Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Blooming Art


We took advantage of fine weather and a long lunch break and made two trips to the Minneapolis Institute of Art this past week.

Our lunch date was all about Matisse. I learned a lot and appreciated his stamina and creativity even when wheel-chair bound and elderly.

Our second outing, a ladies afternoon, was all about flowers. We explored the third floor of the MIA on a day when all of Minneapolis and half of St. Paul had the same idea. Meandering through the crowds, sometimes up on tiptoe to peer over heads at famous works, was totally worth it.

This is the one weekend of the year when people create floral arrangements inspired by masterpieces. Some are more literal interpretations, others give more of an impression or suggestion of elements of the painting or sculpture.

Here are the side by side shots we managed to capture. Turns out one camera was not enough for one mom and three daughters. We kept jockeying for turns and positions in front of the works hoping to capture our favorite pieces. (I learned later that afternoon that Churchill Downs would also be home to this behavior. The Kentucky Derby, the fastest two minutes in all of sports, was set to run that day.)
























Loved this one. Check out the drapery, the gorgeous fabric on this woman. Even the little dog got a nod from the florist/artist.




Taken by one of the girls. I love this shot.


The Magi - stunning.






Not sure what happened with this photo, but I like it.


Ahhhh. Van Gogh.



This painting we thought was kind of funny. The dove, the Holy Spirit, seems to shoot the baby, Jesus, straight at Mary's head. 


We liked how the scene was imagined and represented in this arrangement. The yellow orchid traveling down the vine towards "Mary".


Being afraid of heights, it was hard to get this shot but I somehow wanted to capture the space. Two floors below a string quartet was playing and it was lovely to listen to the sound ring through the hall.


My youngest insisted that we couldn't leave without seeing the "big white dog".

I can see what she means. He was big and white and a dog. The floral arrangement was just as simple, but impressive, I thought. His little nose, a red gerbera. Cute. See the partial view of that guy's face? More on that later.


Heading back to our car I stopped to take this picture.


It reminded me of the image as the backdrop for this blog. Minus the fake flowers.

Good times in Minneapolis!