Anjori Tandon
Fleuron is a three-day online festival for all things botany and technology. Presentations include “Plant Futures: Flower Blooms in 2100,” discussing how flowers map climate data; “Machines in the Garden: Technology and Creative Cultivation,” which draws parallels between plant growth and the creative process; “Generative Cities: Algorithmic Art in Urban Architecture,” about how generative art can transform cityscapes, creating immersive experiences that blend nature, technology and architecture; and an exploration into “Permacomputing,” which is both a concept and a community of practices around issues of resilience and regenerativity in computer and network technology.
Fleuron takes place April 23–25, and is moderated by dimensional designer Vincent Wagner, designer and researcher Min-Young Kim, and Ksenya Samarskaya, who I queried below about the uniqueness of this enticing project.
Hayk Zakoyan
How did Fleuron originate?
The idea for Fleuron was planted almost from the start, maybe in the winter months immediately after the first Inscript (in 2022). It was several ideas that all ended up coalescing.
We spent months intensively talent scouting. So naturally, as part of that, you start noticing trends, catching a whiff of the zeitgeist. I was seeing so many stunning CGI florals, which I believe is a confluence of a few things—one being that flowers tend to be very symmetrical, rhythmic, mathematical—and that makes them really suitable to contemporary modeling or generative software. The other is, I think, almost its opposite: As our profession becomes more digitized, as the pace of the hustle keeps escalating, as ecological degradation increases, there’s a longing for slower rootedness. For understanding our place in the world, and the ways in which that world is changing or disappearing.
Then the name Fleuron—it comes from the design term for a flower-shaped ornament or motif, and has historically been a typographic element included in a font of type. So it just kind of clicked, there was historical precedent and a contemporary fascination.
Stormy Pyeatte (top/bottom)
What do you hope to discover through the intersection of these two disciplines?
I’m here for the full range of the line-up—from the beautiful visuals with their hypnotic allure, to the research-based theoretical projects and, of course, insight into what tech or tools allow people to produce what they do. I think a lot of us are working with, or thinking about, these topics in partial isolation, so I’m really curious for the shift in perspectives that comes from hearing where others are at in their understanding of this moment and movement.
Lejeune, Schweers, Sohn
Is there a design aspect to this? Or a yearning to bring design into the mix?
I think many great designers tend to go slightly outside their niche for inspiration, and what we try to do—both with Inscript and now with Fleuron—is serve as that spring for idea germination. We look for exceptional work across adjacent industries, work that’s visually and/or conceptually charged, and we curate those next to each other. So this April 23–25, you’ll see brand designers, motion designers, conceptual designers, experimental photographers, a fashion and pattern designer, type designers, researchers and data designers, an environmental engineer, light and installation artists. Many of our presenters are very skilled at more than one thing, which is perhaps a clue as to how they’re so open to new technologies and ways of working. And it makes them a perfect fit for an equally multi-hyphenate event.
Hanna Inaiáh
Lake Heciaman
What is your role, and how do you expect to play this role?
Because it’s just days before the event, the visual that comes to mind is a cross between Druga and a late-night gas station attendant. I tend to be happy doing whatever ties things together or keeps the boat afloat, and with this launch, it really is a bit of everything, more or less at the same time. I think success in my role would look like a refinement of all these systems behind the scenes, so that everyone who’s involved is able to play their role with utmost ease, pleasure and greater leverage.
Chris Coleman
The post The Daily Heller: A Natural Intersection of Flowers and Design appeared first on PRINT Magazine.