Philadelphia Flower Show
March 2-9th, 2008
Pennsylvania Convention Center
12th and Arch Streets
Philadelphia, PA
As I walked into the convention center people were headed in different directions, conversations were taking place about the displays, music was playing and a grand entrance way was demanding my attention. After walking under an arch way of enormous piano keys, passing a 10 foot cello surrounded by plants and flowers that seem to be exploding in form and color, I found where the music was coming from. A center stage was set up with a man playing a guitar surrounded by flowers; it became clear that this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show theme “Jazz it Up”, inspired by New Orleans, had not been taken lightly.
For those of you who have not been to a Philadelphia flower show, the convention center was divided up into three sections. One area was set up
for the plants that people have entered to be on display, some had won ribbons in different categories. Another section was the market place; vendors sold anything from flowers, gardening equipment, jewelry in the shape of flowers, and crafted objects that dealt with plants in some way. One featured artist, Timothy Martin, had his own prominent show area and made multiple paintings that involved beautiful outdoor scenery. His own twist was that the flowers came together to make an instrument which relates back to the Jazz theme. The last section was the landscape and floral displays; this area was the talk of the flower show. Colors and smells aroused the senses as well as the physical nature of the quantity and size of the displays. Landscapers, florists, artists, art teachers, and volunteers came together to create a vision of wonder and amazement. If you thought of the convention center as a gallery, the displays would be the artwork on pedestals. Each exhibit had its own space and the viewers had to walk around the work. Everyone pointed and gossiped, but no one touched the work. Some viewers were taking mental notes of flowers they liked and things they would like to try back at home. Others were just astonished at the creativity of finding new ways to display flowers, not to mention the inventive use of props to tie in the Jazz theme.
The award of best achievement for “Interpretation of the Flower Show Theme” went to Lorenz Landscape Contractors and was well deserved. A music repair shop was constructed with a walk way leading out to the viewers. The landscaping surrounding the repair shop was booming with flowers upon flowers and trees in bloom. The difference in texture and disbursement of color was enough to fulfill the visual senses, but it didn’t stop there. Three specially made fountains were thoughtfully placed into the landscape. One was an old piano that had a waterfall effect with water pouring out of the music stand and in front of the keys. Plant life surrounded the side and back of the piano to help accentuate the front and focus on the action taking place. Even pieces of greenery, perhaps moss, was covering a few keys and hanging from different areas of the piano to give the illusion it had been there forever. The water poured into a small pond where a sculpture of brass instruments stood upright. Saxes, trumpets, trombones and so on were compacted together to form one object. Most of the instruments were facing upright and water was shooting straight up in the middle of it all which then fell back down into the bells creating little independent wells of water. It was very pleasing to see how something that should seem out of place (bright metal brass) could look so comfortable with natural elements. The third water feature was off to the other side of the display and had a calmer feeling of water gently cascading of the rim of a large tuba that was low to the ground.
In other displays installation art had a strong presence. Rhythm Rooms, created by Lamsback Floral Decorators, was specifically designed to create a certain rhythm with the use of color schemes, shapes, textures, furniture, flowers, and lighting. Each of the five rooms had its own special chandelier that hung over the defined space. One room with the analogous color scheme of red, purple, and blue was filled with plastic spheres large enough for the viewer to have a body relationship to them. Some sat by themselves on the floor while a few were attached together in clumps. Even though the spheres were in a variety of sizes, the shininess of the blue, purple, and silver referenced over sized beads from Mardi Gras. In-between these large forms were rounded clusters of flowers mimicking the spheres. All of the forms on the ground appeared to be resting on a sea of white rocks. Some of the spheres were attached to the wall while others hung from the chandelier. Flowers hung in the center in the form of a vertical streamer. The was a playfulness in the way the room was set up; if there were more spheres and the sharp rocks were not present it would almost feel like an adult ball pit and I would have been tempted to jump in.
There were many other displays worth seeing and if you missed the show this year you can check out their website http://www.theflowershow.com/ to see more photographs. It was very refreshing to see so many people contributing to the show, especially when you stop and think about how much work had been done for something that was only up for one week. Besides all of the creating, planning, and physical labor that was done there were other things that some artists don’t have to think about once they installed a show that the exhibitors needed to consider; cut flowers don’t last very long, maintenance was required through out the week and some people needed to trick a plant that normally blooms in the summer to bloom in the winter. This show was not just about flowers that look stunning, but about the commitment and perseverance of an art form.
