Left, F for the Fox, watercolor and shell gold on sheepskin parchment by Kandis Vermeer Phillips (1954–), ca.2010, 20 × 15 cm, HI Art accession no. 7891.08, reproduced by permission of the artist and right, Setaria faberi Herrm. [Setaria faberi R. A. W. Herrmann, Poaceae alt. Gramineae], ink on paper by an unknown artist for Albert S. Hitchcock (1865–1935), Manual of the Grasses of the United States, ed. 2, rev. by Agnes Chase (Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950, p. 725, fig. 1106), Hitchcock-Chase Collection of Grass Drawings, on indefinite loan from the Smithsonian Institution, HI Art accession no. 2496.0187.
By Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation
The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation presents Alphabetum Botanicum, which runs from 13 September through 14 December, 2018. This exhibition features Kandis Vermeer Phillips‘ illuminated letters, which are intertwined with plants, mammals and insects. Each letter is paired with a botanical artwork from the Institute’s collection to create a literal or amusing relationship between the two, such as the connection of ants with an aardvark and a peony bud, the sunflower as a food source for a cardinal or the similar shapes of a fox’s tail and foxtail grass.
Opening reception
The reception on Thursday, 13 September (5:00-7:00 p.m.) is open to the public.
At 5:30 p.m. the curators and Phillips will give a short introduction to the
exhibition in the gallery.
Artist demonstration
Phillips will give a demonstration on drawing letterforms in silverpoint in the
gallery on Friday, 14 September (10:00 a.m.-noon and 2:00-4:00 p.m.). She will
have available sketches showing the metalpoint process along with various metals
and prepared papers with which visitors may experiment. In addition, she will
discuss informally the history of illumination and metalpoint during the
demonstration.
Find out how Kandis Vermeer Phillips created her letterforms and view additional images on The Hunt’s exhibitions page.
About the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation
The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, a research division of Carnegie Mellon University, specializes in the history of botany and all aspects of plant science and serves the international scientific community through research and documentation. To this end, the Institute acquires and maintains authoritative collections of books, plant images, manuscripts, portraits and data files, and provides publications and other modes of information service. The Institute meets the reference needs of botanists, biologists, historians, conservationists, librarians, bibliographers and the public at large, especially those concerned with any aspect of the North American flora.
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