Thoughts from the Bus Stop

Sixties Fashion at the V&A Museum

Sixties Fashion is on at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from 6 June – December 2006:

"40 years after Time Magazine’s famous 1966 ‘Swinging London’ cover, the V&A explores the Swinging Sixties. The display looks at the influence of Mary Quant on other designers who retailed in Carnaby Street and the Kings Road, including designs by Jean Muir, Ossie Clark and Barbara Hulanicki’s Biba. Iconic pieces by Paco Rabanne, Pierre Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent will represent responses of the Paris couturiers."

V&A Museum: 1960s Fashion and Textiles
Sixties City: Sixties Fashion and Design

Popaganda: The Fashion and Style of JC De Castelbajac

Popaganda: The Fashion and Style of JC De Castelbajac is on at the Victoria and Albert Museum from 1 February – 1 May 2006:

"A Campbell’s soup can dress, a ‘fur coat’ made of teddy bears, giant Snoopy T shirts and inflatable ponchos – the witty and flamboyant designs of French fashion maverick Jean Charles de Castelbajac will be on show… the most prolific fashion designer who emerged in the 1970s, his idiosyncratic designs a mix of bright colour, pop culture and humour."

Psychology & Fashion webcast from the Royal Institution

Inside Out: Psychology and Fashion took place on 12 October 2005 at the Royal Institution, and is now available as a webcast. It was organised by the Ri and Miss Selfridge, the speakers are Hilary Alexander, Dr Ali Guy and Dr Nigel Marlow, and the Chair is Baroness Susan Greenfield:

"Most of us, when we’re feeling truly honest, will admit that what we buy on Saturday trips to Oxford Street isn’t really essential to our survival. But the stuff we carry back home with us in shopping bags is a big part of our self identity, and says a lot about where we see ourselves in society... Your brain is on the lookout for ways to reward itself. So why does it choose to do it with a pair of shoes? Perhaps nothing else we buy contains as much of our self image as our clothes. We all have an idea about what clothing images work for us, and most probably have stories about times we made style mistakes! How can fashion take your personality from the inside out? This event (brings) together a unique mix of two psychologists and a fashion editor to look at the vibrant life of the fashionable brain."

Amazon.co.uk: Through The Wardrobe: Women's Relationships With Their Clothes by Ali Guy, Eileen Green & Maura Banim

Well Fashioned: Eco Style in the UK

Well Fashioned: Eco Style in the UK is on at the Crafts Council Gallery in London from 23 March – 4 June 2006:

"Two rooms of fabulous fashion from the UK’s hottest young designers who make clothes that don’t cost the earth... Twenty-one fashion labels present their ecologically and ethically sound clothes and accessories. If this sounds more worthy than groovy think again: this gear is chic and sassy.

Well Fashioned is the first comprehensive survey of the UK’s blossoming eco-fashion industry and introduces the cutting-edge designers from this young and emerging discipline. Exhibits range from customised denim and multi-functional streetwear to compostable wedding dresses and recycled evening wear...

Well Fashioned exhibitors include: B.Earley, Barabara Lee, Sarah Ratty of Ciel, Gracie Burnett, Enamore (by Jenny McPherson), Kate Goldsworthy, howies, Junky Styling, juste. (by Tamsin Lejeune), Keep and Share (by Amy Twigger), Dr. Emma Neuberg, Osvo Mode (by Jeanette Osterried and Thomas Voorn), red mutha (by Lize Curtis) Professor Dai Rees, Sari (by Sital Haria and Sam Cook), Benjamin Shine, Beyond Skin (by Nathalie Dean), Suitcase (by Edson Raupp) Terra Plana (by Galahd Clark),Ting (by Ingua Ting) and Alison Willoughby...( more...)"

Anna Piaggi: Fashion-ology

Anna Piaggi, Vogue Italia

Anna Piaggi: Fashion-ology will be on at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London from 2 February – 23 April 2006:

"An exhibition on the life and work of Anna Piaggi, the influential Italian journalist, stylist and editor. Piaggi is best known for her work for Italian Vogue and has been muse to designers and photographers including Karl Lagerfeld. This V&A display is drawn from Piaggi’s personal archive, stored in her Milan home, and will highlight her extensive collection of clothing."

The Blitz Kids: Anna Piaggi '90s photo gallery
The Observer: Rebel de jour

21/02/2006 - edited to add:
The Telegraph: Fashion junkie: Anna Piaggi (06/02/2006)

National Trust Staff Expertise Needed For Johnny Depp Love Scenes

Via 24 Hour Museum:

"A 16th century bed in the house’s crimson bedroom was used in some particularly steamy scenes and Sharon had to make sure that the romps caused no damage to the valuable antique..." (more)

Style and Status: Imperial Costumes from Ottoman Turkey

On till January 22, 2006 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (part of the Smithsonian) in Washington, D.C. is Style and Status: Imperial Costumes from Ottoman Turkey:

"The first international exhibition devoted to sumptuous and graphically stunning imperial Turkish robes (kaftans) from the 16th and 17th century - the embodiment of the maxim that 'clothes make the man'... robes that dazzle with their audacious play of colors, bold designs, and rich finish. At the core of the 68 objects on view is a group of opulent imperial robes from the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, the largest repository of Islamic textiles in the world."

