The Flower Series

The myth and meaning of flowers has been with us throughout the ages. During Victorian times, the secret language of flowers was brought to new heights. Books were written, lists were circulated explaining the meaning and significance of specific flowers or bouquets of different flowers. The art of communicating with flowers remains with us today, but interpretation, although rooted in some folklore and mythology is quite varied.

For me flowers always held a celebratory connotation, birth, birthdays, marriage and even death. Much of this historical information was unknown to me back in September 1996 when I fell in love while spending my summer on Cape Cod. At the end of that summer, I embarked on a brief and passionate romance that lead me to investigate the language of flowers. After spending a few weeks together, my lover returned home to Germany, and I returned home to San Francisco. Our last moments together in Boston at Logan Airport are branded in my memory. I had cut a rose from a friend's garden as my departing gift to my lover. The responsibility assigned to that delicate flower was too overwhelming for me to digest.

During this relationship, the celebratory quality of flowers remained, though it was the subtext of tones, moods, and desires that became imperative. This idea of flowers representing my emotional experiences was unfamiliar, awkward, and sometimes all too sentimental for my liking. But as our relationship continued the flowers flowed back and forth, and the idea of flowers as a memory stimuli also captivated me. As a photographer, the parallel essence of flowers and memory and photographic theory was too temping to resist. This perfect marriage came under the scrutiny of my camera.

Although we saw each other many times over the next nine months; Christmas in Paris, New Years in London, many cold nights in northern Germany, sunny sultry days on South Beach, the geographic distance between us took it's toll. Flowers always remained an integral part of this affair. The romance ended, our friendship endures and the flowers live on in my work. And although this love affair died, my new found passion for flowers endures. The work continues to grow, as I photograph flowers that are given to me by friends, lovers and family members.

Frank Yamrus
Spring 2000