Florilegium: Creating A Plant Compendium
ART AND DESIGN 352
Stamps School of Art and Design
Faculty member: Cathy Barry (Art and Design; University of Michigan's Biological Station)
Obi (detail), Japan, mid- to late-20th century, brocade silk. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Kazuko Miyake, 2016/2.25
In this course, students will create a handmade book of drawings and paintings inspired by a semester-long investigation into wide-ranging topics relating to plants, art, design, and nature. In developing their compendium, students will draw inspiration from the ways artists engage with the shapes, life systems, and cultural meanings of plant life, while incorporating hands-on fieldwork, library research, and studio activity.
Really going out and looking at plants, collecting plants, identifying plants… is key to really having any effect on climate change because we’re acknowledging nature. We really need to get people to recognize what we have.
Professor Cathy Barry
Featured Story
Today’s Assignment: Around a Quarter To Ten Plan To Do Some Watercoloring
Florilegium explores how art and design intersects with nature and plants, incorporating hands-on fieldwork and material excavation with the artistic process. Listen in as Professor Cathy Barry describes today’s assignment.
Read MoreWorks included in this collection
2016/2.25
Title
Obi
Artist(s)
Japanese
Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)
Object Creation Date
mid- to late-20th century
Medium & Support
brocade silk
Dimensions
156 in x 12 ½ in (396.24 cm x 31.75 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Kazuko Miyake
Subject matter
This is a Nishijin, Nishiki, and maru obi in zentsuu-gara.
The design consists of a gold wavy-lined background with maroon braided tie-strings and hachiryoumon (eight-pointed petaled flowers) containing cherry blossoms, plum blossoms,chrysanthemums, phoenixes, autumnal foliage, and bamboo motif patterning.
Maru obi are the most formal type of obi, having elaborate patterned brocade or tapestry on both sides, typically decorated with rich gold thread. The classic maru obi measures 13inc (33cm) wide. It was most popular during the Meiji (1867-1912) and Taisho period (1912-1925). However, the maru obi is rarely worn today due to its excessive cost and uncomfortable weight.
Nishijin-ori textiles were developed in the Nishijin area of Kyoto city and has dominated the production of high-quality woven textiles since the fifteenth century. The production of Nishijin textiles is very complex and is specialized in five main areas—designing and creating patterns, producing silk threads, producing tools (including weaving machines), weaving, and final sewing—each executed in a different workshop.
Nishiki is a type of vibrant silk brocade with vivid and luxurious images using various colorful and metallic (mainly gold and silver). Nishiki brocade is mainly produced in the Nishijin area of Kyoto.
Gara refers to the orientation, arrangement, and surface area of the patterns and pertains to a specific trend and obi tying style.
In the Zentsuu gara type, the obi is entirely covered with designs, patterns, and motifs. The versatility of this patterning allows for a variety of obi tying styles.
Physical Description
off-white maru (double-sided) obi containing various interwoven maroon, green, and brown motifs.
Primary Object Classification
Costume and Costume Accessories
Primary Object Type
obi
Collection Area
Asian
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Obi
brocade silk
156 in x 12 ½ in (396.24 cm x 31.75 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Kazuko Miyake
1980/2.153
Title
Glass snuff bottle with bird and flowers
Artist(s)
Chinese
Artist Nationality
Chinese (culture or style)
Object Creation Date
circa 1900-1930
Medium & Support
glass and coral
Dimensions
3 1/8 in. x 1 3/8 in. x 11/16 in. ( 8 cm x 3.5 cm x 1.7 cm )
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. Robert W. Coggan
Primary Object Classification
Decorative Arts
Primary Object Type
snuff bottle
Collection Area
Asian
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Glass snuff bottle with bird and flowers
glass and coral
3 1/8 in. x 1 3/8 in. x 11/16 in. ( 8 cm x 3.5 cm x 1.7 cm )
Gift of Mr. Robert W. Coggan
1957/2.1
Title
Medicinal plants; Leaf from an Arabic translation of the "De Materia Medica," by Dioscorides
Artist(s)
Iranian
Artist Nationality
Iranian
Object Creation Date
13th century
Medium & Support
tempera on paper
Dimensions
11 3/4 in x 7 7/8 in (29.8 cm x 20 cm);11 9/16 in x 7 7/8 in (29.4 cm x 20 cm);19 5/16 in x 14 7/16 in (49.05 cm x 36.67 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Primary Object Classification
Painting
Collection Area
Western
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Medicinal plants; Leaf from an Arabic translation of the "De Materia Medica," by Dioscorides
tempera on paper
11 3/4 in x 7 7/8 in (29.8 cm x 20 cm);11 9/16 in x 7 7/8 in (29.4 cm x 20 cm);19 5/16 in x 14 7/16 in (49.05 cm x 36.67 cm)
Museum Purchase
1974/1.103
Title
Sunflower III
Artist(s)
Joan Mitchell
Artist Nationality
American (North American)
Object Creation Date
1972
Medium & Support
aquatint on paper
Dimensions
35 3/4 in x 24 7/8 in (90.8 cm x 63.2 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Label copy
Joan Mitchell’s art has been inspired not only by nature but also by literature. Her mother was a poet and editor for Poetry magazine, which published writers such as T.S. Eliot, whom Mitchell met and from whom she drew inspiration. Her father was a physician and life-long amateur artist. As a teenager, Mitchell spent summers in an art colony, which earned her credit at the Art Institute of Chicago.
In 1947, Mitchell moved to New York with the intent of studying with artist and teacher Hans Hoffman, but she was intimidated by his teaching methods. By the early 1950s, however, Mitchell was able to establish herself in the New York art world. Unlike the first generation of Abstract Expressionists, who were concerned with separating themselves from European influence and ideas, Mitchell moved to France and continued with her abstract mode of painting. She settled on property previously owned by Monet and was inspired by the same scenery.
