Flowers Forever
The white lotus as a symbol of life or the rose as a symbol of love: flowers have always had a grip on humanity. Last week, following a skiing trip, I hopped over to Munich for a second, to see the exhibition at the Kunsthalle titled “Flowers Forever”. I have to say…a very attractive sounding name, which is why I suspect the exhibition was packed on a Thursday afternoon. Nonetheless, loved the concept, not just because I like having a vase of flowers on my living room table, but because symbolism in art is never-ending and flowers have always been a gift that keeps on giving in this regard. From a status symbol in ancient and not so ancient times, to becoming a pillar of European trade, to being a symbol of a changing global climate; this exhibition covered as much as it possible could.
One of my absolute favorites was the famous Lawrence Alma-Tadema painting titled “The Roses of Heliogabalus”. I liked it for its deceiving nature; it invites you in with its ancient Roman architecture bathed in a field of rose petals, only to let you in a little secret: Marcus Aurelius Antonius had the intention of suffocating his banquet guests with the rose petals. In the original tale, the emperor is said to have used violets for this purpose, however, in Tadema’s time those reflected modesty, so he replaced them with roses which symbolized lust and desire during the Victorian era.
So that got me thinking about flowers and their meaning today, where they have undoubtedly retained much of their meaning and attained many new ones. The same lilies I like looking at on my table, are thought of as funeral flowers by others. Like many things today, even flowers probably have the most diverse set of meanings they’ve ever had in history. But besides being a ubiquitous commercial product, they have also acquired a new position in art, namely activistic art. In contrast to their earlier uses as symbols conforming to dominant paradigms such as Christianism, they have been able to take on new meanings, going against those same dominant paradigms, whether it’d be religion or capitalism.
The exhibitions showcased many activistic artists from Kehinde Wiley to Andy Warhol. I particularly a piece by OWANTO titled “Flowers”, shedding light on female genital mutilation. The artist made a whole series of the same name, covering up the girls’ and women’s faces and bodies to symbolize the loss of identity they face. At the same time, it restores a shred of privacy to a moment that never should have been photographed and where the intrusion of a camera, as Susan Sontag would have seen it, never should have been allowed. So, while flowers remain a symbol of beauty and are inspiring in many ways, it’s interesting to see something as delicate as a flower being used to express powerful political standpoints; thought-provoking and potent at the same time.