If you want to learn about plants, would like to shop for new and creative ideas about gardening or flower arrangements, would enjoy the atmosphere of the artistic displays, or at the very least would enjoy the feeling of spring on a cold winter day, then you should catch the next Philadelphia Flower Show in March of 2009.
March 2-9th, 2008
Pennsylvania Convention Center
12th and Arch Streets
Philadelphia, PA
As I walked into the convention center people were headed in different directions, conversations were taking place about the displays, music was playing and a grand entrance way was demanding my attention. After walking under an arch way of enormous piano keys, passing a 10 foot cello surrounded by plants and flowers that seem to be exploding in form and color, I found where the music was coming from. A center stage was set up with a man playing a guitar surrounded by flowers; it became clear that this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show theme “Jazz it Up”, inspired by New Orleans, had not been taken lightly.
For those of you who have not been to a Philadelphia flower show, the convention center was divided up into three sections. One area was set up
for the plants that people have entered to be on display, some had won ribbons in different categories. Another section was the market place; vendors sold anything from flowers, gardening equipment, jewelry in the shape of flowers, and crafted objects that dealt with plants in some way. One featured artist, Timothy Martin, had his own prominent show area and made multiple paintings that involved beautiful outdoor scenery. His own twist was that the flowers came together to make an instrument which relates back to the Jazz theme. The last section was the landscape and floral displays; this area was the talk of the flower show. Colors and smells aroused the senses as well as the physical nature of the quantity and size of the displays. Landscapers, florists, artists, art teachers, and volunteers came together to create a vision of wonder and amazement. If you thought of the convention center as a gallery, the displays would be the artwork on pedestals. Each exhibit had its own space and the viewers had to walk around the work. Everyone pointed and gossiped, but no one touched the work. Some viewers were taking mental notes of flowers they liked and things they would like to try back at home. Others were just astonished at the creativity of finding new ways to display flowers, not to mention the inventive use of props to tie in the Jazz theme.The award of best achievement for “Interpretation of the Flower Show Theme” went to Lorenz Landscape Contractors and was well deserved. A music repair shop was constructed with a walk way leading out to the viewers. The landscaping surrounding the repair shop was booming with flowers upon flowers and trees in bloom. The difference in texture and disbursement of color was enough to fulfill the visual senses, but it didn’t stop there. Three specially made fountains were thoughtfully placed into the landscape. One was an old piano that had a waterfall effect with water pouring out of the music stand and in front of the keys. Plant life surrounded the side and back of the piano to help accentuate the front and focus on the action taking place. Even pieces of greenery, perhaps moss, was covering a few keys and hanging from different areas of the piano to give the illusion it had been there forever. The water poured into a small pond where a sculpture of brass instruments stood upright. Saxes, trumpets, trombones and so on were compacted together to form one object. Most of the instruments were facing upright and water was shooting straight up in the middle of it all which then fell back down into the bells creating little independent wells of water. It was very pleasing to see how something that should seem out of place (bright metal brass) could look so comfortable with natural elements. The third water feature was off to the other side of the display and had a calmer feeling of water gently cascading of the rim of a large tuba that was low to the ground.
In other displays installation art had a strong presence. Rhythm Rooms, created by Lamsback Floral Decorators, was specifically designed to create a certain rhythm with the use of color schemes, shapes, textures, furniture, flowers, and lighting. Each of the five rooms had its own special chandelier that hung over the defined space. One room with the analogous color scheme of red, purple, and blue was filled with plastic spheres large enough for the viewer to have a body relationship to them. Some sat by themselves on the floor while a few were attached together in clumps. Even though the spheres were in a variety of sizes, the shininess of the blue, purple, and silver referenced over sized beads from Mardi Gras. In-between these large forms were rounded clusters of flowers mimicking the spheres. All of the forms on the ground appeared to be resting on a sea of white rocks. Some of the spheres were attached to the wall while others hung from the chandelier. Flowers hung in the center in the form of a vertical streamer. The was a playfulness in the way the room was set up; if there were more spheres and the sharp rocks were not present it would almost feel like an adult ball pit and I would have been tempted to jump in.
