Galleries The Arts Represent Human Perspectives of Nature
Galleries Objectives
- Provide examples of how the arts play a significant role in learning about the natural world.
- Identify different types of flowers and explain how their structures relate to pollination.
- Describe the characteristics of flowers that attract specific animal pollinators.
In your mind, picture a garden.
Now, picture a garden from a century ago. Do you see one in your mind?
For most people, the images that pop into the mind are not from personal experience. That makes sense from a century ago, we were not there. We rely on representations from artists to formulate an image from the past.
What is more astonishing is that if you formulate a mental image of a recent garden, one in 2020, most people do not mentally recreate the experience of standing in a real garden. Instead, the mental image is of a photo taken of a garden, or a garden seen in an advertisement or in a TV series. You have probably experienced this repeatedly. Think back to a recent trip. Are you mentally in that location, or are you recalling a favorite photo you took on that trip? Sometimes many of our memories of events become recollections of the media that captured those experiences.
We live in a mediated world. Representations of reality take on their own meaning and become part of our memories. Some of this media we create ourselves. In this section we are focusing on the value of media created by artists.
The arts encompass many fields of study, as do the sciences. Music, paintings, writings, and sculptures are some of the forms of artistic expression. Our understanding of the natural world is often mediated through these forms. Think about a typical biology textbook. A writer produced the text. A photographer took the photos. An illustrator made the labeled drawings. We learn through art.
Artists can express their own perspectives and assist us in experiencing the world in a new way. Will we ever see sunflowers in the same way after viewing a painting by Vincent Van Gogh?
Image from the Van Gogh Museum.
As we learn more about flowers in this section, consider how much of the experience is being mediated through text, videos, and photos. We often experience the natural world through the experiences and perspectives of others. This is the basis of a rich and collective knowledge of the natural world that transcends disciplines.
Flower Types
We met basic flower structure earlier in lab. Now we are going to view variations of flower structure and how these variations relate to pollinators.
Flowers have a wide variety of structures, depending on the species. This video introduces some of the most common flower types. You will be identifying flower type in the next journal assignment.
Flowers have varied arrangements of the stigma and stamens. This flower has a branched stigma that can accept pollen and stamens lined up on the outside of the style.
Begonias are examples of “imperfect” of incomplete flowers.
Flower Varieties
Pollination
Flowers types and their distinct structures relate to how the plant is pollinated.
Pollinators are often attracted to flowers with specific colors, patterns, odors, or sizes/shapes.
Pollinator Preferences
Bees
Bees are attracted to relatively large yellow, pink, blue and purple flowers.
Flies
Flies have limited color vision and are attracted to odorous (stinky) bright (white or yellow) flowers.
Butterflies
Butterflies need to land on a flower to feed, and are
attracted to large bundles (“composites”) of flowers.
Night-Feeding Moths
Moths are attracted to heavy fragrances and pale green or white flowers.
Bats
Bats are attracted to large, heavily scented, pale color flowers.
Beetles
Beetles are attracted to heavily scented bright flowers.
Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are attracted to red, tube-shaped hanging flowers with a lot of nectar.
Anything Goes
Some pollinators will utilize many types of flowers. For example, honey bees visit may different colors, shapes, and sizes of flowers.
What pollinators are attracted to this Oregon native Oregon flowering shrub?
hint: they are all over the flower heads
Planting for Pollinators
Seed Choices
As will see in an upcoming Guide, some species of pollinators are declining, threatening habitat stability and crop production. On the quiz, you could be asked which seeds you would plant to attract specific pollinators. This video shows how seed mixes are making this an easier task.
Wildlife Plantings at OSU
In the past decade, OSU has planted wildlife-friendly species like this native red-flowering currant. Hummingbirds utilize these as a migratory food source in early spring.
Pollen-Free?
Can plant breeding to make “desirable” varieties go too far or is it a form of creative expression? Some sunflowers are now bred to no longer produce pollen so they are not as messy when added to flower arrangements. This reduces their value to pollinators that utilize both nectar and pollen. Is this good, bad, or neither? What do you think?
The next section examines how to access information from a variety of library resources.
Check your knowledge. Can you:
- provide examples of how the arts play a significant role in learning about the natural world?
- identify different types of flowers and explain how their structures relate to pollination?
- describe the characteristics of flowers that attract specific animal pollinators and how plant breeding can impact pollinators?
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Museums & Libraries Lecture Guide Contents
This guide and lecture material are assessed on the weekly quiz.
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