About this Event
Secrets of "The Secret Life of Plants"
Saturday April 25, 2026, 3-5pm in conjunction with the Shimmer exhibition at the Peterson Gallery of St. John’s College Santa Fe
In 1976, Richard Lowenberg and three artist teammates created ‘plant bio-music’ sequences for a feature film based on the book, The Secret Life of Plants.
Most of their San Francisco and L.A. filmed/recorded sequences were ultimately left on the editing room floor. The film was finally released with a Stevie Wonder soundtrack in late 1978.
Richard will present the work and the story behind this remarkable team’s plant bio-music and video production
Richard Lowenberg has explored ecological systems and information technology through bio-sensing and art-science collaborations since the early 1970s. He has led pioneering projects in interspecies communication, rural telecommunications, and sustainable information infrastructure that challenge traditional economic and social models. Richard has dedicated his creative life to realization of works setting examples for an ‘ecology of the information environment’, with resulting opportunities for growing a vibrant cultural economy.
'Plant Bio-Music' Team:
Richard Lowenberg, “Bio-Dis-Play” sequences design.
John Lifton, creator of “Green Music”, London.
Jim Wiseman, video synthesizer artist.
Tom Zahuranec, audio synthesis.
Project Venue and Setting
At St. John’s College, science and art are complementary ways of knowing, and all students engage with the great works of mathematics, natural science, philosophy, poetry, music, and literature through close reading and sustained conversation. With a curriculum that moves from Euclid, Darwin and Einstein to the study and illustration of plants and the movement of celestial beings, St. John’s fosters an education rooted in inquiry, imagination, and the enduring dialogue between scientific discovery and artistic expression.
SciArt Santa Fe, founded in 2019, fosters artists across disciplines that reflect the cultural diversity of New Mexico, supports research that addresses issues that disproportionately affect people of under-represented races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, national origins, citizenship statuses and ages including climate change, species extinction and migration, that often do not fit within a traditional gallery framework.
Our Spring 2026 SciArt Santa Fe exhibition features 20 New Mexico artists: Sophie Azzolina, Morgan Barnard, Bobbe Besold, Paul Biagi, Chad Colby, Shirley Crow, Deidre Greenly , Jeanette Hart-Mann , Evgenya Kirichenko, Jessica Lanham, Susan Latham, Richard Lowenberg, Palma Maya-Johnson, Jess Merritt, Heather Murphree, Andrea Polli, Nico Rasmussen, Alyce Santoro, Abigail Sapien and Lila Steffan
This event is free and accessible to all. If you need more information, contact [email protected] with questions related to access and accommodation.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
St. John's College, 1160 Camino De Cruz Blanca, Santa Fe, United States
USD 0.00