It like me you're too far away to visit in person, the exhibition's website has an online interactive with lots of beautiful photos to drool over.

Bone-Eating Snot-Flower Worm

Isn't it pretty?

Show Me: Bone-Eating Snot-Flower And Other Animal Discoveries

Gunpowder, Treason & Plot

As Bonfire Night approaches, thought I'd flag up Gunpowder, Treason & Plot, a new website for kids explaining the story of Guy Fawkes & co's failed plot to blow up Parliament, 400 years ago (by The Parliamentary Archives and 24 Hour Museum / Show Me). There's also a version for grown-ups.

Laura Cantrell's NYC Subway Map

I was dead chuffed to see that Laura Cantrell, one of my favourite singers, has renamed the stations and lines on the NYC Subway Map to pay tribute to her musical heroines (most of whom I'm ashamed to say I've never heard of) and flag up the free download of 14th Street, a track from her latest album, Humming By The Flowered Vine:

"This map places some the women artists I most admire along the subway lines of New York City, where I live. There isn't much organizing principle, other than the color-coded categories and the kick of seeing Rose Maddox's line crossing Hazel Dickens en route to Brooklyn..."

I love maps, and art made from or about maps. There's Simon Patterson's The Great Bear (1992), which I think was the first instance of someone renaming the stations on an underground map. (The title refers to the constellation Ursa Major, a punning reference to Patterson's own arrangement of 'stars'.) I also like JP 233 In CSO Blue, where he's renamed stars and constellations.

Then there's my longterm favourite Tom Phillips (see his 20 Sites n Years project), and Harry Beck, not a artist but a draughtsman - the man who designed the London Tube map. And ever since I heard about how Damon Albarn from Blur wrote the gorgeous This Is A Low by looking at the names on a shipping forecast map hankerchief, I've wished I had one (see item 80 on this page for a full explanation). It was from Stanfords in Covent Garden - one day I'll get round to going along to see if they still stock them.

Finally, I can't resist quoting some underground map-based innuendo from Friends (when they were all in London for Ross and Emily's wedding):

Judy Geller: Oh sorry we're late, my fault. I insisted on riding the tube.
Jack Geller: Judy? The kids...
Judy Geller: Jack, that's what they call the subway.

NYC Transit: Official NYC Subway Map
Going Underground: Geographically Correct London Underground Map
Amazon.co.uk: Mr Beck's Underground Map

The Postcodes Project

The Museum of London has used their vast collection of objects from all over London to produce the The Postcodes Project:

"To highlight some of their fascinating local stories we have selected a single object for each London postcode area. You can add to the richness of the site by submitting your own local stories."

Fabric to Fashion: Scottish Textiles and International Style

Fabric to Fashion: Scottish Textiles and International Style runs from 7 October 2005 –12 March 2006 at the Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh:

"Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen and Louis Vuitton are just a few of the top designers whose work will feature in an exciting new exhibition (which) will demonstrate how the world’s leading designers draw on Scottish textiles to create cutting-edge catwalk designs.

The exhibition builds on the success of Cloth to the Catwalk [pdf], an exhibition held at Shambellie House Museum of Costume last year, by doubling the number of designer items on show. New exhibits include a pair of Nike trainers made of Harris Tweed, a man’s tartan jacket and bondage trousers from Vivienne Westwood’s Anglomania collection; a Jean Paul Gaultier tartan jacket and skirt, designed using digital photography; and a man’s outfit designed especially for the young Korean market, by Kinloch Anderson...

The popularity of tartan, tweed and knitwear will be demonstrated through a display of designer clothing including a dress by Elizabeth Emanuel in the official Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Tartan; a Louis Vuitton suit in an estate tweed by Johnstons and a pink cashmere top designed by Scott Henshall and worn by Jodie Kidd.The exciting display will demonstrate the creativity and success of Scottish textile firms such as Lochcarron of Scotland (Galashiels), who are lending the Elizabeth Emanuel dress, and The Lovat Mill (Hawick), who created the cloth for two items by Belgian designers – a suit donated by Dries van Noten and a coat (complete with ears and a tail) by Bernhard Willhelm...

Leading Scottish knitwear companies have also donated items for the exhibition, including a red cashmere sweater by Johnstons. Cashmere designers Queene and Belle, whose designs are worn by stars including Trudi Styler and Jemima Khan, donated a cream hand-painted cashmere cardigan..."

(...continues [pdf]).

