Also this issue: The Right Hand Giveth... Richard Price talks about his new novel, Samaritan, and the selfish side of altruism. -Interview by Frank Halperin Fly South for Winterthur A Delaware estate presents a unique display of Mexican art. -Robin Rice Domestic Bliss -Susan Hagen Flipping the Bird -Lori Hill Nikki Giovanni -Elisa Ludwig Seussical: The Musical -Jesse Delaney Artsbeat -Debra Auspitz

January 9-15, 2003

artpicks

A Plantsman in Asia: 1979-1999

The United States has the tobacco leaf and the cotton plant; Ireland has the potato; Colombia has the coffee bean. Many countries are either noted for or make industries out of the vegetation indigenous to their land. It could be argued, though, that no cultures have such intimate and complex relationships with plant life as Asian nations do. Paul Meyer dedicated 20 years of his life to proving just that. Besides his role as director of the Morris Arboretum in Chestnut Hill, Meyer is a horticultural photographer and has made 12 trips to China and South Korea, including eight plant-collecting expeditions. During those trips, he photographed not only the tea leaves, rice and bamboo plants themselves, but the way their caretakers and everyday people interact with the plants, trees and crops in the landscape around them. A new exhibit of his work at the Arboretum, "A Plantsman in Asia," features both photos that focus on the simple beauty of a single plant or tree as well as people in action, working with and appreciating the leaves and grasses. In the fields and paddies, what he found was a deeper connection with the earth and its fruit than those who just do a little backyard gardening might think possible.

"A Plantsman in Asia: 1979-1999," Jan. 9-Oct. 5, Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, 100 Northwestern Ave., 215-247-5777.

—Lori Hill