Finding Art
Sourcing Images
Rumour has it that at one point during the creation of my next book, the head of Rizzoli, Charles Miers, who Columbia called ‘The Boss of Beautiful Books’, looked at some sample spreads and said, “I thought this book was about floral design. This looks like National Geographic!”.
The problem? Largely people. People date books apparently. I love people. And I’ve long loved photographing them with flowers.
There are over 250 images from over 40 countries in FLORA CULTURE: HOW FLOWERS SHAPE OUR WORLD and about half came from my photographic archive. (I’m resisting linking to pre-sales because the proper cover isn’t in the digital world yet, ugh!). Over the years I’ve hustled pictures or traveled to take them, I’ve wondered, if pictures can speak a thousand words, why do some say so much more than others?
In this live-and-learn post, I will discuss sourcing images, how I worked with photographers, dealt with historic material, accessed digital collections and few other editorial/curatorial things. It’s a pretty post, but a little niche.
Ephemera
Advertisements, maps, catalogues, illustrations, stamps, trading cards and other types of ephemera hold particular interest for me because printed matter reflects not only historical periods but also fashion, economics, technology, and politics. Today, vast troves of botanical art are digitized (check out the USDA’s gorgeous collection of pomological watercolours here and simultaneously be gobsmacked by the completely crackers pop-up message from the federal government).
Many collections are in the public domain which is one reason botanicals are so often merchandised. Consider the illustrated works of Ernest Haeckel (an ardent eugenicist), that appear in books and on everything from tea towels to tote bags.
Historic Images
