Shakespeare’s Pistil

Artist: Sparky

**Due to life, this project did not appear at Flipside 2018 but look for it at Flipside 2019!

Description:

Why Shakespeare?

Most academic studies in literature include at least one play by Shakespeare and dark and light symbolism abound in many of his works. In “Macbeth,” darkness is used a number of times to symbolize death. The famous line, “Out, out brief candle,” refers to Lady Macbeth’s suicide. Banquo’s torch is extinguished at the moment of his death. In “Romeo and Juliet,” light is used to show Juliet’s beauty and her dazzling influence on Romeo. When Romeo first sees Juliet, he says, “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!” (Act I, scene 5, line 45) Even when she dies, her brightness endures. When Romeo finds her in the tomb, he says, “A grave? O, no, a lantern, slaughtered youth, For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes This vault a feasting presence full of light ” (Act V, scene 3. lines 84-86)

Why the Pistil?

pistil (plural pistils)

(botany) A discrete organ in the center of a flower capable of receiving pollen and producing a fruit, it is divided into an ovary, style and stigma. [from 18th c.]

Some flowers, such as the sweet pea, have one simple pistil, while others, including larkspur, have more than five pistils. Flower pistils consist of three parts: the ovary, the style and the stigma. The Shakespeare’s Pistil has 20 pistils representing our 20th anniversary. The pollen (propane) brings us life and energy through the pistil completing the pollination process.

Function

The pistil typically sticks out beyond the stamens, or a flower’s male organs, so that insects can easily brush up against the pistil. This helps transfer pollen and fertilize the seeds in the ovaries.

Ovaries – Accumulator Tanks

Ovaries are large, bulbous structures located at the base of the pistil. An ovary holds the undeveloped seeds, called ovules, which are awaiting pollination.

Stigma – Stainless Steel High Temperature Heads

The stigma is located at the very top of the pistil, and is often found on the tip of the style. The stigma is sticky in order to receive pollen grains.

Style – Steel Pipe Sculpture

The style is a long, thin tube that connects the stigma to the ovary so it can receive the pollen grains collected by the stigma.

Receptacle – Base and Gas Distribution Center

The Receptacle or torus (an older term is thalamus, as in Thalamiflorae) is the thickened part of a stem (pedicel) from which the flower organs grow.

Pollinator (Bee) – Control and Safety Box

Somewhere between 75% and 95% of all flowering plants on the earth need help with pollination – they need pollinators. That means that 1 out of every three bites of food you eat is there because of pollinators. In addition to the food that we eat, pollinators support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soils, etc.

Does the piece incorporate flame effects, moveable pieces, and/or is it climbable? Yes

Post Event the artists may give a workshop to the Flipcitizens. We might expect to see a workshop on:

I will conduct a Artist Capacity workshop detailing the management needs of large scale projects: Financial Planning, Volunteer Recruitment/Retention, Resource Procurement, and Creative/Artistic Development.

*Ignition Philter note that he did have the prettiest project chart in the bunch.