Hartford Courant Review for Botanical Tyranny

Here's a link to Susan Dunne's story in the Hartford Courant.

Botanical Tyranny, The Book

A new second edition (less expensive version) of my book, Botanical Tyranny is available for purchase. Follow this link to order the book. The first edition is still available. You can view a PDF preview of the entire book at this link:
http://blur.by/1e3PYXw

Installation shots from "Lest We Forget: Forget me nots" at Mark Twain House and Museum

On November 1st we installed the show Botanical Tyranny which opens November 10, 2013 at the Mark Twain House and Museum. Here are some images of Jane Rainwater creating a 100' wall installation at the Twain Center. I created posters of Forget me nots and then inscribed Mark Twain's War Prayer on 63 panels.

Welcome to the Botanical Tyranny Blog!

Click on "pages" at right to view drawings from Jane Rainwater's Botanical Tyranny Series.

Upcoming Exhibition: Botanical Tyranny

Jane Rainwater will present a show of her work at The Mark Twain House & Museum, November 4, 2013 to January 17th, 2014.

Ample Free Parking

Jane Rainwater Artist Statement

Botanical Tyranny (The Evil of Flowers)

People are often attracted to the aesthetics of an image or object that stimulates desire. Decorative objects are collected and exhibited in the home as status symbols of affluence and refinement. My work engages the viewer with its seemingly innocent decorative delight; yet upon closer examination the work challenges and questions our attraction by revealing darker truths.

When botanists sailed to foreign lands during the 19th Century to collect exotic plant species, the landscape was wild and the explorers were fearful of the unknown. As they collected strange specimens, one wonders what might have transpired in the quest to conquer the world’s natural resources.

What cultural artifacts and sacred plants were taken by force from the native people? By the 21st Century, these wild places were destroyed by development. We are still at “war” with the environment trying to protect dwindling resources, while still exploiting, sometimes by force, the world’s resources. Botanical Tyranny references classical botanical illustration and printsas a critique of art history. The strong internal “battle” in the forced integration of flowers and weapons of war references European high culture and its complicity in violent Western domination.

My drawings, diagrams, installations, sculpture and prints explore the paradox of “horrible beauty,” illuminating my concerns regarding wealth, greed, violence and cultural traditions.