How does the perception of Florida coexist with the complex reality?

How do Floridians see their state, as compared with how it is viewed by outsiders?

What happens if accomplished visual artists are asked to help answer these questions?


The first question is almost 500 years old. On April 2, 1513, Ponce de Leon landed on these shores, naming it La Florida inspired as he was by the florid landscape and/or that he had arrived during the Easter season, which the Spanish called Pascua Florida (Festival of Flowers). His hope might have been that this was indeed a paradise of flowers, and even a place where he would find the restorative waters of a fountain of youth. Instead, here he would find death, brought on by a native’s arrow, its tip dipped in the poisonous sap of the indigenous manicheel tree.

Fortunately, contemplating the perception of Florida versus its reality is generally not a matter of life or death. And where Ponce de Leon was working from the proverbial “blank slate”, here in the 21st century, images and messages that attempt to define or alter our understanding of this place have already infiltrated our consciousness. Consequently, when you think of Florida, do you think of space shuttles, or Disney World, or sandy beaches, or Tim Tebow, or perhaps navel oranges?

Of course the reality of Florida is much more complex than its common iconography. Similarly, any one individual’s perception of a subject as large and diverse as an entire state is different than another’s, especially if one is from here, and the other is just visiting.

This then, is the premise and the idea that lead to this exhibition. The Museum sent out an open call to artists, asking them to submit proposals for artwork that represented their own vision of Florida by “reconstituting existing ideas, or making fresh-squeezed interpretations” of the state. Eight Florida artists were selected to provide insiders’ views, and eight artists from out of state were selected to provide outsiders’ perspectives (flip up labels in the galleries give you the opportunity to see if you can identify the bona fide Florida artists, based on the content of the work).

So let the tour begin. Take a trip around Florida, inside the Brevard Art Museum. Sunglasses and sun-tan lotion won’t be necessary. But an open mind and an appreciation of how art and artists provide idiosyncratic insights into our lives and our surroundings will ensure a smooth journey.

This exhibition is sponsored in part by the
State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council,
and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Brevard Art Museum | 1463 Highland Avenue | Melbourne, FL 32935
321.242.0737