Fashion Lives at the British Library

Fashion Lives is a new exhibition at the British Library, running from 11 November 2005 – 7 February 2006. It will bring together a collection of post-war fashion leaders who have defined their profession and played a unique role in shaping the fashion industry as we know it today:

"The exhibition, curated by Alistair O'Neill from London College of Fashion (LCF), features exhibition design by St Martin’s graduate William Hall. It includes a specially commissioned repeatable design by fashion duo Eley Kishimoto that will form the backdrop to the exhibition and a series of commissioned portraits by the photographer Gareth McConnell.

The exhibition draws on the Oral History of British Fashion collection of oral history interviews from the National Life Story Collection at the British Library's Sound Archive. This new collaborative initiative between the London College of Fashion and the British Library documents fashion and its related industries within living memory. It contains interviews with Percy Savage, the man who was the first 'fashion PR' and was the name behind Christian Dior’s Eau Sauvage scent; Lily Silberberg, a former pupil of Barrett Street Needle Trade School and a teacher at London College of Fashion; Leslie Russell the 'Smile' hairdresser who, in the 1960s, cut the hair of Cathy McGowan (of 'Ready Steady Go' fame) and Peter Sellers; Savile Row tailor Angus Cundy of Henry Poole & Co; Marit Allen, former Young Idea at Vogue Fashion Editor from 1963 - 1973 and now an award winning costume designer for films such as Eyes Wide Shut and The Hulk; Tommy Roberts, the owner of the King's Road boutique 'Mr Freedom' in the 1970s and 'two columbia road' today; John Church, of Church’s Shoes, Northampton; and Michael Southgate of Adel Rootstein mannequins in London.

The fascinating reflections of each of the contributors highlights the importance of recording the craft skills and business techniques of the ever-changing British fashion industries. The exhibition stresses the continuing importance and relevance of ways of working that have been lost through the process of modernisation, by inviting a number of contemporary practitioners such as bespoke tailor Timothy Everest, womenswear designer Shelley Fox, fashion illustrator and designer Julie Verhoeven, and milliner Dai Rees to talk about the influence and importance of the work of each of the interviewees on their work today.

As well as oral testimonies, the exhibition will include a selection of printed ephemera, personal papers, clothing and textiles, newspapers and magazines, sketches, samplers and tools..." (...continues)

Stitching Women's Lives - Indian Embroidery In Nottingham

Widows (detail). Joss Graham Oriental Textiles.

Via 24 Hour Museum:

"Intricate embroidery produced by a women’s organisation in India is currently on show at the Art Exchange Gallery in Nottingham. Stitching Women’s Lives, featuring highly detailed examples of Sujani – running stitch on layered cloth – and Khatwa – appliqué work with chain and running stitch – embroidery, is on display until September 29 2005.

The exhibition has been organised by the Nottingham-based Apna Arts and presents work by women from ADITHI, a project that aims to empower rural women in the state of Bihar in India through education and financial aid..." more...

John Deere excavators knit flag

Via www.artdaily.com:
'Dave Cole is in residence at MASS MoCA with his project The Knitting Machine which comprises two excavators specially fitted with massive 20’ knitting needles. The product of The Knitting Machine is an oversized American flag – a flag which can be seen as both a celebratory gesture of pride and a commentary on America’s role in world affairs....

Cole explains, “The Knitting Machine combines the feminized domestic American tradition of knitting with the grandiose gesture of construction usually associated with masculine labor. The Knitting Machine challenges familiar notions of labor and production, while expressing a complex understanding of patriotism.” When the flag is removed from The Knitting Machine it will be folded into the traditional flag triangle and will be on display in a presentation case which Cole describes as “slightly smaller than a Volkswagen Beetle”, accompanied by the 20’ knitting needles, and a video of the knitting process.'

Fairground Attraction: The National Fairground Archive

Carousel horse on ride at Royal Cornwall Show 2005, by Ennor

Looking through the websites of the Fairground Heritage Trust and the National Fairground Archive at the University of Sheffield, I remember how when I was at art college I was really into collecting images of fairgrounds and fairground rides for my sketchbook. It fitted in with my love of seaside amusements - and of course the two often go hand-in-hand. Bright colours, gleaming gilt, flashing lights, pink candyfloss and psychedelic artwork - what's not to love?

There's also a great Funfairs, Fairgrounds and Circuses group on Flickr.

Fashination: Between Art & Fashion

The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television in Bradford opens Fashination: Between Art & Fashion, 'a major, mixed media exhibition from the Moderna Museet, Stockholm that reflects on the interplay of images and ideas between the worlds of contemporary art and fashion'.

Artists involved include Hussein Chalayan, Alexander McQueen, Steven Meisel, Maison Martin Margiela, Yinka Shonibare and Terry Richardson. The website's now live and the exhibition runs from 10 June - 18 September (admission free).

Button up!

