For artist Julia Whitney Barnes, the airy, brick drying building in the gardens at Watervliet provide a unique setting for a project called Planting Utopia, comprising large-scale cyanotypes that incorporate botanicals and designs tied to the history of the site and its residents. A long, horizontal composition installed above the door spans the full 15-foot width of the space and is framed in yellow lacquered wood to match the details of the original trim. The artist suspended bunches of herbs gathered from the garden beneath the horizontal installation, each delicate bundle labeled in Latin with details of how the Shakers used them.

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