Boston Flora

Tag: Context Learning

  • Monday, May 8, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Eastern – Japanese Zen Rock Gardens: Philosophy, History and Design, Online

    The great Zen priest and garden designer Musō Soseki (1275-1351) once wrote that “He who distinguishes between the garden and [Zen] practice cannot be said to have found the Way.” This tour opens a path toward a fuller understanding of these enigmatic gardens, their history, design principles, and their most iconic examples, from medieval to contemporary times.

    There are probably no more enigmatic gardens in the world than the Japanese Zen rock garden. Called “dry landscape” (karesansui) gardens in Japanese, our first encounters with these fields of stone, raked gravel, and flecks of moss may leave us wondering what they mean, who made them, and why, and how we are supposed to interpret them. Diving deep into examples spanning from the medieval past to the twenty-first century, we gain a richer appreciation of these remarkable works of garden art.

    We begin with a close inspection of the earliest masterpieces that set the standard for centuries: Saihōji and Ryōanji. We explore their antecedents in Shinto and Chinese gardens, and Daoism and Zen philosophy, before turning to examine how these two iconic gardens have evolved over time. With these as precedent, we examine several additional iconic rock gardens to see how subtle shifts of design yielded strikingly different results. Finally, we turn towards designers eager to infuse the form with new energy, from the masterpiece Mirei Shigemori (1896-1975) created at Tōfukuji in 1939, to the stunning designs by the contemporary Zen priest and garden designer Shunmyo Masuno (1953-).

    Led by an expert on Japanese history, Gavin James Campbell, this interactive seminar will explore the philosophy, history, and design of the Japanese Zen rock garden. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with the tools necessary to more fully enjoy these stirring gardens. Gavin received a Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and came to Kyoto in 2001. He is a Ph.D. professor of history at Doshisha University. His teaching and research revolve around Japan’s cultural encounters with the West, particularly during the Edo, Meiji, Taisho and early Showa periods (1600-1940), and he has published on the history of foreign tourism and of Protestant missionaries in Japan. To further explore Japan’s global cultural encounters, he is currently writing a book on the history of Japanese menswear from the 1600s through the early 20th century. He is also an expert on Kyoto geisha culture and a frequent participant in geisha entertainment.

    The Context Learning online seminar takes place November 7 at 7 pm, with a fee of $26.50. If you can’t make this date, a recording link will be sent to registrants following the seminar. Register at www.contextlearning.com

  • Sunday, March 27, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – The Gardens of Versailles with Marie Dessaillen, Online

    Ordering the construction of a 2,000 acre garden to woo his beloved Louise de La Vallière might seem a bit over the top. But that was Louis XIV, the Sun King, Louis the Great. He used art and distractions to showcase his glory and consolidate his absolutist power, and the gardens of Versailles exemplify that to perfection. He created a fairytale garden from an unsanitary swamp and former hunting lodge of his father. Versailles garden was the house of gods and goddesses, and its castle became the capital of France from 1682 to 1789.

    This March 27 Context Travel online Conversation will explore the history of this masterpiece by André Le Notre. We’ll discuss everything from the technical difficulties in shaping the ground symetrically to transporting (and pressurizing) the water for the 55 fountains. We’ll learn about the architect of the castle, Louis Le Vau, and the optical illusions he created. We will also explore the iconography of the statues to understand the not-so-hidden meaning of Versailles: a French garden charged with political discourse.

    Versailles was the gilded cage of an aristocracy prone to rebel: the gardens provided entertainment, parties, firework displays, as well as a way for this iron-willed king to control his possible enemies. European kings and princes tried their best to emulate this model, yet never quite succeeded. We’ll discuss examples beyond the gates of the “little” park as we tantalize over a series of palaces with their gardens, some in the French style, some in the English manner, with the gem that is the charming hamlet of Queen Marie-Antoinette.

    Led by an expert on XVIIth century French history and art history, Marie Dessaillen, this interactive seminar will deepen our understanding of the wonders of a garden that never fails to impress its 8 million yearly visitors. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased knowledge of aristocratic French society in the XVIIth century. We’ll also learn how this garden was filled with a deep meaning and intention at the time of its creation. $36.50. Register at www.contextlearning.com

  • Sunday, March 20, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Monet’s Garden in Giverny with Marie Dessaillen, Online

    Join Context Learning and Marie Dessaillen online on March 20 to discover one of the most fascinating and original gardens of France, created by Claude Monet and the inspiration for his last series of paintings, the Water Lilies.

    Claude Monet is one, if not the most famous of the impressionist painters. But he was also a fantastic gardener, who could not move into a new house without spending hours with his shovel planting colorful flowers. His last house happened to be in a little village of Normandy called Giverny, an hour away from Paris. There, he spent the last 43 years of his life, surrounded by his family, trying to keep his fans at bay, working on his two gardens and his series of paintings. This is where the Haystacks and the Poplars were painted. But the series that fascinated him the longest was the Water Lily paintings.

