Raices

IDEOTYPE It is an abstraction to the growth of roots. It proposes an exploration of the importance of roots, anchoring, support. An ideotype is a conceptual model of ideal phenotypes for crop improvement programs. This, my root ideotype, proposes to connect the public with reflection regarding root-soil interactions.

Technical, aesthetic and conceptual development:

The roots are the anchor, they are the past and the support of the present. I referenced the work of Grace C. Hertlein, who used to create graphics reminiscent of nature or landscape motifs. I found a text in which he stated that: “Our challenge (as digital artists) is to create art forms for a broader audience, not only for scientists, but also for other human beings. Our world today needs the vision of an art that symbolizes a positive symbiosis of technology and human expression.” (1980/81).

From the biological definition of Sotelo (2015), the function of the root is to ensure the survival of the plant, by penetrating into the soil to fix the plant and ensure supply. But soils, like everything in nature, change. As we can see in one of the 2011 UN Food and Agriculture reports, where it is estimated that although around 11% of the land surface is dedicated to agriculture, approximately 33% of agricultural soils are degraded and more than 90% would be degraded by 2050. Factors such as water deficit and, above all, the presence of ethylene in agroecosystems facilitate the recognition of the impact of climate change in the hardening of soils. floors. To survive the root, like the rest of the organism, must adapt. To propose conceptual models of ideal phenotypes for use in improvement programs for different types of crops, in response to soil degradation due to climate change; in “Future roots for future soils” (2021) from the magazine Plant, Cell & Environment, understanding that roots play a central role in the adjustment of crops to stress and after great reflection on the adaptability of roots to domesticated soils in current agriculture. They propose some “ideotypes”.

I created this piece, my root ideotype, to talk about the importance of roots. And how strengthening them can help us transform the world. Using what Simón Mulet would describe as visual abstraction, an organism with roots is generated.

Influenced by Nathalie Heinich’s text, the work focuses on the idea and its interpretation. For this reason, elements of the formation of roots and their functioning are explained from the code. Also added is the interaction of ethylene, which, when clicking on the screen, covers the roots, with time being an important factor for the strength of its impact on the organism. Although, at the same time, if ethylene affects the roots and the environment, the plant will continue to grow and look for a way to adapt to the new environment.

Plant-soil interactions in degraded soils in developing countries represent an important knowledge gap that is critical for global food security. Indigenous research communities, such as in Ecuador, are regions that often have few resources. And they deserve greater attention for global agriculture.

LITERATURE Cita a Grace C. Hertlein (1980/81) en Herzogenrath, Wulf & Nierhoff-Wielk, Barbara, eds. 2007. Ex Machina - Frühe Computergrafik bis 1979. Die Sammlung Franke und weitere Stiftungen in der Kunsthalle Bremen. Herbert W. Franke zum 80. Geburtstag. Berlin:Deutscher Kunstverlag

Heinich, N. (2014). La obra más allá del objeto. In El paradigma del arte contmporaneo.

Lynch, J. P., Mooney, S. J., Strock, C. F., & Schneider, H. M. (2021). Future roots for future soils. Plant Cell & Envitonment, 620-636. doi: 10.1111/pce.14213

Sotelo, A. A. (2015). El Movimiento de las Plantas. Corrientes: C Fisiología Vegetal- FaCENA- UNNE. Retrieved from https://exa.unne.edu.ar/biologia/fisiologia.vegetal/Guiadeestudio-Movimientodelaplantas.pdf