Reflection Art Starts With Bert

Not just because today is 12-12-12, but here is how far you can take the word "reflections" when it applies to the launch of a cruise ship of that name:

Bert Rodriguez, meet Bert Rodriguez.

The "real" Bert is the man who designed the signature work of art on the Celebrity Reflection. It's a tree in the ship's atrium and its roots are "reflected" in steel, although there's also some fiberglass and paint with LED lights involved. The whole motif for commissioning the ship's artwork was that it should reflect the name of the ship.

Mirror images, as it were. Or as they say in the artistic world: "The Seductiveness of a Reflection."

For the most part, to these uneducated eyes it works. The Reflection Collection is at least eye-catching and at best overwhelming. Including suites and staterooms, there are 6,059 pieces altogether, 491 of them in corridors and 422 in public places.

About 75 per cent of the total is hung or displayed in the state rooms.

Celebrity has invested $60 million in artwork for its ships, so this is clearly not a small-ticket item. They represent the works of 97 artists from 25 countries and there's barely a place on the ship that you won't see one of their works.

As for the two Berts, they spoke to a huge group imported from a Miami art show called Art Basel, that just happened to be in town on the same day as the Reflection. They spoke as one, or as if they were both the real Bert, describing their artistic philosophies and works. The shtick may have gone a little long, but it was a clever intro to what for non art aficionados can be a dry subject.

The real Bert?

He's the short guy, on the left.


Sapphire Princess
14 nights
February 13, 2013
Los Angeles (return): Honolulu, Lahaina, Nawilili, Hilo, Ensenada
Inside: $999
Cost per day: $71
www.princess.com