    Monet was passionate about Japanese engravings, which he started collecting in his thirties. The Japanese gardens, as he saw them in those images, spoke of poetry that touched him. He wanted to paint his own take on them but could not find in France a similar landscape. But Monet always painted “en plein air”, to recreate perfectly the changing of light and colors. When he finally reached commercial success, he bought some land on the other side of the train tracks at the end of his flower garden, and slowly turned it into what he imagined a Japanese garden must look like. A large pond, a little bridge, some weeping willows, and water lilies. It was his private space. And he spent the rest of his life painting it.

    Led by art historian Marie Dessaillen, this interactive discussion will show how this constant immersion in his garden led Monet to his most modern paintings. We will focus on the evolution of the series, the influence of Japan in the perspective as well as the subject, and how Monet donated his last work to the French State for a new museum dedicated to his Water Lilies, to ensure that the visitors would appreciate all the optical effects of his paintings. $36.50. Register at www.contextlearning.com

  • Sunday, January 23, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Rivers of Paradise: Water in Islamic Culture and Architecture, Online

    Context Learning’s January 23 conversation focuses on water and its multiple roles in Arab-Islamic culture. Its prismatic nature allows a transversal intersection of art, architecture, landscape, technology, science, literature, jurisprudence, or religion. Within the context of Arab-Islamic civilization and the framework of the heritage and legacy of al-Andalus (the medieval Islamic Iberian Peninsula), this seminar will examine the dialogical relations between water and the architectonic space.


    Flowing water has always been a critical component of Islamic ceremony and architectural design, filled with inspirational symbolism and practical use. Within its functional role, it reminds us of the arid lands of the Arab-Islamic world. The gentle ebb and flow of water also convey aesthetic, decorative, and symbolic ideals–which will define and model the Islamic architectonic space and transform its world. Paradise Gardens are just one of the most visible examples of that close relationship. Water models and changes how we live and understand the world around us, becoming a crucial element in the design, construction, and enjoyment of space.

    Led by an expert on Architecture and Art History, Tiago Miranda Neiva, this interactive seminar will explore the multiple roles of Water in Islamic Culture, the main concepts of Islamic architecture, and finally, the impact of those water references on contemporary Islamic architecture. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with a better understanding of Islamic architecture and the use of water to maintain, transform, or modify its forms, contents, and meanings.

    Tiago Miranda Neiva was born and raised in Lisbon. He studied architecture in Rome and worked later in distinct offices in Portugal and Spain. For several years he was Professor of Arts and Art History, having a Master’s degree in Teaching of Visual Arts. He is currently working towards a PhD focused on the Art and Architecture of al-Andalus: the confluence between the Arab, Jewish and Christian medieval world. In recent years he has been working as a tour guide in his hometown, seeking to show and reveal its most intimate secrets through an authentic and passionate local vision. $36.50. The lecture will take place online and a recorded version will be available for a week following that date should you miss all or part of the presentation. Register at www.contextlearning.com

  • Sunday, November 21, 3:00 pm – A Special Discussion of The Garden Book, Online

    Join Dr. Toby Musgrave for an exclusive conversation in which he will present and discuss a comprehensive medley of elements and styles featured in his latest publication The Garden Book. A beautifully illustrated A-to-Z who’s who of the world’s finest garden-makers, planters, horticulturists, and their signature works from throughout history, spanning all styles and continents, this international bestseller has been fully revised and updated for a modern, global readership. From the first religious gardens to Dan Pearson’s heavenly Tokachi garden in Japan today, each entry illustrates a key work by the designer, describes the garden, and evokes the unique spirit and ethos of their work. Images span four millennia, from ancient Persian gardens to the naturalistic designs of today, with landscapes from Chanticleer to Central Park, Sissinghurst to Versailles, showcasing the biggest names and rising stars of contemporary garden design alongside iconic figures of the past, including Capability Brown, Andrea Cochran, Antoni Gaudí, Dan Hinkley, Gertrude Jekyll, Christopher Lloyd, Cornelia Oberlander, Charles Platt, Carlo Scarpa, Piet Oudolf and more. 

    Dr. Musgrave’s book is an essential reference for today’s gardeners, offering infinite inspiration to create their own signature spaces, whatever their landscape. An exquisite gift and invaluable and authoritative reference for gardeners and garden lovers alike, offering lasting appeal to garden designers, students of garden design, amateur gardeners, and garden historians. 

    This is a special event presented by Context Learning in partnership with Phaidon Press. Every ticket purchase includes an autographed copy of Dr. Toby Musgrave’s Fall 2021 revised and updated edition of The Garden Book, at 20% off of retail price, for Context customers only**  Please Note: Your special edition of The Garden Book will be shipped after this event and delivered within 14 days. Please provide a shipping address and phone number (required for delivery) at checkout. 

    $84.50. Register at https://www.contextlearning.com/collections/seminars/products/garden-book-online-course