"Witches Cauldron" by Eric Rennie

“A flower blossoms for its own joy,” Oscar Wilde once wrote. This remark came in a letter in which Wilde argued that art exists for its own sake and for no other purpose. “A work of art is useless as a flower is useless.” In suggesting that flowers blossom for the sheer joy of it, Wilde might fairly be accused on falling prey to the “pathetic fallacy,” that is, ascribing human emotions to plants, animals or inanimate objects. It is, of course, humans who find joy in the blossoming of a flower — not the least photographers like me who try to capture their beauty in useless works of art meant to bring some small measure of joy to others. 

My image, "Witches Cauldron," is appearing in two juried exhibitions this month. The first opens today at the Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, located on the eastern shore of Maryland. Entitled "Shine: Catching the Light," the show runs until August 9. The second show is called "Bloom" and opens June 25 at the Midwest Center for Photography in Wichita, KS.