There were many other displays worth seeing and if you missed the show this year you can check out their website http://www.theflowershow.com/ to see more photographs. It was very refreshing to see so many people contributing to the show, especially when you stop and think about how much work had been done for something that was only up for one week. Besides all of the creating, planning, and physical labor that was done there were other things that some artists don’t have to think about once they installed a show that the exhibitors needed to consider; cut flowers don’t last very long, maintenance was required through out the week and some people needed to trick a plant that normally blooms in the summer to bloom in the winter. This show was not just about flowers that look stunning, but about the commitment and perseverance of an art form.
If you want to learn about plants, would like to shop for new and creative ideas about gardening or flower arrangements, would enjoy the atmosphere of the artistic displays, or at the very least would enjoy the feeling of spring on a cold winter day, then you should catch the next Philadelphia Flower Show in March of 2009.
8 comments:
Hello Tammi and welcome to the class!
Over all your article was well written and gave good description. Yet there was no real argument or investigative thoughts as to what this “ show” really was or could other wise be. There were a few lines that your wrote that I felt could have yielded some good arguments. You said in the beginning “ plants and flowers that seem to be exploding in form and color” could this be considered sculpture or clever display? Do you know of Andy Goldsworthy, he uses natural forms to create his work, what is the difference between a clever display of flowers and his way of working? You could also have alluded to the recent trend of “ green art”, making things from nature and so on. Later you said “ colors and smells aroused the senses as well as the physical nature of the quantity and size of the display” could this be a performance art? That the actual medium of the piece “ flowers” is composed in such a way that it can speak for itself and take on the qualities of performance art such as sight sound and smell? There was a good over view of the different elements to the show that were covered well, so the reader got a broad spectrum as to what was seem there.
There could be other arguments too such as the manikin wearing flowers, is it fashion, display, sculpture, does it need a definition? The article was a good broad description, but what challenge did you bring to the show? What made this show worth writing about to you?
I look forward to meeting you!
Eva
What an interesting challenge you set yourself-THE flower show, very gutsy. The most interesting sentence in this review in my opinion was: “Everyone pointed and gossiped but no one touched the work.” A description or review of the people that attend this grand-dame of flower shows is a very intriguing thought. It seems as though you were as compelled by your interest in the professionals that deliver such over-the-top displays and the visitors ways of appreciating them as you were of describing the displays themselves, and it could be a very meaty topic. Overall the tone you establish is very natural and comfortable, but think about how you can keep that tone while using words efficiently. For instance the sentence “One area was set up for the plants that people have entered to be on display, some had won ribbons in different categories” – could have read “One section was for juried entries of live plants” or to present even more info in less words “The convention center is broken into three sections: juried competition, retail sales and displays; it is the displays that is the real talk of the flower show.” These use significantly fewer words; yet still maintain your natural breezy, enjoyable style. Thanks - Karen
Hi Tammi -
I agree that this was a brave choice of shows to pick - kudos! Your descriptions of the show and its various portions was well written and did make me wish I had made it there. Looking and the picture you included, I thought that that would be the one piece of the show that you zeroed in on and talked about. There are an infinite number of artists that work with nature and flowers as subject and even construct sculptures to fit with nature that you could have used as a point of comparison or discussion. Without that, I was hoping for a more personal response about how this experience might manifest itself in your own work. What from this experience will stay with you?
Look forward to meeting you - Carly
Hi Tammi,
It is definitely an interesting choice reviewing the Philadelphia Flower Show. It is such a huge venue that hinges on the sole premise of in some way having something to do with flowers; be it painting, sculpture, or just plain flowers. You give such nice descriptions that really give a reader the sense of meandering through the show, and wowing over each new discovery. And that is where the tone, as well as your critique, sticks. Your review reads as an outsiders’ bedazzlement over the whole event. I kept waiting for you to give a critical judgment that went deeper than solely a descriptive recount.
Perhaps it would have been necessary to go into the whole thing with an agenda, systematically trying to prove your point, or disprove it, rather than get overly bombarded by the inevitable sensory overload that is the Philadelphia Flower Show. It probably involves going back a few days in a row, to get past the all the glam and glitz that the show unabashedly advertises. Your role as a critical thinker is to move the conversation to a point, giving us a sense of orientation. Not bypassing the formal qualities, but addressing them to give way to something deeper. I think the real gem in your review is where you state, “This show was not just about flowers that look stunning, but about the commitment and perseverance of an art form.” I want to hear more about that.