Via Artdaily:
"Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is seeking buttons and more buttons for its upcoming exhibition, Patrick Kelly: A Retrospective. The late fashion designer and Vicksburg, Mississippi native emerged on the fashion scene in the 1980s just as the industry was welcoming color, ornamentation, and exuberance. Kelly was well known for his whimsical use of buttons in his designs. His famous button dresses (tight fitting jersey dresses adorned with buttons) were born of his grandmother’s habit of repairing clothes with mismatched buttons.

The Brooks is looking for buttons for the exhibition installation and for family art projects. Multicolored, no shank, plastic buttons, 1/2" or larger can be dropped off at the admissions desk during normal museum hours (Tuesday – Friday, 10 to 4, Saturday, 10 to 5, and Sunday 11:30 to 5) or sent to the exhibitions department at 1934 Poplar Avenue."

Laura Ellen Bacon: Nesting Vessels

(L-R) Winding Form, Nesting Vessel © Laura Ellen Bacon. Photos © 2003 Richard Freestone

Laura Ellen Bacon makes beautiful forms in willow for inside and outdoors. Go to her website's gallery for larger versions of the photos above, which do the work much better justice!

She's coming to Hove Museum from 1 July - 28 August, so I'm looking forward to seeing these works 'in the flesh'. The exhibition is new work, partly inspired by the museum's interior spaces and including suspended objects. The museum is an old house, and has lots of original features like fireplaces and high ceilings - it'll be great to see what she does with the space.

Elegance in the Blitz

I found this photo of Kirkby munitions factory workers posing around a bomb (from National Museums Liverpool's The Blitz website) intriguing - the juxtaposition between this huge lump of lethal metal and the group of well-groomed, elegant young women.

I shouldn't be surprised - if I had to work in a bomb factory, I'd still want my mascara and some great shoes. It'd probably be even more important to me if I was put in that situation.

Colour is its own reward

* Hew Locke at The New Art Gallery, Walsall until 26 June 2005 - including his vibrant collage sculptures, many of the Royal Family, made with materials from markets and pound stores.
* Gardens of Glass: Chihuly at Kew, 'a spectacular sequence of organically shaped and vibrantly coloured glass sculptures set throughout Kew’s 300-acre garden landscape and inside the great glasshouses'. Mouthwatering...

Couturier to the Queen honoured

Norman Hartnell's design for the dress worn by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at her Coronation

"Sir Norman Hartnell will be remembered with an English Heritage Blue Plaque which is due to be unveiled at 11am this morning at 26 Bruton Street, W1, where he lived and worked from 1935 to his death at the age of 78, in 1979.

First commissioned by the Royal Family in 1935, Hartnell dressed Queen Elizabeth (the late Queen Mother) and Queen Elizabeth II as well as all the stars of the Twenties including Marlene Dietrich, Vivien Leigh and Elizabeth Taylor. One of his most famous commissions came in 1938, when Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's own mother, the Countess of Strathmore, died just five days before her daughter's State visit to France with King George VI. Hartnell had to recreate her entire wardrobe in white – historically a Royal mourning colour – in just three weeks. Having created the reigning Queen's wedding dress in 1947, he was appointed MBE in 1953 when he made her Coronation dress and in 1977 became the first couturier to receive a knighthood.

The plaque will be unveiled today by Kenneth Partridge, who designed the interior of Hartnell's Bruton Street store, and Oscar-winning costume designer Julie Harris, who worked with him."
(Vogue)

Edited to add: The 'White Wardrobe' designed for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother by Norman Hartnell will be the centrepiece of a special exhibition at the 2005 Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace (30 July - 27 September 2005).

Folk Archive: Contemporary Popular Art

St John Ambulance Pin Cushion, by Rachel Williams, Yorkshire, 1999

I had to flag up this gorgeous pincushion, part of the Barbican Art Gallery's current exhibition, organised by Alan Kane and Jeremy Deller.

Plankton Portraits - Invisible Monsters

Shrimp Larva (C) John Angus | DIATOM Starchain (C) John Angus

Part of Fleetwood Museum and Lancaster Maritime Museum's Netting the Bay website, this online exhibition of John Angus's images of Morecambe Bay plankton is very inspiring... I'm thinking embroidery. They remind me of the embroidery I did as part of my A-level Art - I'd been flicking through biology books looking at microscopic bacteria and cell formations. Got to dust down that embroidery hoop and get myself some silks...

Silent Witness: The Story of Lola Rein and her Dress

While browsing the other sites nominated for Webbys, I came across this site from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum: Silent Witness: The Story of Lola Rein and her Dress. It's based around a dress donated to the museum by a Jewish lady, Lola Kaufman, nee Rein. Lola's mother had made and embroidered the dress for her when she was an eight-year old girl living with her family in Poland. She ended up wearing it for seven months whilst hiding from the Nazis in a 4x6 ft hole with three other Jews.

There is so much detail here - the story of one family's experience of Nazi persecution, their love for each other and their determination that at least some of them would survive. It's both horrifying and incredibly moving.

Having the painters in

OK, it's getting kind of scary when my museum research gets into rhythm with me... check out this online exhibition from Sydney's Powerhouse Museum: The rags: paraphernalia of menstruation.

