Human Flower Project

Monday, February 12, 2007

Irving Penn’s Human Vases

In his prime, the venerable photographer composed unforgettable human flower portraits.

Dandelion, New York, c. 1973
Photo: Irving Penn via Pace MacGill Gallery

We remember Irving Penn’s pictures from Vogue magazine in the 1960s, the odd, stylish staginess of them.  There would be Jean Shrimpton posing in a skirt made out of thatch, standing in some slightly chilly, indeterminate space. Jean as ethnographic artifact.

Today we learned that Penn, photographer of Picasso and the Hell’s Angels, has been making portraits of flowers for forty years. Pace MacGill Gallery in New York is now showing 23 of these works, the earliest made in 1967, the most recent from last year: peonies, anemones, poppies, and an especially fine dandelion spattered with water drops. According to Bloomberg, “Prices range from $22,000 to $125,000.”

This entertaining reviewer, after scolding the gallery staff for snootiness, writes of the pictures, “I’m sure they’ll look wonderful over your park avenue sofa. But, for the most part, it’s straight, factual, boring, somewhat uncomplicated photography, that any first year photo student could probably create.” We think this is a bit unfair;  first year photo students are usually doing much more ingenious work than this.

Penn isn’t alone in his sofaesthetics.  With some beloved exceptions, we find flowers-only photographs drain the room of oxygen. Pictures of cut-flowers, especially, exhale a necrophilic spirit we don’t care much for (perhaps an occupational hazard of photography in general?).

Woody Allen as Chaplin
New York, 1972
Photo: Irving Penn
National Gallery of Art
Washington, D.C.

Looking back over some of Penn’s career, though, we have come upon another, far more exciting collection of prints: his human flower projects. The earliest is this magical bridal portrait: “Mrs. Amory Carhart, New York, 1947.” Holding a bouquet, her dress gathered into flounces topped with satin-fabric flowers, the young bride wears a serious sidelong look, as ominous black cables writhe in the foreground.

Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn (Penn’s own Mrs.) in a photo from 1950 is as elegant as John Singer Sargent’s Madame X, but more fetching and startling with an armband of saucer-sized roses.

And perhaps best known, Penn’s portrait of Woody Allen shows where Annie Liebovitz got her chops. Allen’s been done up as Charlie Chaplin’s tramp, sadly sniffing a white rose. (A poster of this photo hung in our former dentist’s office.)

“Irving Penn: In Flower” (botanicals only) will be up through February 17th at Pace MacGill, 32 E. 57th St.. May we recommend an exhibit of Penn’s dynamic human-flowers for the 2008 season.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Manly Flowers—Don’t Make Them Beg

Make a strong statement—a boutonniere for your special he-person.

Portrait of Mehmed II
Photo: Hadjye Cangokce
via 24 Hour Museum

Do men like flowers?

It’s a question that thoughtful people won’t ask out loud. The answer is certainly “Yes,” but—for most men—to say so is the equivalent of wearing a pink cummerbund.

When a retired general we know and love was recently hospitalized, a group of friends sent him a bright, beautiful arrangement. “I think it looks really masculine,” commented the deliveryperson as she placed the big bouquet on a table. The 92-year-old he-man in the bed chuckled. Nobody could miss the creamy protrusions of anthuriums. “My boss calls them ‘little boy flowers,’” said the courier, a bit sheepishly. The general thanked her: “We call those genitalia grandiflora.”

Of course, men like flowers, and not just ones with phallic blooms. The royal leaders of the Ottoman empire enjoyed sumptuous gardens. When 15th century Mehmed II was portrayed sniffing a rose, we can be sure this pose didn’t render him “girly.” Aztec art shows the plumed warriors sniffing flowers, too. Unfortunately, in many contemporary western cultures, heterosexual men aren’t often seen in floral company unless they’re harvesting, pushing pallets with a fork lift, getting married, or carrying a casket. It’s time that tactful friends and sweethearts helped men “come out” as the flower-lovers they truly are. But whatever you do, don’t ask. Just act.

Photo: via Dreamstime

We suggest buying a boutonniere for a man for Valentine’s Day. The holiday falls midweek this year, which florists say is best for business. Most people prefer sending flowers to folks not at home but at work, knowing that their gesture will create a stir and the sender, as well as the receiver, will get a little kick of public approval. Or in some cases, a big kick.

This corsage, made with bits of evergreens, sunflower and a hunk-of-burning-flora (a proteas?) isn’t just manly, it’s downright macho! Check out the gauze binding, suggestion of a battlescar. The fellow wearing this on February 14th won’t be asked to use the copier. (And he probably won’t be hit on by women in the office. A love-token like this screams, “Back off! He’s taken.”)

 

 

 

Friday, February 09, 2007

Flower Shopping? Get Real

Avoid a pricey detour. If you can’t deliver blooms of love in person, let a real florist do you proud.

Arrangement by a real florist, Coby Neal
The Flower Studio—Austin, TX
Photo: via Real Florists

Drinkers call New Year’s Eve “amateur night.” And when it comes to flowers, Valentine’s is “amateur day.” Like those millions who pop one champagne cork and get a little tipsy on December 31, millions more will be ordering bouquets of flowers now who won’t buy one more bloom the rest of the year.
Terrific! Better one bouquet than none, we say.
The problem is that folks unaccustomed to buying flowers may not know a real florist. Looking in the phonebook or on the internet, they may contact what seems to be a local shop but is actually a company in another city that gathers orders, skims money off the top, and then arranges to have someone in or near the destination make the delivery.
If you can withstand a brief wacky ad that leads off this report, check out a good video investigation of “Phantom Florists”, from a D.C.-area TV station.
In 19 states, this shady practice (advertising as a local flower shop when one’s operation is really just a phone center somewhere else) is against the law. That leaves 31 states, though, where there are plenty of absentee florists listed in the yellow pages.
So what? You say….

