Storied Past.

I wonder what the cultural context of this ubiquitous shirt could be. What was happening when this was a hot item for a diverse clientele? What does it mean, this lo-fi Paintbrush Heaven with its emphatic underline? When I see it on Divine I think it refers to the connection between placement (bust) and description (amazing). However, I don't get the same idea from Sharon Stone's sweatshirt turtleneck version. 

I got mine in Philadelphia at a thrift shop on South Street about six years ago. I liked it mostly because of the 80's style and the Floridian hues (which is where I'm sporting it in the above snap). But I want to know: who wore it before me? Where? Why were they drawn to it? So many questions.

My interest in thrifting (really, treasure hunting), vintage, and recycled clothing is renewed thanks to my super fun job as costume dame extraordinaire. I love imagining the adventures these cast-offs might have had. If they had none, now is the time. Somerville has a treasure filled Goodwill, in Cambridge, the awesome resource the Garment District and of course, of course: Savers in Roxbury. Maybe the end all in pleasant, organized thrifting. These three are especially rich in well made, preppy New England looks, currently my very favorite look. If you want to absolute best though, in New England prep and Americana, then you MUST get to Bobby From Boston. This place is incredible. Without a doubt the best store, of any kind, in Boston or Cambridge. Check out this documentary on Bobby and his shop. There are some fantastic shots of the space while Bobby discusses the feeling that I share on treasure hunting. It really is the best feeling ever. 

I'm building my Northeast/Mediterranean wardrobe before departing New England and America. Right now I'm after some good boat shoes and smart, summery, slightly sheer button up shirts. For days on the yacht, you know! oooo Greece! I'm taking my new old clothes with me on a terrific voyage.

Our Yacht, Galileo, sailing through the Cyclades.

Get excited perfect and beautiful striped shirt made in Italy found languishing at the Goodwill.
Soon you'll be sunbathing on this deck. 

Stopping in Delos: The Terrace of the Lions, 600 BCE, where I'll be wearing you, fetching white linen dress with bronze details and pockets! from the Garment District.

I'm pretty aggressive when thrifting which is probably one of the reasons I like doing it so much. The hunt! Once in high school I stalked someone through the Salvation Army for hours after I spotted a gold leather skirt in her arms. Anyway there was no way that girl could work the skirt as well as I could and so it was mine! No, I didn't knock her over the head and run off. I simply waited for her to try it on and realize what I already knew. It was meant for someone else. Me. I loved it and took it on many adventures (ok, at least all over Watertown). I've since put it back into the donation bin. Where is it now? Maybe it'll resurface one day, a relic in some thrift shop. I'd buy it again.

The List Piles.

I'm still thinking of Italy and Greece and all of the goodies I'll get to see. This month is dedicated to the Renaissance so I'm really getting to (re)learn all about these gems in advance. 

*It's been a long time since I took classes on the Rinascimento.

San Lorenzo (with projected facade), Florence.

Mocking of Christ, Fra Angelico, 1438, San Marco Monastery, Florence, fresco.

Of course, the Renaissance is not complete without the Greco-Roman world!

Nike, 410 BCE, Acropolis Museum, Athens.

Arch of Titus, Rome.

Constantine, Vatican Museum, Rome. 

Other things I'm excited about!

San Clemente, 1120, Rome.

St. Mark's, 13th c., Venice.

Rape of Proserpina, Bernini, 1621, Rome.
Really looking forward to seeing this. 

 Primavera (detail), Botticelli, tempera, 1480. Uffizi, Florence.
Neoplatonism!!

Daphni Crucifixion, 11th c., Daphni Monastery, Athens.
Monophysitism? Two streams? So many questions.

Pantocrator, 11th c., Daphni Monastery, Athens.

I never really studied Botticelli before having to teach it this week. I had no interest in knowing more about his paintings, despite their obvious beauty, mostly because his are some of the few Renaissance paintings that are constantly reproduced (and drained of their meaning). I am happy to say that I have finally become acquainted with both The Birth of Venus and Primavera and I love them. They are even more beautiful now. I can't wait, CANNOT WAIT, to see them together. That blue behind the personification of spring is stunning and gives me a weird feeling that I like. Also, I realized that I will be able to see the above mosaics in Athens. Oh!

ITALY...GREECE...Only In My Dreams, But Not For Long.

Finally, finally after all these years of learning and looking from afar:

I'M GOING TO SEE IT ALL. 

RENAISSANCE: Masaccio's Trinity, 1427, Sta Maria Novella, Florence.

RENAISSANCE: Masaccio's Expulsion, 1426, Brancacci Chapel, Sta Maria del Carmine, Florence.

PROTO-RENAISSANCE! Giotto, Virgin and Child Enthroned, 14th c., The Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

BRONZE AGE, MINOAN: Knossos Palace, 1800 BCE, Crete.

