Second Annual Tulip Art Festival

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What strikes you as beautiful?

"As in any love affair, after the initial coup de foudre you want to learn more about the object of your passion. The tulip does not disappoint. Its history is full of more mysteries, dramas, dilemmas, disasters and triumphs that any besotted afficionado could reasonably expect.”

- Anna Pavord, The Tulip

Yellow Tulips
Elisabeth Baechlin
acrylic on canvas 17.5" x 23.75"

TULIP TIME

above: Celebration Tulip Parade by Jill Alexander
acrylic on canvas 35.5" x 11.5"
below: gallery panorama

Tulip time has arrived, and with it, our second annual Tulip Art Festival! As gallerists we've contrived again to surround, even inundate, our world with artworks on the theme of tulips. We're still unable to invite you inside the gallery, but we are eager to share our discoveries about this amazing flower!

Flowers, all too transient like our own lives, arrive suddenly and soon depart. The "still life" is an effort to capture the fleeting, to make it immortal. Everything about flowers, and everything about their portrayal, refers implictly to time.

Between the transience of the bloom and the striving for permanence in its portrayal lies the natural and cultural history of the flower itself. In the case of the tulip, there's great cultural and historical significance which provides yet another vivid connection between the flower and the flow of time.

Ladies in White by Christiane Kingsley
oil on canvas 16" x 16"

THIS ISSUE

Central Asian Roots
The Turkish Aesthetic
Featured Artist: Zeynep Ergincan
The Tulip's Journey from Istanbul to Ottawa
The Tulip Art Festival
Spring Again in Amsterdam: A Musical Interlude

"I'm not sure if they ever asked for it, but flowers have always borne the often absurd weight of our meaning-making, so much so that I'm not prepared to say they don't ask for it. ... This stands for that: flowers by their very nature traffic in a kind of metaphor, so that even a meadow of wildflowers brims with meaning not of our making."

- Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire

Central Asian Roots

The wild ancestors of the tulip emerged in the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains, in one of the wildest and most obscure corners of central Asia, today forming the trackless frontier where China meets Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Photos: Naturetrek, and UNESCO

The wild tulip is known for its extraordinary variegation. There are a vast number of variants in the wilds of Central Asia. Tulips in nature don't breed true; to maintain a given breed, cloning via offshoots from the bulb are necessary. And even so, after many generations without reproduction by seed, the breed eventuality loses vitality. The cultivated varieties of tulips that were popular a century ago will never be seen again and those of today will vanish in the future!

The first known written references to tulips emerge from the Persian empire in the eleventh century. Paradoxically, tulips have been associated in Persian culture both with hedonistic pleasure and with martyrdom. They appear repeatedly in the hedonistic "Rubaiyat" of Omar Khaiyam, most famous for the verse about "a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou," and yet are also featured as icons of revolutionary sacrifice on Iranian coins to this day.

The Turkish Aesthetic

Medieval Ottoman tulip themed art

The cultural connections between Persia and Anatolia were close enough that the tulip was adopted by the Ottoman court whose empire emerged in the 1300s based in what is now Turkey. Turkey has identified itself closely with the tulip ever since.

"There is no doubt, however, that the tulip came into its own symbolically and horticulturally during the Ottoman period where it occupies a place of choice in every imperial garden and artistic medium. The beautiful bloom decorates Iznik ceramics, the brocaded robes of Sultan Suleiman, Levni miniatures and Ottoman-period illumination, carpets and embroidery.

"As a symbol, the tulip is rich and multi-faceted. In addition to signifying feminine beauty, perfection, paradise, the Turkish native homeland and collective cultural identity, the tulip also possessed a spiritual dimension. ... the tulip constitutes an object of spiritual meditation. Mystics also liked to state that the flower is humble because, when in bloom, it bows its head before the majesty of God."

- Valerie Behiery, Islamic Art historian

It's interesting to note that the Turkish ideal of the tulip is rather different from the European one, valuing long, narrow shapes reminiscent of elaborate headdress. Indeed our word "tulip" shares roots with the word "turban"!

To be honest, we knew nothing of this a bit over a year ago, when we hatched the plan to pull together a Tulip Art Festival. One of the artists who responded to our call for tulip art was Zeynep Ergincan, who works in ceramics very much inspired by the Iznik tradition. You can see this in her long, narrow tulip motifs. She's also in the Ottoman tradition in her love of strong, vibrant colours, especially cobalt blue and bright red, both in her ceramic work and in her acrylics.

Cobalt Tulips by Zeynep Ergincan

ceramic tile on wood 10" x 10"

Featured Artist: Zeynep Ergincan

Zeynep Ergincan poses next to a monument erected by the Embassy of Turkey near Rideau Falls. The plaque reads:

"The style of tile shown here dates back to the 16th century, and originates in the town of Iznik, a centre for ceramics in Turkey. Tiles such as these are representative of the cultural and artistic treasures of the Ottoman Empire. Tulips originated in Turkey, and were a common theme in Turkish art."

Zeynep Ergincan is originally from the Aegean town of Izmir, Turkey.

