Beautiful Blooms at The Milwaukee Art Museum

Regular readers of this blog know that every year I share photos from The Milwaukee Art Museum's "Art in Bloom" show. The show is a chance for floral designers to interpret the museum's art collection through plants. I enjoy sharing what I thought were the most beautiful and creative arrangements. I usually try to find something somewhat spooky to share from the show. None of the flower arrangements could be interpreted in that way this year, but there is a somewhat Gothy object at the end of this post.

Be sure to click on the images to view them larger.  It really makes a difference!

I love orange roses! For some reason, they're always hard to find around Halloween.

This was an interpretation of the icon on the wall.

I just noticed someone peeking over the display when I enlarged this photo. He's in the upper right hand corner. This arrangement had some warm, exotic orchids. To me, this has an autumn theme.

Here is the full display. The designer did a great job matching the colors to the painting and representing many of the animals with a different shape or color.

This arrangement was my second favorite. It's kind of hard to see, but there are arching tree limbs in the painting. Those are mimicked by the arch at the top of the display. This arrangement reminded me of a basket.

Isn't this rose pretty? It's called an O'Hara Rose.

I have no idea which painting this one represented. I was calling it "The Marge Simpson" because that looked like blue hair springing out of the top.

I took this photo mostly for the sculpture. You can see part of the wall behind the floral arrangement. Which painting do think the flowers went with? Maybe the painting of the trees blowing in the wind. The blue flowers look sort of like fluffy trees.

I really liked the bark wrapped vases in this arrangement. There were some interesting twisted twig arches in front of it too.

Looking closely, there were lots of pretty purple flowers in this one. What a beautiful Iris.

This is one of my favorite photos from the show. This arrangement almost became a part of the painting. It looked very exotic with the Bird of Paradise on top.

See the bridge shape in the flowers?

This looks like some kind of sea sponge.

Another mysterious element in this display was the fungus under the roses. I think that's a cotton bonnet on the left. It would help if I could remember which painting this went with. The museum was crowded so I was moving through some of these rooms pretty fast. It's amazing that I managed to take this many photos without people in the frame!

This high display was mimicking the woman's high hairdo. I'm guessing the white flowers at the bottom are her book.

Does anyone know what these delicate little flowers are?

This display was one of the most direct representations of the art. The black parts aren't plants, but big feathers.

Colorful Parrot Tulips.

This was my favorite display at the show. The containers are sprayed gold like the award/trophy the man is holding in the painting. There was so much color in this display and so many different shaped flowers. I found myself taking photo after photo of it!

I really liked the pink loops circling over and through the flowers.

This is another really direct interpretation of the art. Pretty clever! There's even some red-coated wire to represent the red line on the painting.

Such pretty orchids!

Can you spot the peacock feather?

Ranunculuses are my favorite flower. I bought two different kinds of Ranunculus bulbs recently, so this summer I will be growing them for the first time!

These Tie Dye Dendrobium Orchids start off as purple orchids and are dyed blue so you get this kind of gorgeous color combination.

Some wild, striped little roses.

Another cool orchid.

This is an interpretation of the Marc Chagall painting behind it. It's hard to see, but the man in the painting is wearing a bowler hat and there is always a violin somewhere in Chagall's paintings.

Does anyone know what these yellow flowers are? I see these included in the arrangements every year and wonder what they are.

The exotic, light pink flower is called a King Protea.

Isn't this a clever way to interpret an Andy Warhol soup can print? It's like the soup got opened and fell into a bowl on the table - complete with a grilled cheese sandwich on the side.

It looks almost good enough to eat!

So, here's the Gothic object I promised at the beginning of this post. I think this is an antique hanging oil lamp. It was really pretty when the light caught the red glass. As I remember, this lamp was made during the late 1800s. It was hanging in the antique furniture and decorative arts section of the museum.

After a long and freezing winter like the one we experienced this year, it was nice to see some actual flowers. If you'd like to revisit some of the past Art in Bloom shows, here are some links to my previous blog posts:

Flowerbot and the Friendly Greeter - 2013

Spooky Blooms at The Milwaukee Art Museum - 2012

Celebrating the dead through art and memory

Last Friday was the opening night for The Dio de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) art exhibit at the Walker's Point Center for the Arts. This was the Milwaukee gallery's 19th year exhibiting altars, sculptures, and paintings that honor the Day of the Dead celebration. I've attended this event for several years, and each time it has been different. I'm going to assume that most of you are familiar with these celebrations, but I'll provide some basic information along the way.