I particularly love this quote from Liz Giuffre in the 'Heckler' column of The Sydney Morning Herald (23 August 2004):

Despite the GST [Goods and Services Tax] classification of pads and tampons as 'luxury items', let me, on behalf of the women of Australia, let the manufacturers know that they have a captive audience. There is absolutely no need for this continued marketing push to make the products 'fun' and 'funky'.
 

24/08/2012 - edited to add: I have made an 'Adventures In Menstruating' board on Pinterest, prompted by finding a bunch of (now amusing) Tampax ads in some 1960s knitting magazines I found in a charity shop. 

International Costume And Textile Museums

Prompted by In A Minute Ago's Sharon B flagging up the website of the The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, New York, I've ended up surfing around looking for other international fashion and textile museums. Here's a list of sites to browse - I'll add to it whenever I see another I like the look of. So many beautiful, fascinating things!

UK
Fashion, Jewellery & Accessories at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The Fashion and Textile Museum, London (run by Zandra Rhodes)
The Museum of Costume, Bath
Allhallows Lace Museum, Honiton, Devon
Fashion and Style at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, East Sussex
Bexhill Museum of Costume and Social History, East Sussex
Costume at Worthing Museum and Art Gallery, West Sussex
The Boot and Shoe Collection at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery
The Gallery of Costume, Manchester
Hatworks, Stockport
National Museum of Costume Scotland at Shambellie House, New Abbey, Dumfriesshire
The Fashion Collection at the Ulster Museum, Belfast
The Sheelin Irish Lace Museum, Bellanaleck, Fermanagh

Europe
ModeMuseum, Antwerp, Belgium
The Fashion Collection at the Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag, Netherlands
Tassenmuseum Hendrikje (Museum of Handbags), Amstelveen, Netherlands
Le Musée de la Mode et du Textile, Paris
Musée des Tissus et des Arts decoratifs de Lyon, Lyon
Musée et Jardin Christian Dior, Granville
El Museu Tèxtil i d'Indumentària, Barcelona
The National Costume Center of Finland, Jyväskylä
Textiles, Clothing and Jewellery at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg
The Textile Collection at the Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb, Croatia

USA and Canada
Costume Museum of Canada, Dugald, Manitoba
Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto
Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto
Costume and Textiles at the Musée McCord Museum, Montreal
Clothing and Textiles Collection at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, New York
American Textile History Museum, Lowell, MA
Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
Textile Museum, Washington, DC
Black Fashion Museum, Washington, DC
Kent State University Museum's Fashion Collection, Ohio
The University of Virginia Collection of Historic Dress
Costume and Textiles at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Costume and Textiles at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio 
The Fashion Collection at the Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona
The Costume Collection at the Goldstein Museum of Design, St. Paul, MN
The Lace Museum, Sunnyvale, CA
Costume and Textiles at Los Angeles Country Museum of Art
Cornell University Costume Collection
Historic Costume Collection of Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
University of North Texas, Texas Fashion Collection

Rest of the World
The Palestine Costume Archive, Canberra, Australia
Decorative Arts & Design at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia
Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum, Japan
Kobe Fashion Museum, Japan
The Kyoto Costume Institute, Japan
Ningbo Costume Museum, China 

I'll be in Scotland afore ye

The Great Bear, 1992 (detail), by Simon Patterson

More exhibitions which I love the sound of but can't get to cos they're in Scotland! That's it, I'm moving. Glasgow will do nicely.

* Bags of Style at the Royal Museum, Edinburgh, 'looking at the status and function of bags in contemporary societies'
* Patterns of Childhood: Samplers 1640-1900 at Scotland Street School Museum, Glasgow
* Simon Patterson at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh. I love his The Great Bear, what with my love of maps and admiration of Harry Beck and Tom Phillips - bought a poster at the Tate last summer but still haven't framed it. Kind of wish I'd waited and spent my 30th birthday money on the £55 framed print.

The Dangers of Sewing and Knitting

This Deirdre Nelson exhibition - The Dangers of Sewing and Knitting - sounds fantastic, but sadly for me it's only showing in St. Andrew's and Glasgow - too much of a hike from Brighton. In other recent knitting-related surfing, I've come across:

* Shetland's Great Gravit
* Year of the Volunteer's Big Knit (pdf) - a national knitting initiative, giving older volunteers the chance to donate knitted garments and toys to children's hospitals and premature baby units
* More on the Crafts Council's Knit 2 Together show (which I STILL haven't got to!)
* Knitting Together: the story of the East Midlands knitting industry over the past four hundred years
* Via Craftster, 'Strathaven folk knit themselves a 1950s room' - knitted cakes, teapots, cups and biscuits - even a knife and loaf of crusty white bread - while over in the corner sits a knitted valve mantel radio. A few Jean Greenhowe items can be spotted in the pics.

