Wellness

CAN FLOWERS TEACH YOU TO OPEN UP? CHECK OUT THESE AMAZING GIFS NOW.

Image from Touched by Strangers series by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder.

by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder. From Touched by Strangers series.

The act of opening has its own special kind of beauty. When you witness something opening up, whether it’s a door, a window, a mind, or a world, you can’t help but be moved to open up a bit more yourself. You can’t help but feel new energies -- whether they rush, trickle, or seep in.

Perhaps the most beautiful opening to witness visually is that of a flower. Yet it is hard to see a blossom in-process of blossoming. Sure, we’ve all seen the time-lapse photography of a bud becoming a fully flounced rose, but no matter how many times we see it, we are awed.

Japanese artist Yutaka Kitamura became fascinated with the openings of flowers. She began to capture them in time-lapse video. Then she paired with artist Alexander Reeder, and, together, they created a series of timelapse GIFs of flowers opening up to our view, entitled Touched by Strangers.

The artists paired the GIFs with poetry on their site:

“I sit before flowers hoping they will train me in the art of opening up.”

"I stand on mountain tops believing that avalanches will teach me to let go. I know nothing but I am here to learn."

– Shane Koyczan

Time lapse lets us see processes that we normally can’t see. But it also emphasizes the brevity of life -- a bud opens to flower to decay all within a moment.

The Touched by Strangers video shows Kitamura and Reeder’s work as a performance piece. The audience controlled the bloom of the flowers by interacting with garments worn by dancers.

They searched for flowers that would open fast: lillium, hibiscus, carnations, orchids, dandelions, lilies, daisies, alstroemeria, peonies, and nigella damask.

The opening blooms are set against a stark black background, giving them the feel of both an old masters still life and an of-the-moment edge. The contrasts in both color and style, in each piece is stunning.

Check out more Touched by Strangers GIFs here.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Openings in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 01.18.2014. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

PHOTO CREDITS:

Photo: by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder. From Touched by Strangers series.
GIF: by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder. From Touched by Strangers series.
GIF: by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder. From Touched by Strangers series.
GIF: by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder. From Touched by Strangers series.
GIF: by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder. From Touched by Strangers series.
Video: by GOmotion. Flowering (Touched by Strangers).
GIF: by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder. From Touched by Strangers series.
GIF: by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder. From Touched by Strangers series.
GIF: by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder. From Touched by Strangers series.
GIF: by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder. From Touched by Strangers series.
Photo: by Yutaka Kitamura and Alexander Reeder. From Touched by Strangers series.