Coffee with a Curator: From Frida's Garden to The Dali's Garden Wednesday, February 1, 2017 Coffee with a Curator is a focused, theme-oriented presentation on a variety of Dali-related topics. The talk is presented by one of The Dali Museum’s Curatorial/Education team or an invited speaker. From Frida’s Garden to The Dali’s Garden Inspired by the native plants and cultural elements of Frida Kahlo’s garden in Mexico City, Museum staff and volunteers created a colorful homage to Frida and her botanic sanctuary in our own backyard. In conjunction with the current exhibit, Frida Kahlo at The Dali, panelists discuss Frida’s celebrated garden at her life-long home at Casa Azul. Also they discuss the process of transforming part of The Dali Museum’s Avant-garden into a vibrant tribute to Frida’s garden, capturing her deep cultural connection with nature. Panelists include Curator of Education Peter Tush, Director of Security Dave Portilia, Groundskeepers Gus Vargas and Nicole Matwijczyk and Joan Henniger from Log Cabin Garden Center. For information on upcoming events at The Dali visit: http://thedali.org/events

1. coffee with a
curator
“from frida’s garden to
the dalí’s garden”
panel discussion
feb. 1, 2017

2. Dave Portilia, Director of Security
and Grounds
Gus Vargas, Groundskeeper
Nicole Matwijczyk, Horticulturalist
Jene VanButsele, Log Cabin
Garden Center
Peter Tush, Curator of Education
our coffee panelists

3. Nicole Matwijczyk
dalí horticulturalist
Laurie Clement
Garden volunteer; former garden curator of the
Gertrude Jekyll Garden at the Glebe House Museum in
Woodbury, Connecticut
Sharon Hartley
dalí Docent; former garden docent Vizcaya, Miami
Lauren Collins
2016 dalí intern
thank you:

4. kahlo and dalí in their gardens

5. a director’s vision
It cannot be
overestimated how
essential Director
Hank Hine’s vision of
the garden has been
from the very
beginning

7. section one
frida kahlo’s casa azul

8. Frida Kahlo in her
garden, 1951

9. “[following the revolution]…
Mexican intellectuals were
not just rediscovering native
traditions and rituals, they
were also discovering the
Mexican natural world again,
and the plant world
particularly”
- Adriana Zavala, Curator of
Kahlo at the New York
Botanical Gardens
mexico rediscovered

10. casa azul

11. Frida’s Casa Azul (“Blue
House”), Coyoacán
Painted with traditional
blue Mexican pigment, this
is where Frida was born
and died. Rivera
bequeathed it to the
people of Mexico. Her
ashes are displayed here
in a pre-Columbian urn.

12. Frida Kahlo:My
Grandparents, my
Parents, and I - Family
Tree, 1936.
Family is situated in
Casa Azul.
family home

13. Nopal cactus,
which is in
symbolic form on
the Mexican flag
nopal cactus

14. Frida Kahlo's
garden diagram
nopal cactus

15. Frida cultivated a
garden of succulents
and flowering plants.
It was also home to
her monkeys, dogs
and birds. The
garden, with its
terraced temple
inspired by ancient
Mexico, expressed
her deep love for her
country, its ecology,
and its customs.

16. This is where she
cultivated the world
glimpsed through
her paintings.
frida’s garden

17. The original garden
emulated the 19th-century
European taste for ferns
and palms. To these Kahlo
added native plants such
as agave, cactus and
prickly pear, which grew
alongside orange and
apricot trees, quince and
pomegranate.
contrasts

18. Frida and Diego’s
collection of Pre-
Columbian (Pre-
Cortezian) artifacts
atop their Aztec-
inspired pyramid at
the end of her
garden
frida’s pyramid

19. In the center of her
garden she had an alter
filled with succulents and
cacti
(Photo of the altar
recreation from the New
York Botanicl Garden)
frida’s garden

20. Key plant-related concepts in
her art:
• Duality
• hybridity
• cross-pollination
Kahlo took a mystical view of
the relationship between
humans and the cosmos,
and absorbed powerful
oppositions — sun and
moon, life and death, male
and female — into the
complex symbolic forms in
her art.

