<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" For more than a century, photographers have trained their focus on the wonder of the natural world. This winter&amp;#039;s exhibition at the Horticultural Society of New York, &amp;quot;Nature Morte&amp;quot;\u2014from the French for still life\u2014highlights three innovative studio photographers thoroughly devoted to the splendor of nature at the peak of its ripeness. New York-based artist Sharon Core piles up armloads of the specimen vegetables, fruit, and flowers that she cultivates in her lush Hudson Valley garden. Period glassware and props complete her meticulously constructed images, which replicate still-life paintings from the time before her own chosen medium, photography, was even invented. Artist Miranda Lichtenstein&amp;#039;s process is similar, though she uses natural light and brings in backdrops hand-painted with shadows that only slightly vary from the subjects of her Polaroids. The results are at once edgy and familiar. Also featured are Corin Hewitt&amp;#039;s contemporary images from &amp;quot;Drying Flowers with Microwaves,&amp;quot; his horticultural performance at Miami&amp;#039;s Dorsch Gallery. Working behind a wall in the space\u2014seen only by visitors using the installation&amp;#039;s security mirrors to peer around the corner\u2014Hewitt assembled unlikely mixed-media arrangements in the Ikebana style of Japanese flower arranging, then photographed the results. Those photo prints, originally hung on the walls of the exhibition as they were made, are among the most provocative and inspiring of the current show. &amp;quot;Nature Morte,&amp;quot; The Horticultural Society of New York, through February 10, 2012; thehort.org "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a3611/second-nature-a-72189/?src=shelter_footer>