The Brooklyn Museum is springing into action with a “Flower Flash” installation on Wednesday to celebrate the institution’s newest exhibition, which features illustrations of the world-famous Japanese cherry blossoms in Tokyo.
The April 17 installation is being arranged by Lewis Miller Designs, who has been producing “Flower Flashes” since 2016, creating floral arrangements in the early hours of the morning at bus stops, trash bins, telephone booths, ice cream trucks and monuments around the city.
True to its name, the ‘Flower Flash’ will only be on display on the steps of the Brooklyn Museum before opening hours on April 17, from 9:30-10:15 a.m.
The display of the delicate pink and white cherry blossoms will make for a visually stunning welcome to the spring season and the Brooklyn Museum, which has bright pink blooms in the trees just outside its entrance and throughout the neighboring Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.
The pop-up display is marking the recent opening of Utagawa Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo as it returns to public display in the borough after 24 years.
Originally published in 1856–58, the print series captures the evolving socioeconomic and environmental landscape of the city that would become Tokyo, traversing through all four seasons in scenes of picnics beneath cherry blossoms, summer rainstorms, falling maple leaves, and wintry dusks.
This year, the exhibition also features artist Takashi Murakami’s own set of new paintings created in direct response to 100 Famous Views of Edo. Murakami will be partaking in a talk hosted by the Brooklyn Museum on Monday, April 29, for a conversation about his latest works, urban history, and environmental change.