Hi, Tammi. Time for me to weigh in on this fascinating subject. As you may know, I am a painter who studies writing (very seriously), and I have also been a professional literary critic. I like to read reviews for style as well as content, so I'm going to take a walk around the inside of my academic head at the same time I'm touring your flower show.
Like our other S&M bloggers, I like your theme. It's unusual. Who'd write an art-critical piece on a flower show? Starting with that strong point, there are some issues you could address should you choose to do a pop-culture/art review again.
Flower shows are pretty difficult to assail from a cultural standpoint, but that's exactly where a piece like yours might pick up some color and bite.
Flowers are beautiful—everybody knows that—but their presence indoors suggests a number of things that are not so salutary. Karen Joan T's observation that "nobody touched the work" is a door into this kind of inquiry. How about interrogating the show about its allusions to the places that flowers come from, or its feeding of common expectations of the appearance of natural things? Ironic indeed that a flower show would be inspired by New Orleans, whose celebrated Garden District was underwater not too long ago.
Another thing you might consider is how you could punch up your writing style to match the color of your subject. Lots of people begin their essays with a bit of scene-setting: "As I walked in under the archway..." "As I sit here at my desk staring out my window..." Realism is good, but this isn't really action, and it's better to either leave it out or pick another moment of action to start with.
There are a whole load of things you did really well in your review. You told us exactly what we were looking at, what it looked like, and when you saw it—things a lot of writers neglect. So I'd give your piece high marks in the mechanics department, even if it falls a little flat in its expressiveness. And if you have to choose one of these things, mechanics and the "who, what, when, where, and why" of things is definitely the way to go.
In closing, I'd like to say, "Be critical." Let loose a bit. What are these flower people doing, and who are they doing it for? How would a visual artist handle the same opportunity? (And I'm not talking about Jeff Koons.) What would you do with all those flowers? What would Vito Acconci do?
Flowers are mostly water. That's what we're hearing from environmentalists all over the globe, especially environmentalists with their eyes on Africa, where a lot of flowers we buy in America are grown. It would be sad if all this beauty were to dehydrate the countries where it is sown. Another thing: the displays on your slide show strike me as definitively anti-art. When water cascading out of pianos and tubas isn't surrealism, it's perversion (I think). Turning a musical instrument into a flowerpot strikes me as something people do when they're bored.
Thanks for your insight on this unusual subject.
—Sally E.
Hello Tammi,
I really enjoyed your descriptions of the show. You did a good job capturing the show and putting it into words. The Slide show what a nice touch and I was hoping you would have focused more on those pictures.
What about this show made you decided to go see it? Are you looking to experiment with things in nature? What did the show do for you after you left and had time to digest everything that you saw?
Over all I thought you did a good job making the reader feel what you felt while you witnessed the show, but try to go a little deeper than just describing what you see.
Tammi, your writing is very descriptive and enthusiastic. Your feelings of wonder and amazement are clearly conveyed. I think your article could be stronger if you switched your fourth and fifth paragraphs. By doing this, your description of the Lorenz Landscape Contractors’ work would come towards the end of the essay and help to emphasize the best part of the flower show. I found the most interesting part of your essay to be your comparison of the flower show to art in a traditional gallery. This parallel allowed you to analyze challenges the creators faced, such as plants dying and having to water the work regularly. Your essay ended on a strong note unifying descriptive writing and analytical thinking.
Hey Tammi.
Having absolutely no green thumb nor a genuine working knowledge of horticulture it was quite an impressive feat for me to read your review and finish with a genuine appreciation for the show you critiqued. Flower show, Installation piece, environmental art, perhaps even performance art. Your powers of description, especially in the thorough detail evidenced in all the displays you mentioned were remarkable. The boundaries between "fine arts" and "craft" exhibition were made to seem moot. An aesthetic experience is an aesthetic experience.
If there was one element that I thought was missing, it might be a personal elaboration on how the arts and crafts discrepancy was blurred. Your impressions of the show helped to place me vicariously within the context of the exhibition, but a correlation between what was critiqued and the particular aesthetics of your own work would have helped place into context how the show impacted and reflected on your own artistic opinions and goals.
That aside, you have all the writing tools to get the job done. Welcome to the class.
Jason
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