21. section two
homage to frida kahlo’s casa azul

22. In the center she had an
alter filled with succulents
and cacti
dalí museum garden homage to frida

23. Our garden team
created this Monument
and its surrounding
environment in
homage to Frida
Kahlo’s Casa Azul
garden
homage

24. Their design
incorporates the four
states of matter:
earth, fire, water, air
states of matter

25. The Four States of Matter: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire
Our tribute to Frida Kahlo unifies a sense of mythology and tradition often
found in both her work and Dalí’s work. Though both artist were ultra-local
and from different parts of the world (Old World/New World), they shared a
strong traditional connection with their land.
Earth, air, fire, and water are all recognized in this tribute.
earth, water, air, fire

26. Earth is the most broad
category, encompassing
plants, succulents, and
even Dalí’s ants
earth

27. In addition to the plants,
the earth is also
symbolized by terracotta
pots
earth

28. Water is symbolic of
purification, fertility and
nourishment.
water

29. Air is the conjoining force
that enables the flame to
dance, the water to run,
and the earth to cultivate.
Many of these cacti and
succulents get their
moisture from the air.
air

30. Fire is used to burn fields
to purify.
It is a symbol of rebirth.
fire

31. Our pyramid features
burning lanterns.
fire

32. Desert Cassia is placed at the top of the monument

33. succulents and cacti
Succulents and
cactuses adorn
the Monument
and it’s
surrounding area

35. section three
from frida’s garden to dalí’s garden

36. Frida’s garden was
designed with great
artistry, but her depiction
of the plants in her art was
approached more with the
eye of a botanist.
Her drawings of plants
were exacting and
anatomical
frida’s plants

37. Frida Kahlo: Portrait of
Luther Burbank, 1932
Hybridist; circle of Life
Philodendron
Citrus trees

38. agave
organ pipe cactus
bougainvillea
canna lily
Mexican cypress
old man cactus
oleander
orange
pomegranite
quince
rose
scented-leafed geranium
yam
yucca
plants found in frida’s garden

39. beloperone guttata (shrimp plant)

40. bougainvillea

41. cephalocereus senilis (old man
cactus)

42. agave

43. sansevieria trifasciata
(Viper's bowstring hemp)

44. section four
frida’s flowers in the west garden

46. frida’s flowers

47. Flowered
Braided
Ribboned
Frida’s hair style
suggests both feminine
religious figures, but
also symbolizes of
fertility and fecundity
flower hair style

48. 1890 portrait of Frida’s
maternal family
dressed in the Tehuana
tradition, which also
featured headpieces
made with pleats and
flowers and ribbons.
The photograph shows
that this Tehuana
legacy existed for
Kahlo’s family before
meeting Diego.
tehuana style

49. By adorning her hair,
Frida invites us to
concentrate on her
face and torso,
distracting us from her
legs
flower hair style

50. Diego Rivera Dream of
a Sunday Afternoon in
the Alameda Central,
1946.
She was originally
created by originally
created by Jose
Guadalupe Posada in
1910, and he is the
gentleman on the right.
la calavera catrina

51. Often wearing flowers and
using them in her paintings
as a celebration of her
national heritage, their
symbolism of fertility and
fecundity was also pertinent
to Kahlo who was unable to
have children herself as a
result of the accident in her
teenage years.
poinsettia

52. "I paint flowers so they
will not die."
- Frida Kahlo

53. Long before it became
poinsettia, or Euphorbia
pulcherrima, the plant
with flaming red foliage
was called cuetlaxochitl
by the Aztecs. This is
Mexico’s plant.
The flowers in Frida’s
hair are Poinsettias.
poinsettia

54. It derives its common
English name from Joel
Roberts Poinsett, the
first United States
Minister to Mexico,[4]
who introduced the plant
to the US in 1825.
poinsettia

55. dalhia

56. coreopsis (calliopsis, tickseed)

57. hibiscus, double rose & classical
The hibiscus was used in
many of Kahlo’s paintings.
In our Garden we have both
the double rose hibiscus,
which is present in a few of
her famous flower crowns,
and the classical Hibiscus,
which is referenced in her
1944 painting The Flower of
Life.

