Flower Power
Passion and Opportunity
The Seasons (close up of child) by Geoffroy Mottart
Florist Geoffroy Mottart is on a mission to adorn the statues of Brussels with a distinctive dose of flower power.
The Seasons
See
The Boy Near the Train
Mottart offers a fresh view of historical statues causing viewers to see them anew. As a florist, he has the passion and opportunity to use flowers as a medium.
Leopold II
Jeanneke Pis
These adorned sculptures got me thinking about flowers as an art medium. Research put some fantastic creations in front of me. This is an ideal wonder to pursue in a season of color and growth.
The Corso of Zundert is the biggest Flower Parade in the world. All the work is done voluntarily. Twenty heralds compete against each other to build the most beautiful float, judged by a professional jury. The 2023 Parade is on September 3, in Zundert, Netherlands.
Puppy (1992) by Artist Jeff Koons
1992 Stainless steel, soil, and flowering plants, Courtesy Guggenheim Bilbao
Carpeted in colorful swaths of flowering plants, the 41-foot-tall Westie joined the Guggenheim Bilbao’s permanent collection in 1997 and stands in the square just outside the museum entrance. Its vibrant 38,000 plants, which include petunias, impatiens, marigolds, and begonias, are replaced twice a year.
Green Moss Graffiti by Mosstika
These moss works may seem fragile (they are made of living plants, after all), so you might be surprised to hear that these moss fish in downtown Brooklyn survived Hurricane Sandy with just a bit of wear and tear.
Say
Koons designed ‘Puppy” to relentlessly entice, create optimism, and to instill, in his own words, "confidence and security." Dignified and stalwart as it stands guard at the museum, Puppy fills viewers with awe, and even joy. (Guggenheim)
Do you think the artworks made and enhanced with flowers ‘fill the viewers with awe and joy’? What else might they communicate?
What do you think of Guerrilla art? Is it valuable or vandalism?
Have you ever experienced guerilla art? What was its purpose?
Do
Cover a sculpture in moss (or use it to create designs on a wall or fence.)
Consider getting involved artistically in your community. How might you wake up inhabitants and help them to see their world anew?
Watch as Mottart installs a beard and hair on a Victor Rousseau statue.
About the Artist: Geoffroy Mottart
Geoffroy Mottart has constructed elaborate plant arrangements in the form of flower crowns and beards that he installs on public monuments around Brussels. The temporary urban interventions titled Fleurissements last only for a day or so before being removed, but it gives the artist enough time to take a few photos, which he shares on Instagram. While some statues are only targeted once, others are simply too tantalizing to resist; Mottart has returned to a bust of Leopold II of Belgium time and time again with fashionable new floral designs. (via Lustik)
Instagram: geoffroymottart
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