[Woody’s [rating: 4.5]
Picasso’s “Still Life with Skull, Leeks and Pitcher” hangs on de Young Museum wall. In foreground is “Bouquets to Art” impression of it by Hunter-Lee Flowers. Photo: Woody Weingarten
- Life imitating art? “Lady in Black with Spanish Scarf,” by Robert Henri, is simulated by a Plumweed Floral and Event Design construction. Photo: Woody Weingarten.
I was afraid I wouldn’t like it.
I’ve been going to the de Young Museum’s “Bouquets to Art” for so many years I thought I might be too jaded.
I wasn’t.
What I’d forgotten was that not only is each year’s floral art exhibit different by its very nature, trends spawn even greater changes.
The first time — when my wife had to drag skeptical me there because I was pre-positive it would be neither art nor good — I was totally blown away by how outstanding, how unique, the floral arrangements were.
Oh, how those designs enhanced and enriched the museum’s permanent collection.
That year, as the several before when my wife had gone alone, displays consisted basically of flowers, flowers and more flowers.
And green leaves.
A gadzillion varieties of flora to simulate the paintings and sculptures in front of which they rested.
Not many non-living materials.
Not many foundations.
Not many structures.
But inch by inch, year by year, like osmosis, those elements slipped in.
So it shouldn’t have surprised me that his year’s four-day displays were more structural than ever.
It turns out that that wasn’t a bad thing at all. It just meant more elaborate designs.
More — and more elaborate — eye candy.
And visceral joy.
Such as the Hunter-Lee Flowers’ impression of Picasso’s “Still Life with Skull, Leeks and Pitcher.”
Floral artist Valerie Lee Ow, marking her 16th year as a participant in “Bouquets to Art,” refreshes some flowers in her design (which sits in front of “Rhapsody” by Richard Mayhew). Photo: Woody Weingarten.
- Floral peacock created by Natasha’s Designs stands in front of “The Flora and Fauna of the Pacific” by Miguel Covarrubias. Photo: Woody Weingarten
Or life imitating art as a Plumweed Floral and Event Design construction simulated “Lady in Black with Spanish Scarf” by Robert Henri.
The bigger and better designs weren’t limited to displays favoring intricacy or heavy foundations, though.
Consider, for instance, the enormous, chock-full-o’-color bouquet by floral artist Valerie Lee Ow, who was celebrating her 16th year as a participant in “Bouquets to Art.”
It sat in front of “Rhapsody” by Richard Mayhew and, in fact, seemed to overpower it.
Want something a bit whimsical yet still colorful? The answer could be found in a floral peacock created by Natasha’s Designs in front of “The Flora and Fauna of the Pacific” by Miguel Covarrubias.
All in all, the evolved, more complex displays somehow helped my wife and me enjoy the show more than ever.
We can’t wait for next year.
Top billing at the de Young, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive at John F. Kennedy Drive, in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, now goes to the “Botticelli to Braque” exhibit, which displays masterpieces from the national galleries of Scotland through May 31, and “Richard Diebenkorn Prints,” which will run through Oct. 4. Information: 1-415-750-3504 or contact@famsf.org.
Contact Woody Weingarten at voodee@sbcglobal.net or check out his blog at www.vitalitypress.com