With A Bullet: Shinkansen Records

Whilst researching virtual exhibitions at the National Railway Museum's site, I spotted this page on the Shinkansen bullet train, which reminded me of the witty and illuminating newsletters from Matt at Shinkansen Records which I used to enjoy reading in my fanzine days. Matt is now involved in writing Smoke: A London Peculiar, excerpts from which you can read on their site.

'If the words won’t come, I’ll simply stop, put on my coat, and set my controls for the heart of the city; the streets of London are teeming with untold and unimagined stories, we just need to step in their way. Other times, I’ll put on someone else’s coat, and hide in their wardrobe – people get really upset when they think their clothes have come alive...'

PS: Speaking of 'my fanzine days', I'm also shocked to note the name of this photographer - not the Stephen Eastwood who used to referee Planet Sound/The Void on Teletext, surely? And suddenly disappeared from said post with no warning? And interviewed Cyndi Lauper in her fabulous flat for Select magazine? Maybe just my imagination...

The Deliberately Concealed Garments Project

Mid-18th century silk, linen and whalebone stomacher from the Nether Wallop cache found in 1978 © The Textile Conservation Centre, University of Southampton

The Deliberately Concealed Garments Project, from the Textile Centre at the University of Southampton is fascinating. Their website has a searchable database of garments which have been found after being deliberately hidden in buildings (usually for superstitious reasons):

"Builders, owners or residents appear to have hidden clothing and other objects in the fabric of buildings, intentionally sealing the space afterwards. Garments have been discovered at a later time when changes are being made to a building. They have been found most commonly near entrance and exit points in buildings, for example windows or chimneys. In some instances the hidden clothing has been found with other objects, concealed at the same or a later time, for example coins and documents.

Typically the garments that have been found are clothes that have been worn and used before they have been hidden. The tradition of concealing clothes can be related to the practice of concealing other objects such as dried cats, witch bottles and charms in buildings. These types of object have been discovered hidden in similar places. The concealing of these items including garments can be related to folklore and superstitious traditions relating to the ritual protection of a household and its inhabitants. Concealed garments are most often found with other objects in a cache."

Zandra Rhodes: A Lifelong Love Affair with Textiles

Zandra Rhodes: A Lifelong Love Affair with Textiles, is on from 2 February 2005 - July 2005 at The Fashion and Textile Museum in London:

"The first major retrospective dedicated to the work of Zandra Rhodes to be seen in Europe... a comprehensive look at Zandra’s textile and fashion designs. It will allow the viewer to witness the creative process, from her initial inspiration through to the exotic finished product. A journey through the entire process, this show will include photography, objects, Zandra’s sketchbooks, the actual silk screens and the resulting printed fabrics guiding the viewer to the finished garments.

Zandra is an internationally recognized designer and an institution of British fashion. A graduate of the Royal College of Art, Zandra rose to prominence in the 1960’s with her first solo collection debuting in 1969. Renowned for her brilliantly colourful screen-printed and hand-decorated textiles, she was elected Royal Designer for Industry in 1974. In 1997 in recognition of her contribution to the fashion and textile industry she was made Commander of the British Empire. She has an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art and many other universities in the UK and the USA.

A carefully chosen selection of Zandra's most notable works will be shown including the celebrated Dinosaur coat, the Lily collections, Conceptual Chic, the Chinese series and the rarely seen Spanish Impression and Medieval collections.

The work of the most illustrious names in the world of photography will be featured throughout the exhibition. Clive Arrowsmith, David Bailey, Frank Bauer, Robyn Beeche, Guy Bourdin, Norman Parkinson, Barry Lategan and others.

Many of the images in the exhibition feature personalities who have worn the designs of Zandra Rhodes: Freddie Mercury, Bianca Jagger, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kelly Osborne, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Princess Diana, Kylie Minogue and Kate Moss.'

Carol McNicoll and the National Electronic and Video Archive of the Crafts

'Pattern is the best thing in the world.'

Whilst looking into the work of ceramicist Carol McNicoll for a review of her retrospective at Hove Museum I stumbled across the National Electronic and Video Archive of the Crafts. What a fantastic project!

'The National Electronic and Video Archive of the Crafts - NEVAC - gathers materials which will act as a resource for those researching the nature of the Crafts. These materials are characteristically in the form of digital video and sound recordings of people who have been intimately associated with the development of the Crafts in Britain.

There are currently 261 hours of interviews with 118 people, (including ceramists, textile artists, wood-workers, print-makers, enamel artists and curators).'

And a stitch in time saves eight or nine...

