Friday evening I accompanied my parents on a visit to the Missouri Botanical Garden to see the summer exhibition, Lantern Festival 2012: Art By Day, Magic By Night. Throughout the garden are hand-crafted lanterns on a colossal and overwhelmingly beautiful scale after the Chinese tradition. These are not the lanterns I made in the second grade with a single sheet of construction paper, a pair of scissors, and two pieces of Scotch tape. Nor are they the, "portable lighting device[s] or mounted light fixture[s] used to illuminate broad areas," as defined by Wikipedia. They certainly aren't portable. The lanterns are as the title of the exhibition implies, magical works of art.
The lanterns are sculptural structures that depict many scenes including popular Chinese fables, famous emperors, important religious figures, and of course dragons. What would a Chinese festival of any kind be without those rolling serpentine bodies that we've all come to automatically associate with the world's most populous country?
During the day they bask in the sunlight, emanating confidence in their own complexity and splendor. After the sun has completed its long arc across the sky and has begun to tuck herself into the horizon, that's when the lanterns really begin to emanate. The light from energy efficient bulbs (see other ways the festival is Green here) shine through the colorful silk skins of the lanterns and make the figures glow brightly against the inky blacks and navy blues of the night sky. Some of the lanterns even have animatronic elements and move as traditional Chinese music sounds out from nearby loudspeakers.
Some of the best pieces aren't even lanterns. In the center of the garden, stretching across the length of two large reflecting pools are the giant porcelain dragons. Looking to find a new way to represent this popular Zodiac figure, the Missouri Botanical Garden created these two massive sculptures using a unique median; fine China. Tens of thousands of pieces of porcelain plates and cups and spoons were utilized to create these two large, fire-breathing creatures. Wait... did she say fire-breathing? Oh yes, she did. Not only are these figures animatronic, they also spew out smoke as their eyes smolder through the haze. Okay so not actual fire, but the effect is still very cool. A loud soundtrack builds up in intensity as the show begins with the two figures completely dormant. Then at the height of the score, their eyes start glowing, their heads start moving back and forth, and finally smoke rolls from their mouths, creating an amazing show. You can see one of these magnificent sculptures in the background of my blog page, as well as a bright pink lotus lantern.
Other pieces are made from recycled water bottles and glass jars, adding to the conservation message that is promoted throughout the garden. In addition to their promotion of Green practices, the exhibits also present a lot of facts about Chinese history and customs. Special-made lanterns serve as text panels and present this information as an art form and as an educational tool. The whole event harkens back to the thousand-year-old tradition of lantern festivals in China and transports the viewers back through time. This way patrons of the event are dazzled by the amazing artworks as they learn more about another culture. More traditional panels show the process by which the lanterns were made and have interactive samples the visitors can touch.
The Missouri Botanical Garden often hosts amazing summer art shows, but this one really takes the cake. Never have I been so captivated and impressed by lanterns and never have I learned so much in the warmth of their glow. It is always a great thing when a museum institution hosts a cultural event. It is very important to be exposed to other cultures in this fast-paced and ever expanding world. It is also important to look back at old traditions and the lessons that they teach us. They have most successfully done this with the lantern festival at the garden this summer and I encourage everyone to go see before the show ends on August 19th.
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