It’s an annual event every March at a San Francisco museum: the “Bouquets to Art” show. It’s a terrific idea that pairs Bay Area florists and designers with a variety of modern, traditional and eclectic artworks on display at the museum. Shows have been mounted at such sites as the Legion of Honor Museum and the De Young Museum. The event lasts for a week. Invited floral designers are paired to a specific piece of art and render a statement that can be funny or serious.
It takes a certain talent to match the colors, style and mood of a particular artwork with a floral design, especially when you go beyond paintings and pair the design to sculptures or even furniture. Arrangements vary from the beautiful to the bizarre. In the 2011 exhibit at the De Young Museum, two transportation-theme paintings were given perfectly matching arrangements. “The Limited” by Reginald Marsh, a painting of a moving train from 1931, was paired with baby’s breath representing billows of steam by Pico Soriano. And, “The Steamship Syracuse” (1850) by James Bard was matched to a stunning display prepared by the students and faculty of the College of San Mateo that featured roses, orchids, and delphiniums.
A big crowd pleaser was the pairing of a mantelpiece containing full-sized carved wooden dogs (salvaged from Menlo Park’s Thurlow Lodge) with a flower dog created by Grace Street Floral and Event Design. A life-sized Superman, covered in red, white and blue flowers like a parade float, was set next to Mel Ramos’ painting of the caped crusader. The headless flower sculpture attracted patrons who couldn’t resist standing behind it to supply a head for a photograph. People-watching is half the fun at an event like this. It is funny to occasionally see patrons dressed in a manner that matches the artwork-floral pair, thus creating an artistic triptych.
Over in the modern galleries, an array of blue vases and single flowers by Regula’s European design of San Francisco was a perfect complement to the abstract painting “Hello” by Sam Francis. Laurel Winzler created a box-like floral display that matched the checkerboard pattern in the painting “La Virgen and Colored Boxes” by the artist Rupert Garcia.
The idea of pairing floral pieces with artwork is very popular, and draws a lot of photographers to the museum (no flash pictures allowed). If you find this idea appealing, why not consider something similar for your own favorite museum (like the Judah Magnes Museum). You can contact the “Bouquets to Art” museum committee in San Francisco, who will be happy to share all the information you need to mount your own version of this really cool event.