Name/Title
Flowers for Lisa #43Entry/Object ID
2022.16Description
Image of red and green flowers against a black background.Context
Abelardo Morell’s series Flowers for Lisa (2014–17) emerged from the mundane act of bringing flowers to a loved one, in this case, the artist’s wife Lisa McElaney. Over time, Morell began to produce images of flowers in place of gifting her live bouquets, which allowed the artist to produce aesthetic combinations unattainable with live flowers. As McElaney recalls, these photographic flowers managed to achieve all of the qualities she appreciates in the best floral arrangements: “Time changing the composition, a conversation between parts and the whole, the relationship between a stable container and the shape-shifting nature within.” For #43, Morell reflected upon the increasingly common wildfires in California by burning the stems of the flowers in an effort to depict the fragility of living beings surviving in hostile environments.Acquisition
Accession
2022.14-16Source or Donor
Thomas WilsonAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of Thomas J. Wilson and Jill M. Garling