Anna Schuleit’s Flower Art in “Mass Mental”

Bloom: 28,000 Potted Flowers Installed at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center

From Colossal March 2012: “In 2003 a building housing the Massachusetts Mental Health Center (MMHC) was slated for demolition to make way for updated facilities. The closure was a time for reflection and remembrance as the MMHC had been in operation for over 9 decades and had touched countless thousands of patients and employees alike, and the pending demolition presented a unique problem. How does one memorialize a building impossibly rich with a history of both hope and sadness, and do it in a way that reflects not only the past but also the future? And could this memorial be open to the public, not as a speech, or series of informational plaques, but as an experience worthy of they building’s unique story?” … click for rest of story

Artist Marks End of “Mass Mental” With Flowers

Massachusetts Mental Health Center experienced some life, at least toward its end in 2003. The 91-year-old “Mass Mental” as it was called (previously known as the Boston Psychopathic Hospital) was shutting its doors. Arist Anna Schuleit created an art installation she named “Bloom.” For three days in November, 2003, she placed carpets covering 18,000 square feet of halls, stairs, offices, pool, etc. Here’s an article about it. The article says this was a “commemoration.” Given the human rights abuses at Mass. Mental we’re aware of there, perhaps it can also be thought of as a memorial. (Thanks to Sarah Oaks for surfacing this art event.)