Artist and blogger Lili Cuzor uses plants as both her medium and muse. Lili's previous installation for The Box at The Standard, Hollywood helped ring in the Spring and her second installation, a collaboration with Christopher Daniels entitled Sea of Summer, is a homage to Japanese design and philosophy. Lili explains....
"Sea of Summer is a collaboration piece that designer/artist Christopher Daniels and myself created for The Box at The Standard, Hollywood. It is a conceptual nod to the Japanese notion mind over body. We both share an affinity for all thing Japanese, especially Ikebana; a style of Japanese floral arranging. Months prior to the installation we had both attended an ikebana workshop together where the instructor informed us of the importance of being able to see water through the vessel that contained the flowers in order for the mind to be cooled and hence the body. Water played as important of a role as the did the flowers. These thoughts undulated into Sea of Summer. We both wanted to work with water but not necessarily in the physical sense. Much like our newly found Japanese philosophy of mind over body we figured that the mere reflection of water on a wall could perhaps enchant the viewer into thinking of water--> pools--> summertime--> seas--> refresh. We knew that if this idea could be executed soundly that this installation could be minimal in appearance yet maximal in impact. And so the fun began..."
"The pieces started to fall into place after meetings, discussions, looking through books, field trips to gardens, and finally experimentation with water, mirrors and different light sources. Our installation at The Standard, Hollywood is made up of three components: ikebana in it's literal form, water in the tank underneath a weeping willow, and our graphic string art. The weeping willow is represented by the clear cyan leaves hanging in the tank from hot pink string. The colors paired with particular gels for the lights turn the tank into an alluring turquoise/coral/peach lagoon. When the lights hit the leaves their reflections on the white walls of the tank seem to flutter about, recreating that moment that we had had ourselves underneath the weeping willows. Our vessel and mirror play with the lights to cast reflections on the wall behind the willow. The tank comes to life! As for the string art, it is a nod to the graphic elements from early 90s graphic design, and the creation of visually dimensional planes. The process itself of making is a meditation on connectivity and balance."
Lili Cuzor and Christopher Daniel's installation for The Box at The Standard, Hollywood will be on display through the 23rd of September, an artist reception celebrating the work will be held this Thursday, September 19th.