Knit 2 Together: Concepts in Knitting Crafts Council Gallery, 24 February – 8 May 2005:

'The domestic craft of knitting is back in vogue. In Knit 2 Together, the Crafts Council taps into this contemporary revival with a snapshot of how contemporary knitting is used as a medium for art practice. With exhibits ranging from knitted sex adverts and subversive toys to giant cobwebs and knitted interiors, Knit 2 Together proves that there is more to knitting than just sticks and string. Knit 2 Together highlights the work of 15 international artists who are pushing perceived boundaries within knitting, and features a range of innovative and experimental work created with both new and traditional techniques. By exploring areas of tradition and history, process, skill, materiality, individuality and future technologies, Knit 2 Together celebrates the creative potential and contemporary appeal of this craft tradition. The visitor will experience work ranging from the lyrical to the eccentric. Exploring the process involved in knitting, Freddie Robins has developed a wall-based work that focuses on the element of chance whereas Celia Pym’s knitted timeline represents her travels round Japan. Highlighting the skill of the medium are Ruth Lee’s lacy, ephemeral ‘Spirit dresses’ and Susie McMurray’s (sic) 3D hangings that have been French-knitted from human hair. In recognition of the obsessive side of knitting and the current fashion for knitting groups is the collaborative work of Françoise Dupré and the guerrilla knitting of the Cast Off knitting club. Equally quirky are Donna Wilson’s rebellious creatures and Kelly Jenkins' edgy wall pieces based on adverts and cards from the sex industry. The skill of knitting is one that is passed down through generations. In an interactive area of Knit 2 Together, the Crafts Council will encourage visitors to share their first memories of knitting, enabling them to fully engage with the work on show in this major exhibition. Knit 2 Together is curated by craft editor Katy Bevan and artist Freddie Robins. Knit 2 Together is the Crafts Council’s first knitting exhibition since 1986 and will tour the UK from May 2005.'

Dribbling on contemporary craftworks is frowned upon, yes?

Alice Kettle: Between a rock and a hard place

Textile artist Alice Kettle's show, Mythscapes, is on at Hove Museum till the end of the month. (And the museum's always worth a visit - great permanent collections of toys, filmmaking stuff and contemporary craft.)

'Round the boutiques of London Town...'

Wool jersey dress designed by Mary Quant © Museum of London

There's a fantastic fashion exhibition on at the Museum of London at the moment - here's my two penn'orth: The London Look: From Street To Catwalk. (NB: I don't write the headlines...)

Black British Style at the V&A Museum

'I spot a pair of fat-tongued trainers, next to Neneh Cherry's 1989 Raw Like Sushi album...'

My thoughts on Fifty Years of Black British Style at the V&A Museum. See also their own Black British Style microsite.

'Listen to me, butterfly...'

Butterfly book, Julie Cockburn, 2004

Went up to the V&A on Tuesday to review the Christopher Dresser show. While I was there I had a scoot round the shop, and saw some wonderful stuff on the Crafts Council's stand. I loved Cathy Miles' wall pieces - wittily captioned wire 'drawings' of birds, embellished with found objects, with a Southport theme.

But it was Julie Cockburn's stuff which really make me catch my breath. This woman HAS to be a Tom Philips fan - she works with books, and maps and postcards. There was an atlas whose pages she had sculpted into three dimensions, and a great piece of postcard assemblage called Man in Red seeks Women in Yellow - very reminiscent of Phillips' The Quest for Irma. (I'm not criticising here - this is the sort of stuff I'd try to produce if I was a working artist!) Her Butterfly Book is just amazing - I wish I had the £900. More examples of her work HERE.

And finally... flicking through a copy of Crafts, I see that Michael Brennand-Wood has a new exhibition (Field of Centres) on tour! Woo-hoo!

'Because we're only old once, let's make a difference...'

My thoughts on the A Crafty Way of Thinking exhibition at Hove Museum, where older people from the local community have made craft objects in response to pieces of contemporary craft from the Museum's permanent collection.

Michael Landy: Semi-Detached at Tate Britain

Semi-detached by Michael Landy, installed at Tate Britain. Photo: M. Heathcote & J. Fernandes © the artist

'Our house, in the middle of our street...'

In which I feel homesick at Michael Landy’s installation, Semi-detached at Tate Britain:
24 Hour Museum: Michael Landy Installs Surburban Semi At Tate Britain

Also:
Tate Britain: Michael Landy - Semi-Detached
Artangel: Michael Landy - Break Down
Guardian Education - February 13, 2002: Michael Landy - Stuff And Nonsense
IdeasFactory: You've Got Mail - Michael Landy interviewed
Tate Collection: Michael Landy

Mosaic fun at Hove Museum

 

Had a really good time at Hove Museum the other Saturday at a workshop run by mosaic artist Anna Tilson. Got up to my elbows in tile chips and grout, and came home with a tile which actually looked like something a proper artist might make! Am now eyeing all flat surfaces at home with a view to taking this to the Next Level...

Does my bum look big in this: Vivienne Westwood at the V&A Museum

My two penn'orth on the V&A's Vivienne Westwood retrospective, and a handy link to the book which accompanies the exhibition, which is well worth buying if you've any interest in fashion history.

It's not perfect - the bits where they've squeezed in twenty catwalk photos onto one page are frustrating as you can't see any kind of detail, but all in all (and if you can find it with a healthy discount from the £30 cover price) it's a joy.

