Flora thought otherwise

Reading and other delights

[arte-artem-artibus]

Andrei Tarkovsky - Polaroids 1979-1984 

[metphysical]

[archiveofaffinities]

László Moholy-Nagy, Untitled, 1923

[cbturkan]

Antique bookshop from Cukurcuma, Istanbul

Instagram

[luxe-pauvre]

“The metric of objects only “sparking joy” is deeply problematic when applied to books. The definition of joy (for the many people yelling at me on Twitter, who appear to have Konmari’d their dictionaries) is: “A feeling of great pleasure and happiness, a thing that causes joy, success or satisfaction.” This is a ludicrous suggestion for books. Literature does not exist only to provoke feelings of happiness or to placate us with its pleasure; art should also challenge and perturb us. We live in a frantic, goal-obsessed, myopic time. Everything undertaken has to have a purpose, outcome or a destination, or it’s invalid. But art doesn’t care a noodle about your Apple watch, your fitness goals, active lifestyle, right swipes, career and surrender on black pudding. Art will be around far longer than Kondo’s books remain in print. Art exists on its own terms and untidy timeline. As for culling one’s unread books – while that may be essential for reducing fire and tripping hazards, it is certainly not a satisfying engagement with the possibilities of literature. (Unless it’s self-help or golf, in which case, toss it.) Success is, eventually, actually reading your unread books, or at least holding on to them long enough that they have the chance to satisfy, dissatisfy or dement you. Unread books are imagined reading futures, not an indication of failure.”

— Anakana Schofield, What we gain from keeping books – and why it doesn’t need to be ‘joy’

[michaelmoonsbookshop]

The Romance of Insect Life 

[Sold]

[artist-klee]

Late Evening Looking Out of the Woods, Paul Klee, 1937, Saint Louis Art Museum: Prints, Drawings and Photographs

https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/20162/

[zegalba]

nature artwork by Andy Goldsworthy

[discardingimages]

Out and in

Book of hours, Flanders c. 1485

Kraków, MNK 3025 I, p. 469-470

[f-poste]

The extraordinary work of Ruth Asawa (1926-2013), on display at MOMA in the winter of 2025-26

[desimonewayland]

Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840), Mönch am Meer (The Monk by the Sea), 1808-10. Oil on canvas.

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie

[srdcovka]

Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (2018) dir. Arwen Curry

[heaveninawildflower]

Yellow tulip and two butterflies (18th century) by Barbara Regina Dietzch (Bavaria, 1706 – 1783).

Gouache on vellum.

Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie.

[frachella]

Frank Lloyd Wright

[didanagy]

BRIGHT STAR (2009)

dir. jane campion

[historicalbookimages]

🌹 Rhopalocera exotica London: Gurney & Jackson, 1887-1902. Original source Image description: Illustration from “Rhopalocera exotica” (1887-1902) depicting four butterflies. The top butterfly (Papilio V.) has solid dark wings with subtle vein details. Below, two views of Papilio Acheron show dark wings with yellow and red-orange spots. The bottom butterfly, Papilio Adamsoni, displays dark brown wings with white and pinkish-red markings on the hindwings. The illustration highlights detailed wing patterns and colors, typical of historical natural history studies. The work is credited to Rose Monteiro, 1888, and printed by Hanhart.

[joan-mitchell]

Plate (folio 16) from The Poems, Joan Mitchell, 1960, MoMA: Drawings and Prints

Gift of Richard Miller Size: composition (irreg.): 17 ¼ × 13 15/16" (43.8 × 35.4 cm); page: 17 5/16 × 14 1/8" (44 × 35.8 cm) Medium: One from an illustrated book with five screenprints (including cover)

http://www.moma.org/collection/works/11567