Bloom: 28,000 Flowers Installed @ Massachusetts Mental Center

You people know me. I never reblog. Ever. I try to create things here, but this was so amazing, so productive, so dangarang gorgeous that I had to share:

In 2003 a building housing the Massachusetts Mental Health Center (MMHC) was slated for demolition to make way for updated facilities. The closure was a time for reflection and remembrance as the MMHC had been in operation for over 9 decades and had touched countless thousands of patients and employees alike, and the pending demolition presented a unique problem. How does one memorialize a building impossibly rich with a history of both hope and sadness, and do it in a way that reflects not only the past but also the future? And could this memorial be open to the public, not as a speech, or series of informational plaques, but as an experience worthy of they building’s unique story?

To answer that question artist Anna Schuleit was commissioned to do the impossible. After an initial tour of the facility she was struck not with what she saw but with what she didn’t see: the presence of life and color. While historically a place of healing, the drab interior, worn hallways, and dull paint needed a respectful infusion of hope. With a limited budget and only three months of planning Schuleit and an enormous team of volunteers executed a massive public art installation called Bloom. The concept was simple but absolutely immense in scale. Nearly 28,000 potted flowers would fill almost every square foot of the MMHC including corridors, stairwells, offices and even a swimming pool, all of it brought to life with a sea of blooms. The public was then invited for a limited 4-day viewing as a time for needed reflection and rebirth

Go check out the rest. Thanks to Kiddo for showing it off to me.

READ NEXT:  Daddy Issues are Overrated

Be sure to share and comment. And subscribe.

Comment early, comment often, keep it civil:

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. tara (@etsetara)

    http://www.1856.org/bloom/main.html

    this is the main “bloom” site, but i find it funny that almost all the photos are linked to the colossal interview site…even when the photos aren’t the same. anyway, just thought i’d add that extra link. so beautiful!

    1. lanceschaubert

      Sweet! Thanks.

  2. tara (@etsetara)

    also it saw that there was a short documentary created, but can’t seem to find it.

  3. Doberman

    Just lovely.

  4. Doberman

    Okay, not “just lovely”, but a very thoughtful work. I wish there were many more tributes and respectful farewells given to mental health institutions. It happens so very rarely.

    1. lanceschaubert

      haha, yeah. It’s nice to see the bland darkness brightened up like that. The article was awesome.



Please comment & share with friends how you prefer to share:

Follow The Showbear Family Circus on WordPress.com

Thanks for reading the Showbear Family Circus.
  1. Like this, very noir. Can smell the stale smoke and caustic aroma of burnt coffee. That mewling grunt of a…

  2. Years ago, (Egad, 50 years ago!) I was attending Cal (Berkeley) I happened to be downtown, just coming out of…

Copyright © 2010— 2023 Lancelot Schaubert.
All Rights Reserved.
If we catch you using any of the substance of this site to train any form of artificial intelligence, we will prosecute
to the fullest extent permitted by any law.

Human children and adults always welcome
to learn bountifully and in joy.