The sunflowers that Mitchell had planted in her garden inspired Sunflower III, just one of a set of prints entitled Sunflower Series. Mitchell explained her attraction to sunflowers this way: "I don’t like fields of sunflowers. I like them alone or painted by van Gogh."
Jamina Ramírez, Intern for Modern and Contemporary Art, on the occasion of the exhibition The New York School: Abstract Expressionism and Beyond, July 20, 2002 – January 19, 2002
Subject matter
This print is part of a group of prints and paintings Mitchell made of sunflowers while living in Vétheuil, France. The flowers grew in her garden and she was also inspired by the sunflower series of Vincent Van Gogh. As seen in this work, the expressionistic application of color and line reflect the way in which Mitchell related to her source of inspiration on an emotional level.
Physical Description
This abstract print has a large dark red and black circular form in the top half of the frame and a large orange and red circular form in lower half. Black splotches and expressive lines dominate and overlap much of the image.
Primary Object Classification
Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Sunflower III
aquatint on paper
35 3/4 in x 24 7/8 in (90.8 cm x 63.2 cm)
Museum Purchase
2002/2.147
Title
Hemlock Canyons
Artist(s)
Mike Irolla
Object Creation Date
2001
Medium & Support
hemlock
Dimensions
25 x 16 x 16 in. (63.5 x 40.64 x 40.64 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen
Label copy
Todd Hoyer
Born 1952, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
Lives and works in Bisbee, Arizona
Three Gold Rings, from Ringed series
1991
Eucalyptus, imitation gold leaf
Gift of Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen, 2002/2.145
Mike Irolla
Born 1974, Irvington, New York
Lives and works in Marquette, Michigan
Hemlock Canyons
2001
Hemlock
Gift of Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen, 2002/2.147
Some contemporary woodturners have experimented with fire as a finishing process, in place of refining techniques like sanding and staining. Fire was both artistic and symbolic in Todd Hoyer’s Ringed series, which was created as a response to Hoyer’s painful divorce from his wife and her subsequent death.
Mike Irolla turns whole logs in order to retain the natural edges of the wood. Fire then becomes the finishing element for his work, leaving a charred black surface in place of paint.
(Out of the Ordinary, 2010)
March 28, 2009
Michigan artist Mike Irolla, like the other woodturners whose work is displayed here, is representative of a new movement in American woodturning. These artists have developed a stunning mastery of lathe work and especially creative and expressive approaches to the medium of wood. Irolla is especially interested in exploiting the aesthetic qualities of the wood itself. While many other woodturners remove the bark as one of their very first steps, Irolla makes the bark the centerpiece of his work. Using fire as a finishing element to texture and color the surface, he allows the residual bark to suggest the natural formations of rock cliffs or the canyons referred to in the title.
Subject matter
The textural and esthetic qualities of burned wood and bark. Use of the organic form of wood to suggest natural formations of rock.
Physical Description
Large, turned wood vessel. Fire has been used to color and texture the surface. Bark has been left on to provide texture. The mouth of the vessel is jagged.
large burnt wood vessel with bark marking the top irregular edge
Primary Object Classification
Wood and Woodcarving
Primary Object Type
vessel
Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Hemlock Canyons
hemlock
25 x 16 x 16 in. (63.5 x 40.64 x 40.64 cm)
Gift of Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen
2002/2.172
Title
Wormwood Vase
Artist(s)
Dale Nish
Object Creation Date
1997
Medium & Support
wormy ash
Dimensions
4 1/2 x 4 x 4 in. (11.43 x 10.16 x 10.16 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen
Label copy
Dale Nish
Born 1932, Cardston, Alberta, Canada
Lives and work in Provo, Utah
Wormwood Vase
1997
Wormy ash
Gift of Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen, 2002/2.172
Geoffrey Wilkes
Born 1951, Jacksonville, Florida
Lives and works in Gerrardstown, West Virginia
Emergence
1998
Manzanita
Gift of Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen, 2002/2.184
Starting in the 1980s, woodturners developed a number of working methods that deemphasized wood’s natural appearance. Dale Nish uses worm-eaten ash as his signature material. The worm holes take the place of woodgrain patterning, which Nish further reduces by sandblasting and bleaching his turned vessels.
Geoffrey Wilkes works around his wood’s deformities and natural formations while highly polishing other areas. The resulting contrast of smooth and rough on dark-colored manzanita wood simulates the look of polished stone.
(Out of the Ordinary, 2010)
One of the foremost woodturning masters, Dale Nish typically works with wormy ash to create his lightweight, classical forms. This type of wood is characterized by numerous tunnels eaten away by boring insects, resulting in a sort of “defect” in the wood.
In both of these works Nish exploits the wormy wood to its fullest potential. Light flows through the worm holes creating an intricate lace-like design evocative of the intentional piercing technique meticulously carved by other wood artists.
Nish elevates a material that would normally be considered damaged or unsightly and highlights the inherent beauty in its “defect.” Here he created a sculptural aesthetic in his work, bringing the inherent qualities of the medium—grain, color and interesting imperfections—to the forefront.
from the exhibition Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, June 12 – October 3, 2004
Physical Description
small sandblasted wood vase displaying holes and trails eaten by worms
Primary Object Classification
Wood and Woodcarving
Primary Object Type
vase
Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Wormwood Vase
wormy ash
4 1/2 x 4 x 4 in. (11.43 x 10.16 x 10.16 cm)
Gift of Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen
Exhibition Support
Lead support for this exhibition is provided by the University of Michigan Office of the Provost, Erica Gervais Pappendick and Ted Pappendick, the Eleanor Noyes Crumpacker Endowment Fund, and P.J. and Julie Solit.