59. Aztec goddess of
flowers and female
sexual power, serving
as a protector of
young mothers and a
patron of pregnancy,
childbirth.
Her symbols are
flowers and feathers.
xochiquetzal

60. zinnia

61. marigold

62. gaillardia (lanceleaf blanketflower)

63. euryops (california bush daisy)

64. bougainvillea

65. "Doctor, if you let me
drink this tequila I
promise to be good at my
funeral.“
-Frida Kahlo

66. Agave Americana
used for mezcal
agave americana

67. tequila is made from blue agave

68. thank you

71. duality: dionysian vs. apollonian

72. dionysian –
"relating to the
sensual, spontaneous,
and emotional aspects
of human nature."
chaos
the irrational
dionysian

73. apollonian –
"relating to the
rational, ordered, and
self-disciplined
aspects of human
nature.”
reason
the rational
apollonian

74. dionysian
The Living Wall - an
example of chaos and
randomness
Loose
Wild

75. apollonian
The trimmed bushes
and planned landscape
of the east garden - an
example of order and
clarity
The math garden
The labyrinth
Places of contemplation

76. The garden is made up of
contrasts and dualities, like
the contrasting visions of
Dalí and Kahlo.
more dualities in the garden

77. The New World and the Old World:
There is a play between Mediterranean and
subtropical plants of Florida.
Lilies, juniper, papyrus, and thyme
from the old world grow among
wild petunia, sunshine mimosa, wild violets
and sabal palm, native to Florida.
dualities

78. dualities
Dalí spoke of the hard and the soft, and our garden varies
from hardscape to turf, from hard Italian cypress to soft fern.

79. dualities
Mediterranean vs. Tropical:
The drooping ficus strands near the old-world olive.

80. museum gardens map

81. 1. grotto
2. east garden – north end
3. frida kahlo homage
4. east garden – south end
5. west garden
tour path:
4
1
2
3
5

82. grotto & fountain of youth
wall of plants / dionysian
green initiative
east garden – north end
math garden
phi pavers (& pi pavers)
dragon, mustache, bench, bird
rock of ampurdan
frida kahlo casa azul homage
casal azul garden
four elements of nature
east garden – south end
labyrinth / apollonian
wish tree
mediterranean garden
west garden
herb garden
frida plantings
tour stops:

83. section one
grotto & fountain of youth

84. grotto + the "living wall"
grotto – "a small
picturesque cave,
especially an artificial one
in a park or garden.”
A grotto is any type of
cave that is associated
with use by humans, often
a small cave near water.

85. With our museum, the
grotto is where you leave
the familiar everyday
world and enter the world
of dalí.
Ours is filled with
cavernous shade,
fabulous plants and
pooling water.

86. Living wall of bromeliads
and epiphytes– cultivated
by Nicole Matwijczyk
Each bromeliad is like a
pixel in a crashing series
of waves.
This is a place to retreat
into the unconscious

87. plants on the living wall
An epiphyte is a plant that
harmlessly grows upon
another plant for support.

88. Bromeliad
[Aside: bromeliad are not
responsible for breeding
Zika virus mosquitos.
Actually the mosquitos in
bromeliads eat Zika
spreading mosquitos]

89. Bromeliads are a flowering
plant native to the tropics and
subtropics of America.
This species is so diverse it
ranges from desert succulents
to pine apples.
They represent the New World
aspect of the garden

90. Tillandsia in
the rock
openings

91. Tillandsia

92. fountain of youth

93. In the 16th century,
Ponce de Leon sought
the legendary
Fountain of Youth
throughout Florida,
looking to the New
World to for
replenishment.

94. Inspired by the story,
St. Pete’s great
benefactor, Edwin H.
Tomlinson, built a pier
at Demen’s Landing in
1900. At the entrance
to the pier he dug an
artesian well and
called it the Fountain
of Youth. It became a
major tourist attraction
for many years.

95. Metaphorically, Dalí parallels
Ponce de Leon. Considering
himself an explorer and a
savior of modern art, he
sought to revitalize the World
of Art by restoring art’s vigor
through his dreamlike
images and realistic
representation.

96. transition talk:
how is the garden “green”?

