Martin Roth, From 2017-2021 Martin Roth transformed a ruin into a garden for a plant concert (2021), via Art Observed
Throughout the course of his artistic practice, the late Martin Roth channeled nature as an active creative agent, using plants and flowers as instrumental collaborators in his practice. In 2017, Roth envisioned the transformation of an abandoned nineteenth-century historical structure into an immersive public garden, a “plant concert hall.” Though the artist passed away before the enactment of his project, the Newburgh, New York-based Strongroom—a non-profit arts organization—executed his plans this summer. Strongroom presented the site-specific installation during the second installation of Upstate Art Weekend 2021, the three-day self-directed event celebrating the arts in the Hudson Valley.
Martin Roth, Installation View (2021), via Art Observed
Roth sought to reshape the historic building into a cultural enclave while mining the storied past of the deteriorated Newburgh structure. Located on the Hudson River sixty miles north of Manhattan, the building exemplifies the area’s rich 19th-century architectural history: the original structure was erected by famed landscape designers and architects Calvert Vaux and Andrew Jackson Downing in the 1850s. The building, which had long served as a gentlemen’s club, was severely damaged by fire in 1981. The structure was then abandoned, the hollowed-out interior spaces soon overrun by local flora.
Martin Roth, Installation View (2021), via Art Observed
Seeking to harness the vitality of the wild growth within the decayed urban walls, Roth aimed to enhance the existing environment: “I will work closely with the natural environment of trees and bushes that already exist inside the site, but alter it, and in a sense cultivate it, with more colorful plants and flowers, and a winding path,” he said of his work. Particularly in the creation of paths, Roth harkens back to Downing’s vision of a home garden while in fact creating a public space that complicates notions of “domestic” vegetation. Roth navigates human intervention while embracing the self-determination of nature to present an urban landscape infiltrated with flourishing greenery.
The installation extends beyond the visual: the “plant concert” utilizes bio-sonification technology to translate the frequencies of the plants into music through biofeedback. This immersive sonic experience prompts consideration of the relationship between sound and sight, the organic and the artificial, the natural environment and the built human landscape.
Martin Roth, From 2017-2021 Martin Roth transformed a ruin into a garden for a plant concert (2021), via Art Observed
Roth emphasized the aim of cultivating a space serving both the local community and visitors: “While citizens of Newburgh are very aware of nature overtaking buildings and mainly see this as an eyesore, I want to alter and shape the environment inside the building to emphasize the beauty in nature reclaiming a site in an urban setting.” This inclusive element directly, if subtly, underscores the accessibility of this public garden in contrast to the exclusive legacy of the former gentlemen’s club.
Martin Roth, From 2017-2021 Martin Roth transformed a ruin into a garden for a plant concert (2021), via Art Observed
– A. Chisholm
Read More:
Martin Roth: “From 2017-2021 Martin Roth transformed a ruin into a garden for a plant concert” [Exhibition Site]