MINOAN: Knossos Palace, 1800 BCE, Crete.

RENAISSANCE: Alberti's Sant'Andrea, 15th c., Mantua.

Commitments have been made and for 30 days and 30 nights I will travel back in time to:

Rome...Florence...Ravenna...Mantua...Padua...Venice
Athens...Mykonos...Delos...Thera...Crete

This includes works (most in situ!) from the Bronze Age, Antiquity, Byzantium, the Medieval era, the Proto-Renaissance and of course the Renaissance and even more and more! The Vatican, the Uffizi, the monastery at San Marco, the Pantheon, the Parthenon, Knossos Palace, Palladian architecture in Venice, maybe the lady in a red coat! Ah! I hope not!

I'm putting my lists together and planning to have several Stendhal experiences. Is there medicine for that? I need a suitcase full.

RENAISSANCE: Palladio's Redentore, 16th c., Venice.

BYZANTINE: San Vitale, 6th c., Ravenna.

Mosaics! Ravenna.

I can't even express how excited and overwhelmed and thankful I am. To my homeland!

Recent Museum Adventures: Art of the Arab Lands at the Met.

After about eight years of renovations, the Met opened fifteen !! new galleries all dedicated to art of the Arab lands. They are divided according to time and place. I've been waiting since last winter for this occasion and it did not disappoint.

Facts:
15 permanent galleries
19,000 square feet of space
13 centuries represented
1,200 objects on view (and all of them are on the Met's website!)
10% of the entire museum collection

Alex and I, with about five hundred other people, had such a fun time wandering through all of these rooms. The energy was just fantastic, like Christmas morning anticipation. I didn't even mind that it was so crowded. I was just happy that everyone was so appreciative, interested, and excited. Anyway, it would be impossible to really get to know all of these works of art in one, or even two or three visits. Knowing this, we took our time breathing in the rich atmosphere instead of pushing through trying to reach each piece. Every few minutes one of us would stumble upon something extraordinary for sharing. I was surprised that I was so into the rug collections. Especially the one pictured below. The colors and ornamental compositions are breathtaking and it goes on for miles!

 Spanish Ceiling and a selection of rugs in Gallery 459.

Detail of the inlaid wood ceiling.

 Gallery 456 Moroccan Court, hand built by a team of artists from Fez.

Admiring the Zoomorphic Incense Burner, Iran, Seljuk Period, 1040-1196, pierced and engraved Bronze.

Persian Tombstone with Mihrab, 12th c., Marble.

18th c. Damascus Room with fountain in the forefront, Syria.

Gallery 463 Mughal South Asia (16th-19th centuries)

Fruit Bat Painter attributed to circle of Bhwani Das India, Calcutta, ca. 1777-82 Pencil, ink, and opaque watercolor on paper.

Before we left the museum we walked through some of the Asian galleries since I had been teaching Eastern art for the last few weeks. I don't think I'd ever really spent any time in those galleries before, so I'm glad I finally made it. We also breezed through Ancient Greece where I nearly fell over when I saw this. 

 Dipylon Vase Dipylon Master, from Dipylon Cemetery, c.750 BCE. AKA Funerary Krater.

This vessel, from the Geometric Period of Ancient Greece, shows a cremation ritual and the response of the attendants. The top register, center, features a lone horizontal figure framed by a checkerboard pattern burial shroud. This is the deceased on their funeral pyre. On either side are mourners raising their arms in agony. Though the figures are abstract, comprised of geometric shapes hence the name of the period, the tone of the krater is clear. This work of art is important because it marks a period of transition in the treatment and expression of death in culture. Prior to this time period focus was on the needs of the deceased, art was made to please them in the afterlife and show how wonderful they were while alive. But now we see the perspective of those still alive; the experience of the mourners.

I don't know why seeing this moved me the way it did. There are dozens of Greek vessels and I've never been especially drawn to them, but for some reason this one is special. More than the others it presents a very honest and personal moment. I think the abstract quality even enhances that, because it's as though the artist wasn't sure how to express the feeling, but felt compelled to do so in whatever possible way. It's larger than I expected. The repetition of the raised arms succeeds in commanding attention. 

BUT FOOD:

Anticipating my hunger schedule and museum fatigue, Alex had put together a taste of the Upper East Side. We had poppyseed pastries at a Hungarian cafe, impeccable tuna semplici at a seriously delicious Italian cafe full of energy, good looking Europeans and fancy UES ladies. I swear I saw Joan Rivers there! We made eye contact and I nearly tripped. Finally we sampled the best Madeleines around at Daniel Boulud's posh Bar Pleiades. Long gone are the days when, starving and impecunious, I dined exclusively at my 8th Avenue deli for deeply satisfying and ridiculously cheap (vegetarian) bagel sandwiches.