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Showing posts with label floral arranging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label floral arranging. Show all posts

LaChapelle's Earth Laughs In Flowers. The Photographer's Take on Baroque Still Lives.



above: Lovers (detail) by David LaChapelle

In this new series of ten works photographer David LaChapelle, best known for his wild and elaborate fashion photography, he explores the vanity of life and beauty. With titles such as “Springtime”, “Late Summer”, “Early Fall” and “Deathless Winter” the works refer to the four seasons and allude to the life cycle: from birth to death. A contemporary take on the still life paintings of Flemish and Italian masters, these ornate florals contain references to present day culture and humanity, such as cigarette butts, Barbies, junk food, toys and telephones.

Summer:

Springtime:

detail:

Early Fall:

detail:

Deathless Winter:

detail:

America:

Concerning the Soul:

Risk:

Flaccid Passions:

Lovers:

Wilting Gossip:

detail:


from the press release:
The title of the series is a quotation of the poem “Hamatreya” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in which flowers are the earth’s laughter at the arrogance of human beings who believe they can rule the earth, although they themselves are transient and must return to it.

The title of the exhibition can also be read in the sense of the Baroque vanitas portrayals. The meaning of the Baroque floral still life was always related to the human hubris and transience of earthly existence, with the classical still life often containing many of the following: flowers, fruits, vegetables, animals, insects, mask, candles, watches or skulls. These symbols denote the fugacity and limitations of human life and the meaningless nature of vanity. Just like wilting flowers, albeit their beauty, we will all fade away.

Whilst LaChapelle shows an explicit compositional affinity to Baroque floral still life, he transfers the genre from painting to photography. The artist employs art historical visual traditions, but he also translates them into visual metaphor of and for our time. On second glance the viewer will discover objects of contemporary society in the blooming and fading flower arrangements: burning cigarettes, newspapers from yesterday, old mobile phones, plastic, Barbies, a Manga mask, medical devices, a burning American flag, a model of an airplane, balloons, tins, collages, throw away dinnerware or a tattered dollar bill. These are the metaphors of vanity in our era of an affluent though seemingly troubled society. The often bizarre and excessive symbolical imagery does not fail to remind us however, as in the traditional vanitas, to follow our virtues and to celebrate life before it‘s over.

‘Where are these men? Asleep beneath their grounds: And strangers, fond as they, their furrows plough. Earth laughs in flowers, to see her boastful boys Earth-proud, proud of the earth which is not theirs; Who steer the plough, but cannot steer their feet, Clear of the grave.’ -- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), Hamatreya, 1846

The series of photographs by David LaChapelle, ‘Earth Laughs in Flowers’ was first shown at Hannover’s Kestnergesellschaft Museum in spring 2011. Since then the exhibit -in conjunction with ROBILANT + VOENA has been presented to the British, Italian and Swiss public, across its two galleries in London and Milan, as well as the Reformierte Dorfkirche, St. Moritz in collaboration with ST.MORITZ ART MASTERS. Now, In collaboration with Fred Torres, the show is now being exhibited in New York.

Earth Laughs In Flowers
Exhibition on view February 23rd through March 24th, 2012. Open to the public, Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm. Student groups always welcome.
527 W 29th Street, 3FL, New York NY, 10001

Smells Like A Unique Idea. Blue & Blooms Prints On Fresh Flowers.




This certainly smells interesting. Blue & Blooms of the UK has patented a way to transfer original artwork with metallic or opaque inks on fresh flowers. The result is a unique way to communicate your corporate brand at various events or to commemorate such special occasions as weddings.




Whether you want a personal message, monogram or a brand logo, you simple send the company a black and white file ( jpeg, eps or ai file at 300 dpi) of your art and they delicately print them upon the petals of flowers with an organic dye which has no adverse effect on the flowers.




Your printed flowers can be a single rose, added to bouquets, made into corsages or boutonnieres, and/or used as scatter petals. With a one time set up fee and a three day turnaround, they make it pretty darn easy.



In addition to the printing on flowers, Blue and Blooms has beautiful floral arrangements (like those shown below) for corporate, personal, wedding and events. Their online store is not yet open, but will be coming soon.



Blue and Blooms Studio
38 Garden Close
London
UB5 5ND
For sales queries please contact them at +44(0)7961 066 707.

Special thanks to Advertising Age where I first heard about this.

Fun With Flowers: Bloom My Buddy





Bloom my Buddy
Designers Niels Van Eijk & Miriam Van der Lubbe have created these fun and fabulous flower vases. They have a reservoir in which to hold the water and various holes so you can design your 'boy' or 'girl' in infinite floral dress. Created in a large and a small size, they were initially commissioned by the Flower Council of Holland.

The two sizes in comparison:


The smaller one measures 45 cm ( or 17.75"H) , is made of rotation moulded polyethylene and has 98 holes. The larger version measures 120 cm, is made of hand laminated polyester and has 298 holes.


Take a look at some of the fun examples of how these vases can turn your flora into little characters.








Bloom My Buddy

You can purchase the small sized for $199.00 USD here.

About the designers:

Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe

from their site:
“Our designs raise questions; we work with forms and products we all know, we add benefits to them to make it nowadays products without loosing their own characteristics. They make you change your perspective to things, and challenge you to look at another way to the world around you.”

Graduated at the Design Academy and the post graduate programme of the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. Started their design studio in 1998. They work individually but share one studio. Often they collaborate in projects. They focus on product, interior and exhibition design.

Work has been exhibited worldwide and purchased by many museums such as Museum Boymans van Beuningen Rotterdam, Centraal Museum Utrecht, Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem, The Dutch Textile Museum Tilburg, Manchester City Art Gallery, WOCEF Korea, Museum FIT New York and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

Clients include; European Ceramic Workcentre, Rosenthal, Droog Design, Habitat, Premsela Dutch Design Foundation, Dutch Textile Museum, Moooi, Flower Council of Holland. They teach product design at various academies at the Design Academy Eindhoven.


De Raadstraat 28K
5666 EA Geldrop
The Netherlands
Phone *31 (0) 40-2868636
www.ons-adres.nl

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