Niki (through October 31, 2008)
The Missouri Botanical Gardens does it again!
These lovely gardens in St Louis hosted and presented another wonderful exhibition of monumental sculpture works, strategically placed around the gardens to best set off the creations.
The Botanical gardens are beautiful at any time of the year, lush and well-tended, but are even more enticing when the paths, flower beds, and ponds and fountains are graced with sparkling colorful sculptures.
These creations are by Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002). Niki, born in Paris and raised in New York, has traveled extensively and worked in many countries, including France, Italy, Switzerland and Israel. She finally settled in San Diego, California, where the largest collection of her works can be found.
She was the only female member of Europe’s New Realist art movement, a contemporary of American Pop Art. Niki, inspired by Gaudi, created playful, larger-than-life mosaic creations, using materials such as fiberglass, stones, glass and mirrors. Her reputation really began in the 1960s with her famous “nanas”: brightly painted, oversize female figures made of wire and fabric that soon became a symbol of female empowerment.
Much of Niki’s work since then revolved around 4 themes:
*Animals. Fantastic animals fill Niki’s work. She felt that her child-like side was the artist, and she loved to have children play on her sculptures. In the Gardens, children can climb on many of the sculptures, especially the animals.
*Black heroes. Niki created the black heroes series later in life for her bi-racial great-grandson.
*Totems. Inspired by Native American traditions, Niki always got advice from the National Museum of the American Indian before making her totem sculptures.
*Nanas. “Nanas” is French slang for “chicks” or “babes” and these female figures are probably her best-known series.
The Niki exhibition at the Botanical gardens is the first time so many of her works have been seen in St Louis. There are 40 monumental mosaic sculptures, some from each of the 4 themes above.
We went last weekend, and the whole garden was extremely busy, as that weekend the 17th annual Best of Missouri Market also took place. So, many people took advantage of the gorgeous weather to get out and do fun stuff. As always, the gardens are beautiful, green and lush and bright with late summer and early fall flowers. The huge Niki creations are dotted around, in basically the same positions where the Chupungu exhibits had been placed in an earlier exhibition.
The fountain waters just inside the entrance sprinkled “Arbre serpents”, the first taste of these bright whimsical creations, which are lovely and bring a smile to your face. Various food stalls around the fountain did a brisk business, especially at lunchtime.
These Niki sculptures are cheery, a bright splash of color in the already colorful garden. We liked them all, especially the lions, the alligator and the skull. Her “Nanas” are really interesting, large and round, very reminiscent of some of the sculptures in the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris.
The Market set up some agricultural themed booths around the Kids Space—making apple cider, a huge pumpkin patch, a From Farm to Food tent, cockroach races. All a lot of fun, with big bales of hay and plenty of cute scarecrows. The actual market was set up in the large open space at the front entrance by the Visitors Center: huge tents crowded with stalls selling flowers, handcrafts, soaps, honey, salsa, sausages, bread, cheeses, and much more.
Around and About with Viv 