Well, the main problem is that if you buy through a skimmer-type order gatherer, you (and your beloved) won’t be getting out as much in flowers for what you spend, because you’re paying a middleman.

By, instead, dealing directly with the florist who’ll be handling the flowers you send, you’ll receive a number of real benefits. You can 1)  explain just what sort of arrangement you want, 2) ask questions if you’re not sure what you want, and get answers, and 3) know that your money is paying for flowers not an answering service.
Secondly, you’ll be supporting a locally-owned small business.
And third, you’ll be getting to know a real florist before that sad or happy day when you find yourself more than an amateur—needing flowers for a funeral or a wedding.
Central Square Florist, Cambridge, MA
Photo: via Real Florists

How do you find a real florist? Very easy. Ask your friends. Or drive up to the nearest shopping area; you’ll likely find a florist there. If you use the phone book or locate a florist through a website to order a delivery in another town, make sure to ask, “Where is your shop?” and if the person on the other end of the line hesitates, call another florist.
For online listings of real florists across the U.S. you can check

here

or
here
or

here.

If there are similar services in other parts of the world, wise readers, please let us know of them. (By the way, we’re not a florist, nor are we affiliated with any company that buys or sells flowers.)

It’s a good idea to get your order in ASAP. Amateur Day is next Wednesday.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Feng Shui for ‘Romance Luck’

Henry Fong of Kuala Lumpur guides us toward a Happy Valentine’s Day with carefully placed peach blossoms. Henry is a practitioner of Feng Shui, an art originating in China to healthily balance and direct energy by attention to one’s environment. Thank you very much, Henry. We appreciate these discreet suggestions for creating “opportunity.”

Feng Shui
directional chart
Image: Henry Fong

By Henry Fong

Feng Shui is quite a common practice in Malaysia. The more famous Feng Shui authors like Lillian Too and Joey Yap are from Malaysia. Even Stephen Skinner—another well known English (or it is Australian?) Feng Shui author—is now based in Malaysia. The main reason is that Malaysia has a significant Chinese minority, at about 27% of the population. There is also in Malaysia another 8% who are Indian, who practice Vastu (an Indian version of Feng Shui). Therefore the awareness is quite high.

In the Chinese culture, the peach blossom is associated with beautiful women. Also I understand that the peach blossom flowers only during a short period in the season of spring. It implies that a beautiful woman appears for a fleeting moment (and normally does not refer to the kind of women that you would take home to see your parents!) Therefore, too much of peach blossom is not a good thing (especially if one is married or into a steady relationship).
However in Feng Shui we still use it to create the opportunity for love because without the opportunity, then there is no relationship!

There are Feng Shui love techniques for increasing one’s opportunity and others for strengthening existing relationships. A very popular Feng Shui method to increase one’s opportunity is known as the peach blossom technique, used to increase the opportunity of meeting someone that you like. Like the real peach blossom flower that blooms only for a short time, this technique will help create the opportunities only. Like any other relationships, you will have to work hard to retain it.

Let me explain how you can put this Feng Shui love technique to work. The four sectors of N2, S2, E2 and W2 are known as the peach blossom sectors. You can locate these four sectors by simply placing a compass in the middle location of the house and reading the directions off the compass. It is quite easy to locate the middle of your house (exclude garden and backyard) if it is square or rectangular. For other geometric shapes, you should take out your high school mathematics book for reference!

After you have located the four sectors you need to find out your Chinese astrology animal sign with this chart. Your peach blossom sector depends on your animal sign. If you are a Monkey, Rat or Dragon, your peach blossom sector is W. If you are a Pig, Rabbit or Goat, your peach blossom sector is N. For the Tiger, Horse and Dog it is the E sector. Finally for the Snake, Rooster and Ox it is the S sector.

Now that you know your peach blossom sector, you must activate it to work for you. There are many ways to do this, but the most popular way is by placing fresh cut flowers in a vase of water in the designated peach blossom sector. (You will of course need to replace the flowers with fresh ones every few days.)

Flower seller, Hanoi, 2005
(Peach blossom is also favored in Vietnam for the Lunar New Year)
Photo: VDC Design

Before you implement this Feng Shui love, you must make sure that there are no other married members of household that belong to your group. For example, if you are a Snake and your dad is an Ox, activating the peach blossom sector (South) can potentially activate his opportunities, too, which is not something that you mum would be too happy about!

So what you do you in such a situation? The answer is to place the flowers in the peach blossom sector of your room (instead of the house).

Does this work all the time? I would be misleading you if I tell you that this is a surefire method. Other factors such as your destiny, luck cycle etc. will affect the outcome. Nevertheless, this technique has shown remarkable results in many cases. If nothing is working for you, why not give this a try?

Once you have found someone that you like, you should stop activating your peach blossom sector by removing the vase and flowers. Meeting additional potential suitors while you are in a steady relationship is not such a good thing, or is it? I will leave that to you.

Editor’s P.S.: Here’s Lisha Utt’s simple guide for forcing branches into bloom.