Before settling down in Ottawa, she lived in Meersburg, Germany, for two years, which influenced her by its architecture and landscape.

Zeynep is a graduate of the Ottawa School of Art, and also holds an MSc in Microbiology. She started her art career painting landscapes in watercolour but quickly switched to acrylics to obtain better contrast with complementary colours. She later added ceramics as another medium to her portfolio. She likes vivid colours, and increases their impact by using contrasts.

Zeynep joined Electric Street Gallery as a guest artist for our first Tulip Art Festival last year. Her ceramic tiles, with a folk art influence of the tulip motif from the Anatolian decorative tradition, were a favourite in the show; we then invited her to become a regular gallery artist. Her lively and cheerful compositions have been a mainstay of the gallery.

Tulips and Red Birds Turquoise Tulips
ceramic tile on wood 10"x10" ceramic tile on wood 10" x 10"

Old Village Garden
acrylic on canvas 12" x 12" acrylic on canvas 20" x 20
by Zeynep Ergincan

The joy is an absurd yellow tulip, popping up in my life, contradicting all the evidence that shows it should not be there.

― Marya Hornbacher

The Tulip's Journey from Istanbul to Ottawa

The Hapsburg ambassador to the Ottomans in the late 1550s introduced the tulip to Europe and then to the Netherlands by Carolus Clausius. Tulips were an astonishing success in Holland, of course!

By the time the dark days of the mid-twentieth century descended upon the Netherlands, though, tulips had ceased to be an extravagance, and instead became the colourful commodity that the Dutch export in vast quantities.

The way Ottawa became associated with the tulip is well-known locally. For those of you unfamiliar with this story, it suffices to quote Wikipedia:

In 1945, the Dutch royal family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa in gratitude for Canadians having sheltered the future Queen Juliana and her family for the preceding three years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in the Second World War. The most noteworthy event during their time in Canada was the birth in 1943 of Princess Margriet at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. The maternity ward was temporarily declared to be extraterritorial by the Canadian government, thereby allowing Princess Margriet's citizenship to be solely influenced by her mother's Dutch citizenship. In 1946, Juliana sent another 20,500 bulbs requesting that a display be created for the hospital, and promised to send 10,000 more bulbs each year.

In the years following Queen Juliana's original donation, Ottawa became famous for its tulips and in 1953 the Ottawa Board of Trade and photographer Malak Karsh organized the first "Canadian Tulip Festival".

Ribbons of Tulips at Dow's Lake by Elizabeth Mitchell
acrylic on canvas, 16" x 12"

Here are the tulips,
budded and full-blown,
their swoops and dips, their gloss and poses,
the satin of their darks.

― Margaret Atwood

The Tulip Art Festival

Our west window shows just a sample of our many tulip themed artworks!

This year we have collected an impressive tulip collection, more than fits in the windows! We're especially impressed by the contributions of Jill Alexander, new to the gallery, who's had tulips as a primary motif in her art for years! Some of our regulars have risen to the occasion, and we've met a number of other fine artists. We'd also like to make special mention of Lynda Turner, who has an amazing colour sense.

You can expect new and exciting tulip themed art in the windows every week this month!

Last Stand by Lynda Turner

acrylic on canvas 12" x 12"

“Then I've been drunk, too," admitted Francie.
"On beer?"
"No. Last spring, in McCarren's Park, I saw a tulip for the first time in my life.”

― Betty Smith, in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Spring Again in Amsterdam:
A Musical Interlude

Tulip Triptych by Elizabeth Arbuckle. Each piece is 24" x 36", acrylic on canvas.

When it's Spring Again Pink Blush Spring Sunshine

Yet another way to connect tulips and time is through melody and rhythm.

One of Elisabeth Arbuckle's three large tulip pieces is entitled "When it's Spring Again." The title refers to a lyric in "Tulips from Amsterdam," a song best known in the Max Bygraves version. When Elizabeth brought these pieces in she was happily singing the song!

There aren’t a lot of great songs about tulips but we’ve found a few that you may find entertaining:

A rousing country number by Jenny Tolman: Tulips

An indie ballad by Fiona Apple : Valentine (Tulip in a Cup)

Old timey swing with the Andrews Sisters: Tu-li Tulip Time

And a contemplative jazz composition by cellist Mareks Radzēvičs: Tulip Song

We have yet more to say about tulips and tulip art! Watch for our next edition!

Meanwhile, hang in there and remember that better times are coming!

Come and visit, even at a distance!

Destinations are hard to come by these days, but our display windows are at your service. Break out of your routines and come visit!

We're located just off the Rideau Pathway, so wander by on your urban hike, visit the geese, take in the spring scenery, and stop by Rideau Falls and look for the Turkish art monument! Then come by and have a peek at our display windows while you're in the neighbourhood!

You can also enjoy the tulip art on our website! We have over 60 works by over 20 artists!

While the lockdown goes on, if you’re interested in a piece we have in stock, let us know, and we can put it in the window to allow closer inspection. During the lockdown, delivery within the Ottawa city limits is free!

We and our artists greatly appreciate your support
of local galleries and local artists!

galerie electric street gallery