Art Forms in Nature 93 1928

Karl Blossfeldt made this photograph of a Thistle plant, one of his "Art Forms in Nature," using a custom-built camera and lens to magnify his subjects. Blossfeldt was interested in the way that industrial production could change our perception, including our appreciation of natural forms. His choice of black and white photography removes all color, emphasizing the botanical structure with clarity and precision. With an extremely sharp focus and shallow depth of field, he isolates the plant from its surroundings, presenting it as a stark and elegant design. The thistle’s texture – prickly, hairy, and segmented – is foregrounded, turning the plant into an almost architectural form. Blossfeldt taught his students how to observe and record nature with scientific accuracy, but he also encouraged them to see the beauty and underlying structure of the natural world. His work reminds us that even the most common objects, like weeds, can reveal surprising structures if we take the time to look closely.