97. Florida native plants and Xeriscaped grounds
require minimal water
Reclaimed water used for irrigation
Shell in lieu of grass in the labyrinth
Rescued ficus trees survived Hurricane Andrew
Herbs are used in Café Gala
sustainable landscaping

98. Natural limestone boulders in lieu of
concrete walls
Cut stone benches rather than assembled
LED light fixtures
Living green walls to cool western exposure
Drip irrigation for low volume watering with
minimal evaporation
landscaping cont.

99. The snail – very destructive
The grasshopper – its only
natural predators are the
loggerhead shrike and a
baseball bat
garden menaces

100. section two
east garden – north end

101. east garden:
math garden

102. When seen from above,
the palms surrounding
the Dalí complex spiral
around the complex in
a nautilus pattern,
alluding to Fibonacci
fibonacci palms

103. In mathematics, two
quantities are in the golden
ratio if their ratio is the same
as the ratio of their sum to
the larger of the two
quantities.
Also known as the
Divine Proportion.
golden ratio

104. The golden ration is referred
to as the irrational number
phi, 1.618…
1.618…

105. Nature Morte Vivante
(Still Life-Fast Moving)
1956

106. The Golden Ratio is the
defining proportion by
which plants most
commonly grow.
Fibonacci numbers show
up in the arrangement of
petals, leaves and
seeds in plants.
golden ratio

107. As plants grow, they need to
maximize the available leaf
space to get exposure to
the sun.
This is accomplished using
the Golden Ratio.
golden ratio in nature

108. During this stop you will see
a multitude of plant life,
Mediterranean and Tropic,
the exemplify the
Fibonacci Sequence and
the golden mean.
golden ratio in nature

109. Agave
Desert Rose
Shrimp Plant
Bougainvillea, Helen Johnson
Bougainvillea, Paper Flower
Canna Lily (not a true lily)
Silver Buttonwood
Pencil Pine
Golden Dewdrop
Tasman Flax lily
Chinese banyan
Firebush
Shore Juniper
Parson's Chinese Juniper
Texas Sage or Texas Ranger
Date Palm
fractal and fibonacci plants:

110. Sunflower seeds originate
from a central point and
move readily outwards as
new seeds are formed.
sunflower

111. sunflower & phi
The optimal angular displacement for newly
formed seeds is phi.

112. sunflower & fibonacci
“Fibonacci sequence”:
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13
Fibonacci numbers can be
seen in the spirals of the
stems of palm trees, in the
spirals of the pine-cones, in
the spirals of the artichokes,
and - above all - in the
spirals of the sunflowers.

113. succulent math
Not only are
succulents and
cactuses a common
icon in Kahlo’s work,
but they also express
the Fibonacci
Sequence.

114. agave & phi

115. phi + pi
Phi and Pi are ratios
defined by a geometric
construction.
Pi is the ratio of the
circumference of a circle to
its diameter.
Phi is the ratio of the line
segments that result when a
line is divided in one very
special and unique way.

116. The golden spiral
can be found in
the central pavers
of the courtyard
pavers of phi

117. Another irrational number, Pi, can be
found in the south pavers.
The relation of the circumference to
the diameter of every circle is the
same, approximately 3.14 or as 22/7.
Pi is essential to descriptions of
motion and mechanics and has
applications in everyday life.
pavers of pi

118. east garden:
features

119. The rocks surrounding the
garden are Florida limestone
quarried at Lake
Okeechobee. They are
designed to evoke the rocky
shore of Dalí's Spanish
home.
okeechobee limestone

120. A solitary boulder of
metamorphic pigmatite was
gifted to the Museum by the
Mayor and the people of
Cadaques, Spain.
It is the centerpiece of the
East Garden.
catalan stone

121. dalí’s cap de creus
This stone represents the stony landscape seen in so many of Dalí’s work. The intense
identification that Dalí makes with the rocks of his homeland- using them as self portraits in many
works - goes beyond a mere fascination with their form. As the mayor of Cadaqués told us, we
now have the actual presence of Catalonia in our garden.

122. limestone vs. pigmatite
Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms. It
is extremely soft and will degrade over time; pegmatite is a holocrystalline, intrusive igneous rock
like granite composed of composed of quartz, feldspar and mica, and extremely hard to break.

