Saklı Olanı Görebilmek | Bilgesu Yılmaz | TEDxDEU

Key Concepts

• Herbart: A specialized artistic practice involving the creation of collage-like designs using dried and pressed plants.
• Medicago Polymorpha (Dikenli/Yapışkan Yonca): A plant known for its survival strategy of attaching seeds to clothing.
• Sinapis Arvensis (Yabani Hardal Otu): A plant that thrives in "disturbed" soil, often found in urban environments.
• Cardiospermum (Balon Sarmaşığı): A plant with heart-shaped seed pods and seeds, symbolizing love and devotion.
• Perception vs. Observation: The distinction between merely looking at one's surroundings and truly "seeing" the nature within them.

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1. Main Topics and Key Points

The speaker, an artist specializing in "Herbart," explores the hidden meanings and cultural symbolism of common plants. The core argument is that nature is not just a backdrop but a repository of stories and emotions. By learning the history and symbolism of plants, one can transition from "looking" to "seeing."

• Medicago Polymorpha: Its survival strategy involves attaching to passersby. European folklore interprets this as a sign of a cluttered mind, while Mediterranean cultures view it as a symbol of loyalty and commitment.
• Sinapis Arvensis: Known for growing in disturbed soil (urban areas). It produces tiny seeds in pods of 7–8. Christian tradition views it as a symbol of "the greatest value born from the smallest thing."
• Cardiospermum: Named for its heart-shaped pods and seeds. It is widely associated with love and devotion due to its anatomy.

2. Real-World Applications and Artistic Practice

The speaker creates "story-telling" art pieces using these plants. Unlike traditional Herbart artists who focus on aesthetic collages, the speaker embeds specific plants into landscapes to convey narratives. For example, a painting might include Medicago seeds to represent loyalty or Cardiospermum to represent love, effectively "hiding" nature’s stories within the artwork.

3. Methodologies and Frameworks

• The "Herbart" Process: The artist collects, dries, and presses plants, then arranges them into compositions that carry specific cultural or historical meanings.
• The Research-Driven Approach: The speaker emphasizes that these meanings are not invented but are derived from centuries of human interaction with nature, plant morphology, and folklore.
• The "Seeing" Exercise: The speaker encourages a shift in perspective—moving from passive observation to active engagement with the environment, inspired by the realization that she had lived on the same street for 10 years without noticing a specific tree until she began researching plants.

4. Key Arguments and Supporting Evidence

• The Power of Connection: The speaker cites a Native American belief that plants "record" the emotions and events of their environment. When good things happen (weddings, births), plants flourish; when tragedy occurs, they struggle. This belief serves as the foundation for the artist’s practice of imbuing her work with positive intentions (abundance, peace, happiness) while creating.
• Darwin’s Perspective: The speaker quotes Charles Darwin: "That which does not catch a man's attention does not exist for him." This serves as the primary evidence for her argument that we must consciously choose to "see" the nature around us.

5. Notable Quotes

• "Bazen en büyük güç en küçük şey ile kurulan bağdan doğar." (Sometimes the greatest power is born from the bond established with the smallest thing.)
• "İnsanın dikkatini çekmeyen şey onun için hiç var olmamıştır." (That which does not catch a man's attention does not exist for him — attributed to Charles Darwin.)

6. Synthesis and Conclusion

The presentation serves as a call to action for urban dwellers to reconnect with their environment. By understanding the history and symbolism of the plants we encounter daily—such as the mulberry tree (symbolizing abundance and tragic love) or the wild mustard—we transform our perception of the world. The speaker concludes that the goal of her art is to pass on the "energy" and stories of these plants to the viewer, ultimately hoping that the audience will leave the venue with a renewed ability to truly "see" the nature that surrounds them.