Of Chocolate Pots and Creative Roses

Matisse, Henri. Purple Robe and Anemones. 1937. 

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” 

                         -French Modernist Henri Matisse (1869-1954)

Matisse -- as I discovered on a recent trip into Boston with my daughter and 10-year old granddaughter to visit the MFA’s phenomenal “Matisse in the Studio” exhibit  --filled his work space with cherished items -- familiar objects of inspiration that served as comforting, time-tested fodder for his creative process.  

Matisse, in front of window screen. Source: http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/matisse-in-the-studio

A blue-glass vase obtained on a visit to Spain…A chocolate pot received as a wedding gift…A Moroccan wall hanging and other textiles and masks from the Islamic, Chinese, and African traditions…

Throughout his career, the Master Artist painted these personal treasures into his works over and over again -- in the same way a theatrical director might cast and choreograph a troupe of favored performers into various roles. “The object is an actor,” he insisted. Just as a veteran actor can successfully portray parts in ten different plays, Matisse believed “an object can play a role in ten different pictures."

Matisse, Henri. Blue Vase with Flowers on Blue Tablecloth. 1913.

Matisse, Henri. Interior with Etruscan Vase. 1940.

Why did this idea of turning to the familiar for inspiration feel so empowering?  Long after I’d meandered my way through the colorful palette filling the walls of the MFA’s first major Henri Matisse exhibit in 50 years,  hunting with my own exuberant 10-year old treasure at my side for signs of Matisse’s 39 most beloved objects among the paintings, drawings, and cut-out prints; and well past surviving the requisite stop at the Matisse-flavored gift shop awaiting us at the gallery’s end, I found I kept pondering his approach to the creative process. 

As chairman of a local arts foundation, I spend a lot of time during the year looking for ways to infuse our community with life-vivifying fine and performing arts experiences --those moments, however brief, that shake us from the drone of day-to-day existence and remind us of how truly amazing it is to belong to this quirky species of sentient beings filled with peaks and chasms of joy and sorrow,  profound reflection and provocation, rage and giddy nonsensicalness.  These are the feelings good art  can trigger. It’s why I spend a lot of my free time planning, organizing, and fundraising -- even, if sometimes, I may forget to stop and smell the creative roses along the way. 

This summer I’ve challenged myself to harvest some of those flowers Matisse promised are all around us. As he did with the objects in his studio, I’ve decided to seek creative inspiration from the treasure trove of local artistic opportunities nearby me. I’ve dared myself to use this space to offer a visceral response to at least one local arts happening each week for the next 8 weeks --and because Matisse’s favored objects weren’t necessarily the most expensive ones in his collection, I’ve decided to cap my artistic adventures to no more than $30 a pop.  

So that’s my challenge -- to discover just what kind of creative muses are hiding around me in plain sight here in Essex County for little or no money.  Do you know any local arts experiences that might fit the bill?  Send them my way and by the end of the summer we’ll see what blooms…

Matisse, Henri. Open Window, Collioure. 1905.