Textile Exhibits, The British Quilt, 1700 - 2010 and Japanese Sashiko Textiles
London's V&A is presenting its first quilt exhibit with earliest examples that include a "sumptuous silk and velvet bedcover, with an oral narrative that links it to King Charles II's visit to an Exeter manor house in the late 17th century... On loan from the National Gallery of Australia will be the Rajah quilt, made in 1841 by women convicts aboard the HMS Rajah as they were being transported to Van Diemen's Land (present day Tasmania).
Glimpses into the exhibit are to be read at the Quilts Hidden Histories blog by Sue Pritchard, such as this recent entry:
"Today we started lighting the first section ‘The Domestic Landscape’ — we killed the top lights and Jo Budd’s diptych was bathed in soft light, accentuating the stitches and ripples, the shadows and softly curvaceous contours of ‘Female/Summer’. In ‘Virtue and Virtuosity’, Dinah Prentice was installing ‘Billowing Maenads’, seductively draping and illuminated against the peachy tones of the walls. We have won over the lighting engineers who want to know more about the Mary Parker quilt made from silk ribbons from the 1720-40s. Caren Garfen’s ‘How many times do I have to repeat myself’ reclines enticingly upon its bed, eagerly awaiting the installation of the Brayley and tailors’ quilts next week. "
Another textile exhibit took place in the British city of York, Japanese Sashiko Textiles:
"Until the mid twentieth century it was the traditional method of making work wear in fishing and farming areas throughout Japan. The makers were the cornerstones of communities but their lives passed unrecorded. The historical work in this exhibition dating from the nineteenth to mid twentieth century documents these women’s achievements, perseverance and hardships."
Read More...Making Movies: Brutal killings are not to be presented in detail and revenge in modern times must not be justified.
The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, is hosting an exhibit, Making Movies.
The exhibition is organized into two sections, the first of which explores the responsibilities of the director, producer, screenwriter, production designer, art director, actor, costume designer, hair and makeup artist, cinematographer, special effects designer, editor and music composer. In the second section, the original scripts of iconic scenes from about 10 motion pictures will be displayed alongside production materials for that scene — stills, memos, call sheets, production reports, storyboards, research material, production photos-and digital clips of the filmed scene to give visitors to a clear impression of the number of individuals it takes to realize a few seconds of performance history.
One of the research materials used in the exhibit is the censorship code, A Code to Govern the Making of Motion and Talking Pictures, imposed on the films beginning in the late '20s:
Murder
a. The technique of murder must be presented in a way that does not inspire imitation.
b. Brutal killings are not to be presented in detail.
c. Revenge in modern times must not be justified.
Methods of Crime Must Not Be Explicitly Presented
a. Theft, robbery, safe-cracking, dynamiting of trains, mines, buildings, etc., should not be detailed in method.
b. Arson must be subject to the same safeguards.
c. The use of firearms should be restricted to essentials.
d. Methods of smuggling should not be presented.
Illegal Drug Traffic Must Never be Presented
The Use of Liquor in American Life, when not required by the plot or for proper characterization will not be shown.
Among the exhibition's highlights will be a selection of important screenplays, from The Misfits to North by Northwest, Lord of the Flies and Shakespeare in Love. The exhibition will also feature correspondence, construction drawings and storyboards from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Top Gun, Spellbound, Black Narcissus and others, as well as costumes from Gone With The Wind, An Affair to Remember, Taxi Driver and Casino.
Some of the accessible features are:
The Financial Effects of Ingrid Bergman's Beauty:
Read More...CBS's New Reality Show, Undercover Boss, and An Original, Jack Coleman
The new CBS reality show, Undercover Boss brings back memories of a college President who, while on leave in 1977, took a job, not on Haverford's College's campus, but as as a garbageman or as it's termed today, a waste collector.
Coleman's background didn't presage this experiment, as People Magazine outlines his background when introducing his story: "John Royston Coleman, 55, is a Ph.D. in economics, an ex-lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Navy and a former executive of the Ford Foundation. He is also chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank."
His job-switch wasn't the only innovative decision in his career at Haverford:
"As the ’60s ended, Haverford students did express a favorable opinion of 'co-education' in the form of a student exchange with other women’s colleges. Sixteen women from Smith, Vassar and Sarah Lawrence arrived in the fall of 1969; of those, six loved the College so much they petitioned then-president Jack Coleman to let them remain after their exchange year had ended. They went on to earn bachelor’s degrees in 1972."
"These events prompted Coleman — a strong advocate of co-education — to appoint a Commission on Women, headed by Dean of Admissions Bill Ambler, to once again explore the idea; in a 50-page report, the commission concluded that the admission of women would “enhance the possibilities” of Haverford’s realizing “its educational goals.” However, the Board rejected full co-education in 1974, instead opting to strengthen Haverford’s relationship with Bryn Mawr by allowing students to live, major, and take classes at either school."
Since those events, Mr. Coleman, who admits he's rarely stayed at the same job for more than 10 years, has been an innkeeper and newspaper owner in New England.
But back to the new CBS show: "Each week a different executive will leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their company. While working alongside their employees, they will see the effects their decisions have on others, where the problems lie within their organization and get an up-close look at both the good and the bad while discovering the unsung heroes who make their company run."
Read More...Goosed
Julia Sneden's writes: My husband's Christmas is informed by a heavy dose of Dickens and merrie olde England. It’s not enough to watch every version of A Christmas Carol; he sings along both with Advent hymns on a Canterbury Cathedral Choir CD and The Boar’s Head in Latin as I carry in the roast. He reads Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales aloud on Christmas Eve and puts Christmas crackers at each place while reminding us of Boxing Day.
Read More...