{"id":240974,"date":"2026-05-22T20:51:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T20:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/240974\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T20:51:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T20:51:12","slug":"new-york-botanical-gardens-newest-exhibition-flower-power-fuses-political-history-with-psychedelic-art-bronx-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/240974\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Botanical Garden\u2019s newest exhibition \u2018Flower Power\u2019 fuses political history with psychedelic art \u2013 Bronx Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A windowless Volkswagen bus filled with plants and wrapped in groovily-painted vinyl, plays Jefferson Airplane\u2019s 1967 hit, \u201cWhite Rabbit.\u201d At the Tulip Tree All\u00e9e, Gil Scott-Heron\u2019s 1971 anthem, \u201cThe Revolution Will Not be Televised,\u201d blares out of a spray-painted school bus. Near the visitor\u2019s center, a 15-foot peace sign adorned with flora sits in a reflecting pool.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harkening images of the hippie counterculture, the New York Botanical Garden\u2019s newest exhibit \u201cFlower Power\u201d fuses the aesthetic of the 1960s anti-war and liberation movements with contemporary art and posits the flower as a symbol of passivity and unity.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has their own associations out of that time period,\u201d said Michaela Wright, NYBG director of exhibition content and interpretation.\u00a0\u201cWe were sort of interested in just diving into some of the beauty and the joy and the optimism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Playing songs from the \u201960s, \u201cSana, sana mi corazoncito\/heal heal my little heart\u201d by Blanka Amezuka is a found Volkswagen wrapped in vibrant vinyl. Photo by ET Rodriguez
\n\"\"Inside the conservatory, Amie Jacobsen\u2019s \u201cFlower Power\u201d is resin on stained wood and steel with LED lights. Photo by ET Rodriguez<\/p>\n

In the garden\u2019s Mertz Library, fashion, art and ephemera of the era are on display. Pieces include Andy Warhol\u2019s \u201cFlowers\u201d (1964), a copy of Betty Friedan\u2019s 1963 book, \u201cThe Feminine Mystique,\u201d and a photo of Martin Luther King Jr. wearing a lei on his historic walk from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The same year, poet and activist Allen Ginsberg wrote, \u201cDemonstration or Spectacle as Example, As Communication or How to Make a March\/Spectacle.<\/a>\u201d One of the tenets suggests protestors face police with \u201cmasses of flowers.\u201d While many credit this manifesto for coining the term \u201cflower power,\u201d the phrase doesn\u2019t appear in the text. <\/p>\n

The moniker wouldn\u2019t come into fruition until 1967 when the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam organized the \u201cFlower Power\u201d march at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. It was then further cemented when photos of march-goers, holding flowers in opposition to rifles and bayonets, made headline news. These images would come to define the generation and are also on view at the garden\u2019s library.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While flowers have long been viewed to symbolize peace and beauty throughout time and across cultures, it was its pervasive use during these significant moments that solidified it as an icon.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cA flower\u2019s unassailable beauty is able to soften the edges of cruelty,\u201d Jill Brooke told the Bronx Times, flower historian and author of the book, \u201cThe Genius of Flowers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Martin Luther King Jr. and his historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. Photo by ET Rodriguez
\n\"\"Located in the Mertz Library, the clothing and ephemera of the 1960s make up the historical context of the \u201cFlower Power\u201d exhibit. Photo by ET Rodriguez<\/p>\n

Outside the Enid A. Haupt conservatory, William Hochweber\u2019s \u201cVelora\u201d glows vibrantly under the beaming sun. The installation acts as a large makeshift canopy with psychedelic, airbrushed swirls that exemplify Hochweber\u2019s gestural style. The fabrics will change with the seasons, shifting to rainbow colors in the summer and earth tones in the fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nearby, several metal fences act as a canvas with peace signs made of yarn woven directly into them. Upon closer view, one notices the circles are composed of several crocheted flowers. In a literal interpretation of community, visitors are encouraged to add to Carmen Paulino\u2019s work and weave through the fences themselves with yarn provided by the garden.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the person-to-person interaction is very important. I think it\u2019s good for intergenerational as well. Young people meet older people and they come together and we unite,\u201d Paulino said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Part of William Hochweber\u2019s Mushuman series, \u201cVelora\u201d is a hand-painted, large-scale, tent-like installation. Photo by ET Rodriguez
\n\"\"In the foreground are Eugenia Mello\u2019s posters, inspired by the colorful and trippy style of the 1960s. In the background sits Amie Jacobsen\u2019s \u201cDaisy Lamp\u201d which activates on special nights. Photo by ET Rodriguez<\/p>\n

While the exhibit uses nostalgia and the narrative of a nearly bygone era, little ones can also join in on the fun with \u201cSummer of Moomin\u201d at the Everett Children\u2019s Adventure Garden. Based on the picture books of the late Finnish author, Tove Jansson, the hippo-like trolls live in a carefree and idyllic world that parallels the desired utopia of the 1960s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Running through Oct. 18, \u201cFlower Power\u201d aims to engage guests with nature and other visitors through communal programming, featuring drum circles, sound baths, bracelet making, light shows, concerts and movie screenings \u2013 like the 1979 musical \u201cHair.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200a\u201cNo one can live somewhere else besides Earth,\u201d added Wright. \u201cWe all live here together and I think the flower is a symbol that cuts across every line. We can\u2019t escape the ecosystem that we\u2019re a part of.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reach ET Rodriguez at\u00a0etrodriguez317@gmail.com<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!\u00a0<\/p>\n