Here’s another allium, this one from my pics of The High Line. These look a lot like fireworks, another joyful thing, in the way they burst open from a central point. I’ve been thinking a lot about joyful movements lately, and I think this idea of “bursting” is a particularly joyful one.

Think about all the things that burst. Fireworks, of course, burst. Seedpods burst when they’re ready to cover the world with new plant life. Water breaks, or bursts, as a signal that a baby is ready to be born. Jack-in-the-boxes burst from their lidded confines. We say our hearts are “bursting with happiness,” that we have a “burst of energy,” and we burst into laughter or song.

Of course, bursting can also be negative. Bombs burst, and so do bubbles. But designed in the right way, with color cues or other joyful aesthetics, bursting movements can trigger a powerfully joyful response from an object.