from Antiques & The Arts, 1/18/2002
Doris Mitsch’s “Datura Series” Unfurls at ClampArt
Photo caption: Doris Mitsch's 'Datura Series' focuses on the narcotic and deadly datura plant of the nightshade family.
NEW YORK CITY - ClampArt now represents West Coast artist Doris Mitsch. A selection of images from the artist's "Datura Series" can be seen at the ClampArt website, www.clampart.com.
Datura is a flowering plant of the nightshade family with funnel-shaped flowers and prickly pods. The leaves and seeds of datura are the source of hallucinogenic alkaloids, which have, for 3,000 years, been ingested for both religious and recreational purposes. In adequate doses, however, the active drugs found in datura can also serve as a poison that will stop the heart. Datura releases its unmistakable, narcotic scent in the darkness of night.
First and foremost, the flowers of datura are sex organs—like those of any plant. Mitsch is interested in the implication and relation of all of these facts.
The photographic prints of Mitsch's "Datura Series" are rich, matte prints on heavy, textured, Arches cold-press watercolor.
For information, contact Brian Paul Clamp, gallery director.
