The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum presented a new series of works by British artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey, who use grass as a photographic medium. Ackroyd and Harvey have adopted a sophisticated photographic system of projecting images on specially prepared clay screens of implanted grass. Working with organic material the artists harness the photosynthesis process to create and fix images. In so doing they are revisiting the early photographic techniques of over a century ago while using today’s most advanced studies in plant breeding. As the seeds germinate each individual emergent blade of grass produces a concentrate of chlorophyll that corresponds to the amount of light it receives. If the light is absent the blade grows quickly and stays yellow. The green pigment is activated by light and in this way grass images are created. The stay green process, using a specially developed grass, stabilizes the transient image, which in time will fade. In order to conserve the image for longer period of time it is dried and exhibited in low light.

The germination of life and death, the generating and corrupting influences of light, the desire to arrest time, to possess an image, the inexorable process of decay and loss are some of the ideas that the artists explore in their work. Observing these images may help us understand and accept how change is inexorably woven into the very fabric of our existence.

Publication: Presence: The Ephemeral In Focus, CD-Rom, 2002; This CD-Rom contains videos interviews and works by the artists.

Learn more about the artists

The Generating and Corrupting Influence of Light

Light plays a complex role at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, since the galleries rely heavily on natural light. Not only does light illuminate the collection, allowing us to see it, but it also creates the unique ambience of the museum. Mrs. Gardner was well aware of this, and she placed many masterworks near windows where they would be seen to best advantage. In addition, bright, direct daylight enters from the skylight, making possible the lush greenery of the garden courtyard.

Although light is essential to our ability to see and enjoy the world around us, it can also have a damaging effect on many objects. Some materials, such as textiles, drawings, photographs, and stained wood, are extremely susceptible to damage by light. Not only does light fade colors, it can also weaken the structure of an object.

The photograph above shows a detail depicted in a 17th-century Flemish tapestry. The leaves now appear blue, or blue-green, but when the tapestry was first woven, they were green. The green color is the result of mixing natural plant dyes of blue and yellow. Yellow plant dyes are generally very sensitive to fading when exposed to light; whereas blue, often made from indigo, is very stable. Over the years, the yellow component of the green dye has faded, allowing the blue to dominate the coloring of the tapestry foliage.

The Gardner Museum's conservation staff works hard to protect the collection from light damage while maintaining the evocative ambience of the galleries. All the windows in the museum are treated to block ultraviolet (UV) light, which is the most damaging form of light. UV light is not perceived by the human eye, and thus its elimination does not reduce our ability to see. Unfortunately, visible light also causes damage, and most windows have some fabric screening to partially block visible light as well. You will also notice case covers in some galleries, which protect highly susceptible documents and books from overexposure to light. When the museum is not open, room darkening blackout shades are used to keep light levels as low as possible to further protect sensitive artworks.

The museum conservator's goal is to slow down the natural degradation of objects as much as possible. The Mother and Child grass image displayed to the left was grown by Ackroyd and Harvey in 1998, and is a good example of the fragility of their art medium. In the case of these contemporary images, however, their ephemeral nature is essential to their presence.

Works in the exhibit: Presence
Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey
1. Script
Negative 2001
8ft x 7ft
Stay-green grass, clay, water, light

Dante Aligheiri
Comedia del Divino Poeta Fiorentino Danthe Aleghieri
excerpt from Dante's Inferno, Canto IV
Commentary by Christopher Landino, Published in Florence, 1487
Long Gallery

2. Mother and Child
Negative 1998
4ftx 6ft
Stay-green grass, clay, water, light

Photograph taken by Dan of Heather and their infant daughter Adele
St. John The Baptist
Projection 2001
3ft x 4ft
Stay-green grass, clay, water, light

3. Bust of Woman
Negative 2001
3ft x 4ft
Stay-green grass, clay, water, light

Bust of a Woman
Painted and gilt stucco
19th century
Gothic Room

4. St. John the Baptist
Negative 2001
3ft x 4ft
Stay-green grass, clay, water, light

St. John the Baptist
Workshop of Benedetto da Maiano
Polychromed terracotta
Florentine, ca. 1480
Dutch Room

5. Timmy Allen
Negative 2001
3ft x 4ft
Stay-green grass, clay, water, light
Staff member of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

6. Bentina Rose
Negative 2001
3ft x 4ft
Stay-green grass, clay, water, light
Visitor to The Gardner Museum

7. Triptych
Negative 2001
16ft x 8ft
Stay-green grass, clay, water, light

Crawford Bookcase, Blue Room
Wooden Doors (at museum's original entrance)
Spanish 12th century

Video
A series of video's by Mark Lipman show the creation of Ackroyd and Harvey's work Script from conception to realization was also included outside the exhibition.

The Ephemeral in Focus Project: An example of how artists and scientists can collaborate for the future

November 1, 2001, 6:30 p.m.

Artists Heather Ackroyd and Daniel Harvey spoke about their fascinating work with photosynthesis and genetic research joined by Carole Kismaric, co-curator of Paradise Now, the groundbreaking exhibition on contemporary artists exploring genetics and via telephone by British scientists Professor Howard Thomas and Dr. Helen Ougham from IGER.

The Generating and Corrupting Influences of Light
November 14, 2001, 12:00 p.m.
With Gardner Museum conservator Bonnie Halvorson

Exploring the Color Green
December 12, 2001, 12:00 p.m.
With Gardner Museum conservator Valentine Talland.

Gallery Talks
Gallery talks about Presence Saturdays at 12:00 p.m. throughout the exhibition.