Bouquets to Art 2009 – 20th Century Contemporary Art

This is the fifth and final installment of the miniseries on the Bouquets to Art 2009, the 25th anniversary of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s largest fundraiser. The best floral designers all over the Bay Area are invited to design a floral creation to be paired with one of the works of art. Today we will visit the galleries on the concourse level, where the 20th Century Contemporary Art resides.

I had to be very, very patient to take the top photograph. This arresting arrangement by Manako Flower Academy was continuously swarmed with admirers who stopped in their tracks to take a closer look from all angles. 

The palm fronds of this arrangements perfectly complement the movement of this beautiful sculpture:

San Francisco may have a large transgender population, but here we have an example of a species transformation. Feline pussy willows have crossed over to become canine:

 

These red and white anthuriums are an apt choice to convey the circus image of dancing men:

 

One of the great benefits of attending the opening night gala was that I had a chance to meet several of the floral artist. I had a lovely chat with Heather Dunne about her wonderful, teetering skateboard contribution:

She used barbed wire, gutter screening, and a metal cage with yellow Anthuriums. The skateboard belongs to Tyler, her grandson. She “wanted to capture the intense movement of the skateboarders in their gritty inner city venue. There is a sense of freedom and wild abandon to the scene.”

It wasn’t immediately obvious why there was a grey box in the middle of the room,

but when you look inside, you are rewarded with reflections of red and silver interpreting the mirrored blown glass sculptures next to it:

Here is a triple interpretation. The reindeer moss rests beautifully in the field of geometric leaves while reflecting its mirrors on the display of mirrored blown glass sculptures

I love how one can barely discern where the painting ends and the floral arrangement begins:

 

Tucked away in the passageway between two galleries, was this delightful interpretation of Michael Glancy’s glass plate and bowl

 

Somehow it’s fitting that Trilium Design chose triangles for its theme:

 

This one is called “It’s All About the ‘V’”:

 

Here are a some more interesting geometrics:

Naturally, with my roots in Amsterdam, I adore this bicycle with yellow tulips created by verde-flowers.com. Their information card reads:

“Our First Lady’s Inauguration Day Attire determined the colors, a bright contrast to the B & W photos. This only Murray is one of my sister’s bikes. She completed in Athens and Beijing in mountain biking (on a different bike!). Dare you to ride from your local farmer’s market with a dozen eggs.”

 

We all smiled when we saw how the flowers in the ladies' room gave a nod to the Andy Warhol exhibit:

 

I hope you enjoyed touring the Bouquets to Art. Maybe next March you can plan to come to San Francisco and see the show in person. 

Many more photos at my Flickr account here.