Festival of Flowers

The Springfield Museums' wildly popular monthly series "Culture and Cocktails" always has seasonal themes, but this month's could not have been better planned. March this year came in like a lion and went out like a lion. Winter lingered so long in Massachusetts that I seriously wondered whether spring would ever come. The last two days of March brought bitter cold, snow, sleet, and Arctic winds, and then suddenly this week it's April, the sun is out, the air is soft, and the crocuses are up. And the Museum is having a Festival of Flowers. 

Local florists and garden clubs were invited to submit floral arrangements inspired by various works in the museums. The arrangements are scattered throughout the four museums, placed near the pieces that sparked them. Patrons can pick up a diagram identifying the locations and then it's like a scavenger hunt, roaming around the Quadrangle looking for all of them.

My favorite is the arrangement by Sherry Williams of the Springfield Garden Club, interpreting a glass and bronze Tiffany Studios lamp from 1910. She's spot-on, not only with the colors and the form of the lamp, but with the overall feel of the piece. What amuses me the most is that the lamp is botanically inspired, with its base in the form of a trunk and leaves, and she's taken it back to the original plants. Plus it's pretty and I could totally picture it in my house.

The design team at Flowers, Flowers! took over the entire Blake Court in the Museum of Fine Arts, and did a bang-up job. The interpretation of Herman Herzog's "View of Niagara Falls in Moonlight" has huge cascades of white flowers, frothy moss and a beautiful palette of greys and greens. The interpretation of Joseph Whiting Stock's "The Fisherman with His Dog" is very large, like the painting itself, with a dangly exotic flower to represent the fishing rod and line, and a mirror so that you see yourself as the fisherman. Very whimsical. The interpretation of "Evening at Low Tide, Manomet" has rocks, seaweed, and tight chrysanthemums which look like some form of sea life. Gorgeous.

In the French Impressionist Gallery, Tara Northway Ostrosky had the courage to tackle the Degas, "Rehearsal Before the Ballet," with success I might add. The gorgeous pink parrot tulips, delphiniums, Queen Anne's lace, plum blossoms, combined with sage green leaves,
are the essence of spring.

Culture and Cocktails: Mardi Gras

I've been attending the "Culture and Cocktails" events monthly at the Springfield Museums. October was Oktoberfest at the Wood Museum of Springfield History, November was Sushi and Sake at the George Walter Vincent Smith, January was a Science Carnival at the Science Museum, and February was Wine and Chocolate at the Museum of Fine Arts.

So we've come full circle, and yesterday's event was at the Wood Museum again. Springfield's newest museum has got a great foyer, designed beautifully by our own Steven Jablonski for just this sort of event. You can eat, drink, view the displays, bump into lots of friends, and then walk around and see the entire museum--all for $5.

In October, local brewers had stations all around for dispensing information and samples--lots of samples. The Student Prince and Fort Restaurant dished out red cabbage and sausages at one end of the room. Mountains of Liptauer cheese spread, crackers, and assorted other cheeses were available as palate-cleansers between beers. In the back room, homebrewers were hosting a competition. When you got tired of the microbrews, you could wander over, sample the homebrews, and vote for your favorite. You could learn about Highland Brewing Company (Dr. Suess's family's business, which once stood on State Street where MassMutual is now). Or you could visit Storrowton's booth, where costumed reenactors were explaining how hard cider was made back in the day (and offering samples). I don't even like beer, and I wobbled home. Imagine if I'd been trying harder!

This month, the theme was Mardi Gras. The bar was cash, but there was loads of Cajun food, loads of beads, and music by The Primate Fiasco, a band whose music eludes labels but is sometimes called "psychedelic Dixieland." I had heard them outdoors next to a fire-breathing dragon a couple of years ago at one of Richard Richardson's over-the-top parties. Different vibe, both great times.

The Unveiling of Teatro Vida

Art is good, maybe the best thing there is. Having several museums full of it within a block is pretty cool. The only thing better than easy accessibility to art hanging on the wall of a museum would be world-class art hanging on your own walls--but budget constraints make that option impossible for most. Even if you could afford it, the hassle would make it almost not worth the bother. Some lucky folks, though, get to treat the museum from time to time like their own homes, and without any expense or fuss.

Tonight friend Alma and I went to one of those lovely receptions at the Museum of Fine Arts that makes me feel like I'm in my own living room. The Blake Court, with its monstrous painting "Historical Monument of the American Republic" by Erastus Salisbury Field dominating a whole wall, was reserved for the reception. In a corner of the gallery, lovely Lorena Garay played classical, Spanish and Latin guitar. In another corner, a table was heaped with bright fruits, cheeses, and other appetizers. A bar was set up under Field's masterpiece. Smartly uniformed servers threaded their way through the crowd with trays of hot amuse-gueule.

My new best friend Magdalena Gomez had invited me to this "unveiling" of her latest venture, Teatro Vida. All the bigwigs who had donated money to her program were there, plus a good cross-section of the arty types in town, with strong representation from the Latino community. Alma found somebody to talk antiques and set design with, and I wandered around sipping my wine, taking notes and amassing quotes for an article I'm writing on Magdalena's venture.

Magdalena's from New York City. She moved to the Valley years ago and loves it here. From Springfield, New York is only three hours away, so you can get there pretty much any time you want. And sometimes you might want to: for an opera at the Met, for example. But six days out of seven, Springfield suits just fine. A lovely evening like this makes me think I've got the best of all possible worlds.

Say Hi to Lowbrow

I'm one of the crotchedy few who isn't thrilled by the Dr. Seuss "Memorial Sculpture Park" plopped down in the middle of the otherwise elegant quadrangle of the Springfield Museums. I'm crazy about Theodore Geisel, Springfield's most famous son, and I don't dislike the bronze statues designed by his step-daughter, Lark Grey Dimond-Cates. I just don't think they belong in that spot.

Formerly, the gracious sweep of lawn set off the beautiful buildings when viewed from any angle. Now the whole space is all wrong: lopsided and crowded. Standing on the steps of the Art Deco Museum of Fine Arts, looking toward the Italianate George Walter Vincent Smith Museum, your view is blocked by a giant cartoon elephant. WTF?

I believe the purpose of sticking them there, rather than in Forest Park where they belong, is to lure crowds to the museums. Once you've made the pilgrimage with the kiddies to see Horton the Elephant, the Cat in the Hat and the Lorax, you might as well make an afternoon of it and acquire some culture.

For those families who manage to make it from the parking lot past the Welcome Center and the Museum of Natural History to the statues without buying a ticket for the special dinosaur exhibit now underway, this costumed T. Rex has been hanging around as a marketing ploy. I was reminded of the aggressively friendly costumed jerks roaming Brussels's Mini-Europe, insistent on taking your exorbitantly expensive souvenir picture.

So much for the cabinet of curiosities. Museums are becoming more like theme parks every day.