Victoria & Albert Museum: Vivienne Westwood microsite

In which I give wallpaper a pasting

 

It's Only Flock 'N' Roll But It's All The Rage At The Geffrye Museum

The Weather Project: The Secret Diary

Something to make you smile, if you're familiar with Tate Modern's recent Weather Project: Secret diary of an art gallery attendant

Reasons to be cheerful: 1, 2, 3...

1. I've just started a History of Costume course at Brighton Museum and I'm really enjoying it. I get to talk about clothes for three hours a week!

2. I made it to the Quentin Blake exhibition at the Gilbert Collection at Somerset House and it was wonderful. Filled me with joy. And now I want to buy the catalogue and his Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered. I used to be able to draw and I need to pick up a pencil and knock the rust off.

3. The new series of Black Books starts 11th March!!!

24 Hour Museum: Museum and gallery exhibition reviews

Umbilical by Arik Levy, 2002

Some reviews I've written recently in my capacity as unofficial texiles/Christianity/sparkly things correspondent at work:
Brilliant : contemporary lighting design at the V&A, London
Boys Who Sew: male textile artists at the Crafts Council, London
Presence: Images of Christ for the Third Millennium (series of UK exhibitions and events)

Undressing Mr Darcy

Nothing quite so becometh a gentleman as a damp muslin shirt - is it not so, Miss Johnson?

"Saturday 13 March, Chertsey Museum: Undressing Mr Darcy
Explore the hidden world of men's Regency fashion. (Nearly) all will be revealed when historical costume experts remove the layers as Mr Darcy undresses for the night. (Suitable for adults only.) Cost £10, or £8.50 for Friends of Chertsey Museum. (Price includes morning coffee/afternoon tea.)"

...but not a cold flannel?

Exhausted in the V&A

Winged tiara; crystal and chalcedony set in gold; by Henry Wilson; English; c. 1908 (c) V&A

I am exhausted and CROSS. My back is really hurting and the ibuprofen I've been prescribed for it is giving me acid which is making me gag. So I'm shovelling Rennies down me too. My feet hurt and my excema has given me splits and cracks all over my hands, which makes washing, picking things up and doing crazy stuff like eating salted crisps real fun. I really wasn't in the mood to be navigating the V&A Museum.

The V&A is a treasure house of WONDERFUL things. I know and appreciate this fact. I was there today for the launch of a fantastic exhibition, which I'll talk about later. But having stood for two hours already (note to press office: please provide chairs) it was perhaps unwise of me to attempt to find other far-flung parts of the building - particularly the Jewellery Gallery.

First, you have to spend some time with the not-entirely-intuitive V&A visitors map - this eventually reveals that you need to be on the 3rd floor. So, let's find a staircase or a lift. BUT: it's not that simple. Not all staircases go to all floors. After some hiking about (and a stop-off at the Fashion Gallery to look at the wonderful Ossie Clark display) I eventually I found one, and ascended. Now in Decorative Ironwork, I walked the length of the building again trying to find Jewellery, only to find that the bit of 3rd floor I was on isn't connected to the bit of 3rd floor I was after.

So, downstairs, along a bit and upstairs again... down the side of the building, through Textiles and... Jewellery! But there are steel barriers stopping you going in from one direction - I only found this out after being watched trying to get in by a silent gallery steward. When I turned to her questioningly she just said, 'You have to go in the other end.' So back through Textiles and at last, I got there.

And it was worth it. It's a stunning collection - jewels you'll not believe exist. Expensive stuff, ancient stuff and even modern costume jewellery. Intricate, inventive, breathtaking... I need to learn some metalwork skills!

And I did get a little nostalgic over all. Walking through Fashion, picking my way through crowds of students sitting on the floor, drawing the same dresses I'd drawn ten years previously. Sniffing the air in Textiles - dust, carpets, old lace. Spotting old friends in Jewellery - the Slim Barrett tiara, the earrings made from pencil shavings - and remembering how over-the-top I was about recording allmost every item in my sketchbook - afraid of missing something which might prove important for college. These days I'm more selective, or just have less patience. But am still unavoidably drawn to sparkly things...

Susie MacMurray: Balloons and feathers

Doing my daily trawl of museum press pages, I came across the Susie MacMurray exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery. Their website only has a photo of her Flock installation, but there are good pictures of her pink balloon dress on a private gallery's site here. Her own website has fantastic photos of her stunning installations and multiples, mainly built with balloons or feathers. Those woven balloon pieces look irrestible. I'd have to sit there squidging the surface with my fingers. (Perhaps I should keep that to myself...) I just love it when hear of someone I hadn't heard of before whose work really pops my cork!

Boys Who Sew: Brett Alexander

Whilst researching some of the textile artists I'll be reviewing at the Boys Who Sew show at the Crafts Council, I found this fantastic photo of an installation by Brett Alexander. Hot pink chairs!