Becoming Being Passing

Tulips have been a source of fascination for centuries and lovers of this almost mythical flower will certainly appreciate this elegant volume even though it does not follow the typical flower book formula. German photographer Sabine Pankert has turned her lens on a single bunch of white tulips, documenting the changes that result from life’s design.

The book begins with a poem by Hermann Hesse that sets the stage for the twenty-eight vivid color photographs that follow. Hesse’s poem encourages the reader to be prepared for, and to accept, the end of one’s life. Pankert’s photographs celebrate the simple poetry of life by tracing a tulip plant’s soft budding beginnings, sumptuous twisting green youth, exploding white petalled and yellow stamened prime, and earth toned denouement. The poetry of this metaphor of life is enriched by the beauty of the tulip. The book itself is beautifully produced, an objet d’art with special paper, Japanese binding, and an oversize format. Changing color on every page, Becoming Being Passing is a decorative object that is like a painting one can leaf through.