I was interested in one particular piece – Romanesco Veronica – that caught my eye and got me to wondering about what threads may be in the work presented. The beauty of the structure of the head – the spirals and the reference to Fibonacci series…. That’s my own weakness – to try and get inside what I see…. why I like it and it sticks in my memory.

On my own tangent, I wonder if the work might also have an undertow of an “ideal hybrid”…. Breeding plants to enhance certain desirable characteristics is not a new thing… but the presentation of these beautiful specimens – idealized on white backgrounds (at least a few of them) definitely heighten the sense of the specialized specimen. I came away from the images wondering what dialogue the husband and wife might be sharing…(or not).

I would have enjoyed finding more comment on the notion of collaboration / hybrid – the mix and match for something entirely new in the work – but I’m not sure at all it was meant to be about that – but that’s what I found potentially interesting….

Or for more the somewhat less visually appealing (maybe) but altogether typical…

This might be considered the ….

Rich, royal purple cauliflower. Produces quality heads that do not button up
in adverse weather. Improved purple colour and plant vigor. Beautiful in salads
with broccoli.

Who knew that cauliflower could look so delicious but taste so terrible even with broccoli?

The husband and wife team – a hybrid of another sort – seemed to me anyway to be a loosely organized exhibition – perhaps mainly just about “new work”. The content of the exhibition is a combination of things that seem to be all over the map – even if it is of the desert southwest. Desert scenery, southwestern outbuildings and old churches, apparently natural desert landscapes along with photographs of abandoned dolls and sliced tomatoes and silk flowers and a grandmothers dress…. According to the exhibition statement, the images are collectively about “…images that expose time’s effect on life …” I suppose that most photographs do provide the space for those kinds of observations.

The accidental garden is just that perhaps – somewhat accidental, yet also specialized and unique – prized for its beauty it becomes substance and sustenance for the gardener…

To me the exhibition is a visual feast for the eye’s if not for the taste buds.

See it for yourself before it ends….

Karen Strohbeen & Bill Luchsinger
Accidental Gardens
November 30, 2006 to January 6, 2007

Incidentally, I’m currently enjoying reading “The Accidental Masterpiece – On the Art of Life and Vise Versa” by Michael Kimmelman… I like the chance coincidence….