123. dualities
Dalí spoke of the hard and the soft. Limestone is fragile and
breaks easily; pigmatite is incredibly hard and difficult to break

124. Catalonia and Florida are joined in the Avant-garden by the mined
limestone perimeter quarried from Lake Okeechobee and the shorey stone
of Dalí’s home.
catalonia and florida

125. Topiary shrub design
invoking surprise by
our groundskeeper,
Gus Vargas
garden dragon

126. Local artist Donald
Gialanella created
the 17-foot long
landmark sculpture
mustache sculpture

127. Gialanella used CorTEN steel, a special alloy that forms a thin
oxidized patina that protects the material from corrosion.
He designed around the principle of parallax, featuring a series of
parallel profile plates, so that the appearance of the sculpture
changes, based on the vantage point of the viewer.
Tampa Steel & Supply sponsored this surreal installation, as part of
its service to the Tampa Bay region, which began in 1983.
mustache sculpture

128. Created by sculptor
Kevin Brady for the
St. Pete Green
Bench competition.
Purchased and
donated to the Dalí
Museum by docent
Doug Strutz.
melting bench

129. Inspired by Northside Christian
School senior Molly Doyle
(daughter of Museum Trustee
Bob Doyle), there are eight
whimsical yellow-throated
warblers hidden in downtown
St. Pete (“Birds on Beach.”)
Buddy the Bird and his seven
family members were created
by area sculptor Donna
Gordon.
dalí bird, buddy

130. section four
east garden – south end

131. The Wish Tree,
with roots in
Hindu and
Scottish
traditions, is a
tangible
expression of all
our fond hopes

132. sansevieria trifasciata

133. The Dalí labyrinth,
inspired by the
Chartres Cathedral
labyrinth
the labyrinth

134. unicursal
A labyrinth is a type of maze, distinct from other mazes because
it is “unicursal,” consisting of a curve that is closed and can be
drawn in a single movement (no wrong turns).

135. In days of old, intellectuals
would walk the labyrinth lost
in thought assured that they
would not get lost in its
logical layout.
Because the labyrinth has no
false turns, disillusions, or
trickery, it is a perfectly
formed trail articulated to
allow reflection and clear
thinking.
apollo and the labyrinth

136. chartres labyrinth
Our maze is modelled on the Chartres Labyrinth,
Paris – no wrong turns

137. Crushed limestone leads
through the podocarpus
hedges. The path leads to the
center marked by the tallest
cypress tree on the ground.
The cypress tree is a symbol
of welcoming in
Mediterranean cultures as its
regular planning
demonstrates human intent.
center of the labyrinth

138. section five
west garden (ramp to entrance)

139. Bamboo lines the path
to section five

140. west garden:
herb +
edible garden

141. oregano (3 kinds)
chives
basil (5 kinds)
rosemary
mint (5 kinds)
papaya
onions (kill bugs!)
lettuce
beans

142. Romanesco
cauliflower from the
museum garden
fractal growth

143. Romanesco Cauliflower is the
ultimate math vegetable. Its
pattern is a natural representation
of the Fibonacci / Golden Spiral.
It has logarithmic spirals where
every quarter turn is farther from
the original by a factor of Phi - the
golden ratio.
fibonacci cauliflower

144. cabbage from the
museum garden

145. Pineapple
Part of the bromeliad
family
Indigenous to the
New World

146. Papaya

148. Dianella Tasmanica

149. Avant-garden Tour Docent Training
(featuring the Homage to Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul)

150. Poinsettia
Long before it became
poinsettia, or Euphorbia
pulcherrima, the plant
with flaming red foliage
was called cuetlaxochitl
by the Aztecs. This is
Mexico’s plant. We’re just
very fortunate that we
get to enjoy it so much.
The flowers in Frida’s hair
are safely assumed as
Poinsettias.

151. Dionysus Introduces to the Avant Garden
The entrance to the museum is made up of elements that embrace chaos and
enable the spell-binding mindset embraced in Dalí’s World. A world of refined
chaos and splendor.
This part of the Garden is a reflection of Dionysus, the Greek God of chaos and
the irrational. Dionysus guides us into a world of wonder, helping us dance with
our emotions and instincts into the dream world of Dalí.
Elements of Mythology, legend, and actual living walls welcome us into Dionysus’
irrational divine.

