Fungi in art

In addition, artists may also film fungi with time-lapse photography to display fungal life cycles or try more experimental techniques.

[7] Mayan culture created symbolic mushroom stone sculptures which sometimes include faces that depict in a dreamlike or trance-like expression.

The stated goal of the registry is "to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between mushrooms and people as reflected in works of art from different historical periods, and to provide enjoyment to anyone interested in the subject.

[14] Mycelia and hyphae have seldom been represented, showcased, transformed, or utilized in the traditional arts due to their invisibility and the general overlook.

[15] More recently, hyphae and mycelia have been used as working matter and transformed into contemporary artworks, or used as biomaterial for objects, textiles and constructions.

[19][20][21] In some cases, music generation using fungi is conceptual, as in Psychotropic house (2015) and Mycomorph lab (2016) of the Zooetic Pavillion by the Urbonas Studio based in Vilnius (Lithuania) and Cambridge (Massachusetts), in which a mycelial structure is designed to act as an amplifier for sounds from nature mixed into loops.

[29] Use of fungi from the genera Ganoderma, Fomes, Trametes, Pycnoporus, or Perenniporia (and more) in architecture include applications such as concrete replacement, 3D printing, soundproof elements, insulation, biofiltration, and self-sustaining, self-repairing structures.

[34] Historically, ritual masks made of lingzhi (species from the genera Ganoderma) have been reported in Nepal and indigenous cultures in British Columbia.

[36] Fungal mycelia are molded or grown into sculptures and bio-based materials for product design, including into everyday objects to raise awareness about circular economics and the impact that petrol-based plastics have on the environment.

[39][40][41][42][43][35] The tinder polypore Fomes fomentarius (materials derived from which are referred to as 'Amadou') has been used by ancestral cultures and civilizations due to its flammable, fibrous, and insect-repellent properties.

[6] Amadou was a precious resource to ancient people, allowing them to start a fire by catching sparks from flint struck against iron pyrites.

[44] Remarkable evidence for its utility is provided by the discovery of the 5,000-year-old remains of "Ötzi the Iceman", who carried it on a cross-alpine excursion before his death and subsequent ice-entombment.

The fermentative abilities of mold and yeasts have a direct influence on a great variety of food products, including beer, wine, sake, kombucha, coffee, soy sauce, tofu, cheese, and chocolate.

[60][61] The US-based company Nature's Fynd is developing various kinds of food products, including meatless patties and cream cheese substitutes, using the Fy protein from Fusarium.

Hypha and mycelium get attention as working matter in contemporary art due to their growth and plasticity, and are used to explore the biological properties of degradation, decomposition, budding ('mushrooming'), and sporulation.

In agar art, fungi and other microorganisms (mostly bacteria) assume different appearances based on intrinsic characteristics of the fungus (species, morphology, fungal form, pigmentation), as well as external parameters (like inoculation technique, incubation time or temperature, nutrient growth medium, etc.).

The design is based on drawings from polymath and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), while the microbial power source, hidden within the stone, mirrors the contribution of mycelial networks (that is, mycorrhiza) in ecology.

[70] Yan thus explains the audience's reaction to her work: During an artist-in-residence project The colors of life (2021) at the Techische Universität Berlin (Germany), artist Sunanda Sharma focuses on the fungus Aspergillus niger, and visualizes its black pigmentation through fungal melanin by means of video, photography, animation, and time-lapse footage.

The database links organisms across the tree of life (in particular fungi, bacteria, and archaea) with their natural pigments, the molecules' chemistry, biosynthesis, and colour index data (HEX, RGB, and Pantone), and the corresponding scientific literature.

Artworks as such, including growth of the fungus, an incontrollable transformation of the art object, and several forms in the fungal life cycle, are rare.

[72] Contemporary bioartist Anna Dumitriu cultured and showcased fermentation flasks of Pichia pastoris used for the bioconversion of carbon dioxide into biodegradable plastics.

Painting of Slavic folktale character Baba Yaga with mushrooms on the forest floor. [ relevant? ]
Particular from The Temptation of St. Anthony by Matthias Grünewald (1512-1516) showing a sufferer from ergotism, an ailment also called St. Anthony's Fire caused by ergotamine, a fungal toxin present in the plant pathogenic fungus Claviceps purpurea.
Particular from The Temptation of St. Anthony by Matthias Grünewald (1512-1516) showing a sufferer from ergotism , an ailment also called St. Anthony's Fire caused by ergotamine , a fungal toxin present in the plant pathogenic fungus Claviceps purpurea .
Artificial leather made from fungal mycelium. (A) Reishi™ from Mycoworks; (B) Mylea™ from Mycotech Lab; (C) Mylo™ from Bolt threads; (D) mycelium leather from VTT Technical Research Centre (Finland). From Vanderlook et al. (2021). [ 35 ]
The Living Color Database (LCDB) links organisms across the tree of life (in particular fungi, bacteria, and archaea) with their natural pigments, the molecules' chemistry, biosynthesis, and colour index data (HEX, RGB, and Pantone), and the corresponding scientific literature. From Sharma & Meyer (2022). [ 69 ]
Lichens illustrated by German zoologist, naturalist, phylosopher, and illustrator Ernst Haeckel in Kunstformen der Natur (1904). Lichens, plate 83
Lichens , a symbiosis between fungi and algae or bacteria , illustrated by German zoologist, naturalist, philosopher, and illustrator Ernst Haeckel in Kunstformen der Natur (1904).