Digital rendering (screenshot) of a natural environment with vegetation that appears blurred and not clearly distinguishable. In the foreground, a small flowering plant with simple, oval-shaped, dark green leaves and purple flowers arranged in three spike-like inflorescences. Its overall appearance reminds of plants in the legume family. The small plant is surrounded by grass, and grows on a slope with rocky outcrops. In the background, a tall shrub or small tree with abundant purple flowers, a wooded shoreline or hill, and a hazy, overcast sky. Dominant colors are gray, green and purple. This palette together with the blurring of the image and a darker foreground create a crepuscular and nearly disturbing impression.

See more objects with the tag , environmental conservation, scent, genetically modified material, simulation.

Object Timeline

	We acquired this object.
2018	Work on this object began.
2019	We photographed this object. We exhibited this object. Work on this object ended.
2024	You found it!

Resurrecting the Sublime, 2018-19

It was designed by Christina Agapakis, Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg and Sissel Tolaas and manufactured by Ginkgo Bioworks. It is dated 2018-19. Its medium is scent installation, video. It is a part of the department.

This project approximates the smell of an extinct flower. Researchers extracted DNA sequences from historic samples of the extinct flower and inserted the sequences into yeast cells, cultured them, and extracted molecules to approximate the flower’s scent. The project raises probing questions about the implications of loss, centered on the sensory experience of extinction. Stand under the hood (to your right) to smell the released scent.

It is credited Courtesy of the designers.

A sleeveless silk waistcoat. Flowers line the center of the coat, running from the neck down to the botttom. At the bottom, the flowers expand outward, creating a nature scene. In this scene, two light-skinned figures face in opposite directions, blowing a horn. Posed in front of the horn on either side is a turkey, with feathers ruffled.

Waistcoat (France)
silk.
Bequest of Richard Cranch Greenleaf in memory of his mother, Adeline Emma....
1962-54-45

The Substitute, 2019
installation, video.
Commissioned by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Cube design museum.
NATURE.040

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/4wUs7z/
Accession Number NATURE.028
Object ID 2318798853