Harvard Museum’s Newest Art Display

The Museum of Natural History and Art at Harvard University are expressing their concerns regarding the planet’s food vulnerability with a new exhibition. This comes after economic and nutritional crops that are maintained worldwide are coming under siege. Various bacteria fungi are attacking crops like Bananas, Wheat, and Coffee Beans. These include the Hemileia Vastatrix, Fusarium Oxysporu, and Phytophthora Infestans. Subsequently, the supply of plant-like foods is being more limited and eliminating jobs in the agricultural industry.

The new exhibit displayed by the Museum of Natural History and Art is themed around the 20th/21st Centuries. Rotting fruit is placed into glass models from the 20th century, creating an unconventional conduit that makes for unique beauty. This exhibition is being called the Glass Flowers, with the models being supplied by the Balachka Ware Collection. There are more than 4300 sculptures of flowers, which are built from the rotting fruit. The ware collection provided to Harvard University was created between 1887 and 1936 in Germany. The designers were father and son, named Rudolph and Leopold Balachka.

The Fruits in Decay Exhibit

The Glass Flowers Exhibit isn’t the only showcase at Harvard’s Museum. They’ve implemented a complimenting exhibit named Fruits in Decay. It’s similar to the glass flowers, with a collection of models centered around diseased and rotting fruit-bearing plants. This includes Strawberries, which have been covered by Botrytis Fuzz. There are also tropical leaves that have been broken down by Taphrina Fungus. The final piece of art in this exhibit are Pears, which have been mummified by Phytoplasma.

These nerving exhibits create a sentimental aesthetic to Harvard’s Museum, with viewers often leaving under the mindset of contemplation. These exhibits are meant to be tools for teaching, displaying the delicate structure of our world and its various ecosystems. The time to pay attention to our declining plant, fruit, and vegetable species has never been more critical. It was recently reported that Erwinia Amylovora, more commonly known as Fire Blight, has begun appearing in Apple Orchards across North America. Subsequently, the world’s supply of Red and Green Apples could be under attack from Erwinia Amylovora. This version of Fire Blight is said to be fast-acting, spreading at rates not typically seen since 2000.

Global Agriculture hasn’t ever been more vulnerable than it is this century. Pathogenic Threats are destroying the cultivation of crops, which will force farming into indoor locations, where food supplies can be extensively protected. This will face its own series of problems, with the solutions for these various problems unknown. Hopefully, one of the Harvard Elite is inspired to focus their efforts on crop management after this exhibit.