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Asclepias syriaca (Cornuti): Silkweed Flower Enlarged Eighteen Times from Urformen der Kunst: Photographische Pflanzenbilder

Date

1928

Creator

Karl Blossfeldt

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

This image shows Blossfeldt's enlargement of one flower or the plant known to Americans as milkweed or silkweed, the favorite of monarch butterflies. Scores of these flowers bloom in spherical clusters a few inches (about 8 cm) in diameter. To examine closer one of the tiny flowers, half an inch (1.3 cm) tall, presents an unfamiliar perspective. The two tiers of petals often occur in different bright colors, to attract pollinators; however, Blossfeldt's black-and-white image forces us to concentrate on the plastic form fo this miniature sculpture. The flower is suspended on a slender, hairy stalk. Illuminated in this way, the crownlike form of the upper tier of petals, actually enlarged anthers of the stamen, appears architectural. The corolla, the lower tier of suspended petals that appear thick and fuzzy on one side, looks like thick sueded leather. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)

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This image shows Blossfeldt's enlargement of one flower or the plant known to Americans as milkweed or silkweed, the favorite of monarch butterflies. Scores of these flowers bloom in spherical clusters a few inches (about 8 cm) in diameter. To examine closer one of the tiny flowers, half an inch (1.3 cm) tall, presents an unfamiliar perspective. The two tiers of petals often occur in different bright colors, to attract pollinators; however, Blossfeldt's black-and-white image forces us to concentrate on the plastic form fo this miniature sculpture. The flower is suspended on a slender, hairy stalk. Illuminated in this way, the crownlike form of the upper tier of petals, actually enlarged anthers of the stamen, appears architectural. The corolla, the lower tier of suspended petals that appear thick and fuzzy on one side, looks like thick sueded leather. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
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  • This image shows Blossfeldt's enlargement of one flower or the plant known to Americans as milkweed or silkweed, the favorite of monarch butterflies. Scores of these flowers bloom in spherical clusters a few inches (about 8 cm) in diameter. To examine closer one of the tiny flowers, half an inch (1.3 cm) tall, presents an unfamiliar perspective. The two tiers of petals often occur in different bright colors, to attract pollinators; however, Blossfeldt's black-and-white image forces us to concentrate on the plastic form fo this miniature sculpture. The flower is suspended on a slender, hairy stalk. Illuminated in this way, the crownlike form of the upper tier of petals, actually enlarged anthers of the stamen, appears architectural. The corolla, the lower tier of suspended petals that appear thick and fuzzy on one side, looks like thick sueded leather. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
  • This image shows Blossfeldt's enlargement of one flower or the plant known to Americans as milkweed or silkweed, the favorite of monarch butterflies. Scores of these flowers bloom in spherical clusters a few inches (about 8 cm) in diameter. To examine closer one of the tiny flowers, half an inch (1.3 cm) tall, presents an unfamiliar perspective. The two tiers of petals often occur in different bright colors, to attract pollinators; however, Blossfeldt's black-and-white image forces us to concentrate on the plastic form fo this miniature sculpture. The flower is suspended on a slender, hairy stalk. Illuminated in this way, the crownlike form of the upper tier of petals, actually enlarged anthers of the stamen, appears architectural. The corolla, the lower tier of suspended petals that appear thick and fuzzy on one side, looks like thick sueded leather. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
Karl Blossfeldt (German, 1865 - 1932)
1928
Photographs
Photogravure
1997.033.002
buds
flowers
photogravure
stalk
Not on view, please request access
12 3/8 x 9 5/8 in. (31.3 x 24.6 cm)
Dr. and Mrs. Charles Sawyer Fund

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.