Memoir

Memoir

Bryonia alba, c. 1920's

Neue Sachlichkeit

Karl Blossfeldt, a key photographer in early 20th Century Weimar's 'Neue Sachlichkeit' [[New Objectivity] movement, is known for his detailed studies of plant life. The image, 'Bryonia alba', made by Blossfeldt in the late 1920's, and reproduced in his landmark work, 'Urformen der Kunst' [Art Forms in Nature], appears on the cover of at least two collections of poetry and a memoir, all dealing with matters of the heart and/or spirituality [I have yet to come across a non-photographic book with a Blossfeldt cover that does not deal with love, loss or religion]. This particular image takes on new layers of meaning if one knows that Bryonia Alba is bitter-tasting and potentially toxic, yet is used as an herbal healing remedy. KB

See below for other books with the same cover image: