Why is August such a sad
month? Could it be because we’re past the adrenalin rush of spring and the
explosive summer symphony of color is coming to an end?
In my part of the country,
hydrangeas are the signal that summer is nearly over. Sunflowers and black-eyed susans do their
best to drive a late crescendo but we all know that in August, the harmony is
winding down.
The art community is nearly
invisible during this trimester. New exhibits rarely open in late summer so out
of the catacombs of museums come old stored treasures, curated under some new title
in an effort to seduce anyone spending a lazy Saturday in town. Private galleries (if they stay open at all)
advertise “group shows” – usually unimaginative rehashing of previously seen
pieces.
People traditionally feel
that Fall is the saddest season but I vote for August, thirty-one days to
hibernate under a fan and wait for the energizing winds of September.
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I’ve spent time on the laptop
recently and discovered notes on a lecture by W. Gary Smith, a landscape architect/artist.
He says that certain shapes and patterns repeat mysteriously in nature that
please the human eye and lift the soul. He uses scientific data to prove that good
design isn’t some fad, or a matter of “having good taste.” We humans are hard
wired to respond psychologically (and therefore, physically) to this miraculous
order.
Here are photographs from his
web site illustrating two parts of a garden he designed for Longwood Gardens in
Philadelphia.
Next, I discovered Mari
Anderson an artist who calls herself an “obsessive collector of fragile objects
that might otherwise go unnoticed.”
Her installations (beginning
with her studio walls) instantly make me smile and I begin thinking about “noticing” and arranging? Why are some people
so much more attuned to these bits and “see” what others of us walk right past?
And what about her arrangements?
In my imaginary salon, I
would seat Ms. Anderson and Mr. Smith across from one another and prepare to be
dazzled by their insight.
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