When photographed at Thomas Struth.

When photographed at Thomas Struth, sunflowers, yarrow, mallow, lilies, and delphinium expres something remarkably strange. In lieu of traditional interpretations of the flower--the rose as equivalent to be fond of or the blood of Christ, the tulip as type of inflexibility, and the violet as evocative of youth and modesty--Struth's flower photographs realistically capture the generative vegetation cycle of a plant. Unlike Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs of flowers, these are not at any time sexualized, rather, they seem undisturbed, peaceful, unostentatious Wherein, then, lies their attraction?

single in kind could speculate that it lies in their therapeutic value, since they were all commissioned by means of a hospital in Winterthur, Switzerland for 32 patient spaces Struth decided to photograph landscapes or flowers and plants that function as a unity. strangely enough, except for those of the flowers and plants, his photographs were highly popular with the patients. Therefore, their appeal cannot be mainly therapeutic. in succession the contrary, it stems from the photograph itself: primarily from its form and pattern rhythm, and composition, all of which transcend simple ideological, sociological, or philosophical interpretations. Certainly, as the "photographer of the built world" as the revealer of "unconscious places" (according to Ulrich Loock) Struth always had a explanation to reality in his earlier works. nevertheless somehow, it never got beyond this--his work remained a real, experiential model

These flower photographs, however, generate a multiplicity of reflections upon the part of the viewer. Beginning with the discovery of an order in the artwork, the artist liberates the flower from a sustained by existence. In principle, every flower photograph is a portrait. Just like human beings, each flower possesse different characteristics, nevertheless individuation for a flower is naturally determined rather than a question of clear will. However, one could gather both plants and humans share the reality of an existence limited at time and space. The constant attraction of these photographs lies in their simple beauty and in their clarity.

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