A floral arrangement.
Study #2
A mixture of a large amount of flowers, rich in various colours, is referred to as a 'Mass Arrangement'. Bouquets that emphasize simplicity, minimalism and conservative colours are known as 'Line Arrangements'.
Untitled (No.4 from the Carnation Series), Cy Twombly 1989
Using flowers to arrange, decorate and adorn has been practiced since the ancient Egyptians began putting cut flowers in vases on their tables and in burial tombs around 2,500 BCE. Some scientists argue that people developed a liking for flowers because they signal proximity to fruit (and sustenance). The physicist David Deutsch suggests that blossoms contain a type of objective beauty, attracting humans with their harmonious colors, soft curves, and symmetrical forms.
Flowers, Robert Mapplethorpe
When his health began declining, portrait photographer Robert Mapplethorpe said he did not like eyes looking back at him through the camera anymore and spent his final years capturing flowers and objects that “obeyed his direction and made no demands.”
Divine Intervention, Lani Trock at Tappan
Ikebana is the Japanese art of arranging flowers, blossoms, branches, leaves, and stems to find new life as works of art. In contrast to the western habits of casually placing flowers in a vase, ikebana aims to bring out the inner qualities of flowers and other live materials to express emotion through them.
Ikebana arrangements are not unlike sculptures. Considerations of color, line, form, and function guide the construction of a work. The results are varied and unexpected, and can range widely in terms of size and composition.
Irving Penn
Under the reign of Queen Victoria, new standards of etiquette limited communication across England’s upper class, so people began sending secret messages by way of flowers. In turn, books about floriography—or the language of flowers—became popular, outlining the types of flowers that signaled flirtation, friendship, embarrassment, or disdain.
In the 1970s, medical student turned artist Wolfang Laib began creating installations made entirely of pollen, which he hand-picked from the flowers around his home and studio. Laib’s largest installation, Pollen from Hazelnut (2013), decorated the atrium of the Museum of Modern Art with an 18-by-21-foot square surface of bright yellow pollen. It took the artist 27 years to accumulate the powder, as hazelnut buds only flower for four to six weeks each spring. As Laib says, “pollen is the beginning of life.”
Pollen from Hazelnut , Wolfgang Laib
Blumen, Gerhard Richter
Oshibana is the act of pressing flowers in such a way as to make a whole picture, and dates back to the 16th century in Japan. When Japanese exchanges with Europe increased in the early Victorian era, the practice became fashionable in both England and America.
Pressed flowers in a book or journal can be a delicate way of preserving and reflecting on a moment.