Beauty and Decay: Photographs of Flowers
Photography Study Space
Through March 2008
Olivia Parker, Stargazers – Nantucket, 1992, cibachrome, 1/30, 13 ¼” x 18 ¼” (image); 16” x 20” (paper), Gift of Arlette and Gus Kayafas 1993.7
Flowers have long been a favorite subject for artists because of their transient beauty, formal qualities, and allegorical message. Flowers also serve as symbols, which add meaning to a narrative through visual language. For example, when the Angel Gabriel announces that the Virgin Mary will give birth to the Son of God, he often presents her with a white lily to symbolize purity. The lotus signifies birth and rebirth in Asian art, because of its cycle of opening and closing. In addition, flowers mark rites of passage, and are used to celebrate milestones and memorialize deaths. This selection of photographs from the Permanent Collection offers a glimpse at the divergent ways in which contemporary American photographers interpret flowers.
