FLOWER POWER

Taking in the flowers is always my first “order of business” when I go to the Metropolitan Museum. This week, visitors are greeted with stunning arrangements consisting of magnolia leaves, shiny green on top and a matt brown on the underside, red berries and dyed dogwood branches. No flowers.

The starburst arrangements, refreshed weekly, welcome visitors to the museum, thanks to an endowment provided by the late Lila Acheson Wilson. A patron was needed because up to 600 stems are required for the arrangements in the two-tiered urns that grace the four niches of the Great Hall.

Flowers have a transformative effect on any setting in which they are placed—even in, or maybe especially in, an area as large as the Great Hall. The arrangement on the Information Desk always integrates with the other four, the chief difference being that it is beautiful viewed from all sides.

Yesterday I was at the museum for the second of three lectures on “The Language of Music” by Stuart Isacoff, pianist, composer and writer. In Mr. Isacoff’s view the music languages include humor, games and “exotic allure.” When I signed up for these lectures, I had expected a more conventional approach, but what’s not to like in the freshness of this one?

The flowers at the museum are always fresh. On any visit I look forward to seeing what it is I’ll experience anew—that is, in a fresh way. Come to think of it, the flower power extends well beyond the Great Hall and encompasses the whole of the museum.

Comments

[Princess Haiku]

do you have a link for the music lecture?

[Bethene LeMahieu]

Dear Princess,

I've looked through the catalogue, Concerts and Lectures, 2007-2008 Season, and I don't see any mention of a link. There has been no mention of one in the lectures either.

Bethene