The Walker's Point gallery is in a new location this year. The new building has a glass window in front, which is perfect for displays. This is what I saw as I approached the building.

That glamorous skeleton is of course, Marilyn Monroe. The base below her feet reads "Happy Birthday Mr. President."

This is kind of a sexy view. Check out that spinal cord!

Next to Marilyn, some little skeleton kids and their skeleton dog play with a pinata. There's Mexican candy all over the floor. 

Above them hangs papel picado. I made some of these years ago when I worked for a children's art program. I was working in a park setting, so anyone could join in the projects. Some of the kids we were working with ran off to get their grandparents, because the grandparents actually had experience with this! Papel picado is a lot more challenging to create than it looks. I thought these skull designs were impressive!

 Here's a nice view of Marilyn from the front.

Day of the Dead is a way of honoring those who have passed away. Ofrendas are left out for the dead in an act of remembrance. Lost loved ones are left food, personal belongings, objects that reflect their work or hobbies, and sometimes skeletal representations of the deceased. Marigolds are commonly seen with these displays, because they are the traditional flower for Day of the Dead.

Anyone who has been around Marigolds, knows they have a strong scent. The scent is believed to be so intense, that it can lead the spirits home. 

Marilyn wasn't the only celebrity being honored at this event. An altar was built for Elizabeth Taylor.

I realize that the woman in the painting looks nothing like her, but the eyes had been colored purple. She's also wearing a lot of bling. I like to the think the man behind her is Richard Burton.

There was also a Michael Jackson tribute! Do you see the dancing skeleton at the bottom? I think I saw that prop at Target. As I remember, it plays "Beat It" but "Thriller" would make more sense. If you own one of those dancing skeletons, remind me what it sings!

One of my favorites was the Frida Kahlo tribute. It was so colorful and filled with joy. The artist made paper butterflies and hung them around her and on the little trees surrounding her portrait. You can't see it here, but there were little paintbrushes sitting beneath her.

Here are a few photos from the tributes people made to their family members and friends.

I love that sassy little skeleton with the crossed legs! I'm guessing the person this is dedicated to liked smoking Camels.

 Loteria cards

This little scratchboard skeleton was one my favorite pieces there.

In my eyes, these two skeletons are Gomez and Wednesday Addams. They were printed on some fabric that was hanging from a table.

Plenty of works of art were displayed among the altars. This banner was high up on a wall.

An artist built a miniature bar with little drinking skeletons inside. This is a photo I took through the bar's doorway.

The little bar sat on top of an amazing metal skeleton sculpture.

Aside from the Marilyn sculpture, the next skeleton was probably my favorite piece there. She actually reminds me of a teacher I had! Isn't it great how she's reaching out of the frame?

There was also a musical performance at the gallery. The musicians played little guitar-like instruments and sang songs from different regions of Mexico. I think these may be the instruments they were playing: Mexican Vihuela. Correct me if I'm wrong. There was also a little dancing. They talked about how the stomping acted as drumming, at a time when African influenced Mexicans were being suppressed by the Spanish. The African influence was new to me, so I might have to research that.

It was so generous of this community to share their history and traditions with anyone who wanted to visit the gallery! I love learning about different cultures and perspectives.

The Mexican view of death is colorful and filled with joy as well as sadness. I think this is a much more healthy way of expressing grief and looking at death in general. In America, people seem more in denial about death. We don't even want to think about it, but this felt like a celebration!

I found a skeleton that I think is a good representation of me. See her camera?

Relating myself to a skeleton sculpture, made me think about what might be on my own display, if someone close to me made one. I wonder how it would compare to what I would design for myself? I'm not trying to be morbid, I just wonder what those close to me would think was most important to include.

If you'd like to see a little of the real deal, here's a beautiful video taken in a Mexican cemetery for Day of the Dead:

Now, I know this is the never ending blog post, but there are two more things...

1. One of my blog friends, VainGlorySinner did a beautiful job of making up her face for Day of the Dead. She shared these photos about a week ago, but if you haven't seen them, you must! Here's a link:


VainGlorySinner transformed into a sugar skull

2. If any of you want to join in for the virtual Halloween party I'm having, please send me a photo of yourself in costume. I'm putting that blog entry up on October 27th. You can email your photo here:

contactartgirl@gmail.com

I'm off to the country today to make a deluxe caramel apple at a caramel apple bar! It's a beautiful Autumn day, and I hope to take lots of photos to share.