152. Earth Friendly Inside the Building and Out!
· We reclaim all of the condensation from our air
handlers. It is stored in a holding tank on the first floor
and then re-pumped up to the cooling towers. This is
part of our cooling process for the building. It saves us
thousands of gallons of water every year in our cooling
needs.

153. Earth Friendly Inside the Building and Out!
· Rather than using a standard large scale
commercial ice maker we use a water cooled one. This
greatly reduces the amount of heat transmitted from the
machine which in turn reduces our needs of cooling that
area. When the ice machine is through using the cold
water supplied to it that water becomes waste. We have
reclaimed that water as well to be stored in the same
holding tank as the condensate water. It is also reused in
the cooling tower.

154. Earth Friendly Inside the Building and Out!
· The hot water for all of the public restrooms is
heated with a domestic solar water heater. Reduction in
the use of electricity or natural gas to heat water.

155. Earth Friendly Inside the Building and Out!
· · We utilize building automation to control
the use of HVAC needs and lighting by way of scheduling
the reduction of lighting and heating/cooling spaces not
needing it in the unused times of the museum.

156. Earth Friendly Inside the Building and Out!
· The concrete walls are 18" thick plus a mixture of
fiberglass and sprayed foam to insulate the building from
the harsh Florida heat.

157. Earth Friendly Inside the Building and Out!
· The enigma glass is 1-1/2" thick and has UV
coatings to reduce heat transmission while still allowing
a significant amount of light to pass through.

158. Earth Friendly Inside the Building and Out!
· We use low flow flush valves and faucets in the
restrooms. Reduction of wasted water.

159. museum gardens
map

160. dalí bird, Buddy

162. Canna Lilly

163. the architecture
the herb garden
the material used to build the museum
many of the plants are upcycled
(reuse discarded material to create a product of a higher quality or
value than the original)
elements of museum sustainability

164. Sunflower

165. Sunflower

166. Succulents
Succulent: anything that can
hold water and can come back
on its own

170. Bougainvillea

171. Self Portrait with Thorn
Necklace and Hummingbird,
1940
The thorny necklace can safely be
assumed as bougainvillia. In its
mature state, bougainvillia has thorny
hard stems that could indeed cut and
adorn.

172. Frida Kahlo
Retrato de Alicia Galant
(Portrait of Alicia Galant)
1927
oil on canvas

173. Canna Lilly

174. Frida Kahlo
El difuntito Dimas Rosas,
a los 3 años de edad
(The Deceased Dimas Rosas,
3 years old)
1937
oil on composite board
Seen in his hands are Canna Lilies. Around him are
flowers you will see both at the Casa Azul
Monument and at the end of the tour- Zinnias,
Dahlias, Coreopsis, and
Chrysanthemum

175. Frida Kahlo
Retrato de Luther Burbank
1931
(Portrait of Luther Burbank
1931)
1931
pencil on paper

176. Frida Kahlo: The Dream or
Self-Portait in a Dream, 1932
_____________
• Bromileads

177. canna lilly

178. Many of the plants around
campus were used medicinally
by the Aztecs.
Fun fact!

179. There are self-sustained pineapples and native blueberry
plants scattered throughout the entrance of the museum
grounds that go unnoticed. Can you find them?
Fun fact!

180. While Apollo and Dionysus are often understood as opposing
forces, they are always seen as complementary when
referencing Nature.
The Greeks did not consider the two gods to be opposites or
rivals, for the two deities were entwined by nature.
fun fact!

181. Frida and the Golden Ratio
• Gardens are a consistent theme throughout Frida Kahlo’s work. She valued
the beauty in the possibilities of the natural world, including mathematics.
In her portrait of Alicia Galant (Retrato de Alicia Galant), 1927, Frida
intentionally uses anatomical impossibilities in favor of phi and the golden
mean.
• Notice your eyes follow the sloping of the elongated arm that brings one
from the edges of the painting, inward to the center in a spiral path.

182. agave

183. Nicole Matwijczyk
Dalí horticulturalist
Laurie Clement
Garden volunteer; former garden curator of the
Gertrude Jekyll Garden at the Glebe House Museum in
Woodbury, Connecticut
Sharon Hartley
Dali Docent; former garden docent Vizcaya, Miami
Lauren Collins
2016 Dalí intern
team of experts