documentary, and he's screening it in New York City this month - to a theater packed with plants.
One of Keats' previous projects was a porn movie for plants showing bees pollinating flowers, but now he's ready to cater to the family-friendly niche among flora. He chose travel documentaries because plants are naturally sedentary, so they no doubt thirst to see other places the way mobile creatures might not.
He shows his movie using a special screen that reflects and diffuses light onto the planets. He says:
Plants don't have human eyesight, and perceive light only in aggregate. But they're highly sensitive to fluctuations in the spectrum since luminosity is the basis of photosynthesis. As an entertainment form, cinema was practically made for them.
As for the subject matter of Strange Skies, which features shots of European skies, he says, "Skies are the ultimate botanical tourist attraction. The cirrus and altostratus cloud formations over Paris are as absorbing for plants as Notre Dame and the Louvre are for humans."
This is Keats' second showing of plant travel movies, and this time around he's improved the vegetation experience. He tells io9 the plants are "Mostly 3-4 feet tall - in more spacious pots." He adds, "Even art films don't need to be physically uncomfortable for the spectator."
AC Institute in New York is showing Strange Skies. From the museum:
Strange Skies will be screened for a select botanical audience at the AC Institute from February 4th through March 13th, 2010. People are also invited to visit. But of course, human experience will be second-hand: Strange Skies is presented for the entertainment of plants.
via AC Institute and Jonathon Keats