Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman

I saw the exhibition, Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman at the British Museum (running until Feb. 26). The show combines works from the British Museum’s collections chosen by Perry and ceramics, textiles, metalwork and other works of art -- both made in response to the British Museum pieces and past work—by the artist.

For people who appreciate vintage “stuff,” I’d highly recommend seeing this exhibit. Perry’s commentary on the labels highlights the fact that there was a craftsperson behind each artifact and reminds us of the meaning instilled in various types of objects. Nowadays, too many material items used in daily life—clothing, housewares, electronics—are throwaway with little value placed on them. The artifacts in this exhibit are from times and cultures when and where material items were treasured and infused with meaning. Perry’s work carries on that tradition, reflecting contemporary issues and sensibilities—and serving as an example of how the historical pieces were viewed in their own day.

In talking about his experience in choosing objects for the show, in a Guardian interview, Grayson relates,

Each object is stored and packed with great care whether it is a million-year-old flint tool or a Hello Kitty hand-towel. As soon as an object is in the custodianship of the museum it is treated as precious and important. To look at one African textile might take half an hour of finding, donning of gloves, unpacking, checking, repacking. I soon realised that no way was I going to see more than a tiny fraction of the 8 million objects housed in the museum in the flesh.

I guess my innate reverence for objects made me ideally suited for my 14-year career as a museum curator. Unfortunately, it means I rarely throw anything out.

Vintage Kilo Sale, London

I went to the Vintage Kilo sale in London several weekends ago. I was curious to see how it compared with Dollar-a-Pound in Cambridge, MA, where I was a frequent visitor in the 1980s. There are many differences that make the Vintage Kilo sale nowhere as much fun as the Cambridge event. At the London event, clothing was 15 pounds per kilo. (roughly $11 a pound), and all the clothes were displayed hanging on racks and accessories were on tables. I wasn’t that impressed with the offerings. The only true vintage items I saw were stained and ripped.

Many still had their charity shop tags on them (like I want to buy stuff that doesn’t sell at a charity shop.) This 70s dress I'm examining had a great print, but was in rough shape.

At Dollar-A-Pound, clothing and other textiles were literally $1 for a pound. One day a week, I lined up with all the other insane bargain hunters at 6am. Once the doors opened, each rabid shopper ran inside, grabbing large plastic trash bags on offer,  to where several  850-pound bales of clothing and textiles had just been  cut open. You grabbed whatever looked interesting and threw it into the bag.  Within minutes, we were all walking on top of textiles piled 2 feet deep.  After a couple hours, each person retreated to some corner and sorted through their bags.  I found incredible vintage treasures – Pucci dresses, Yves St. Laurent sweaters, 1950s barkcloth curtains, and more. Those were the days.

The current incarnation of Dollar-A-Pound  is called By the Pound since the price has gone up to a whopping $1.50 a pound. Now, it’s every day of the week, with the price still $1 on Fridays. Here are some photos and a little history on Dollar-A-Pound.  I don’t know if anything good can be found nowadays. I’ll have to give it a try again.

I bought five items, slightly more than a kilo, but I was only charged 15 pounds. I'm not thrilled with my finds, but didn't want to leave empty-handed. My take included:

Too big, but I really like the teal and lilac paisley-like pattern on the dark purple background. Plus there are sparkly designs printed on it to give it a little Bollywood touch. The slit neckline appears to have been sewn closed. I’ll figure a way to resize it. By Ara Modell, W. Germany. I’m guessing 1980s.

1970s polyester dress with a cartoon-ish blue, pink, green and white floral print. Also too big, plus the elasticized bodice and cuffs have lost their stretch. I doubt I’ll re-do the elastic, so I’ll probably cut it up to make a skirt. Another German dress by VEB Jugendmode Oranienburg.

Polyester red shirtdress, which My Man declared "hideous." Not sure what I’ll do with this.

Modern brown and white striped, long-sleeved t-shirt.   I’ve never worn horizontal striped tops, but will mix it with prints for a 70s feel.

After all that bargain hunting, it was time for tea and cake.

V & A's Museum of Childhood, London

I went to the Museum of Childhood because they were having several exhibitions with dark, fantastical themes. Some highlights:

Etchings from Jake and Dinos Chapman's My Big Colouring Book series that are not as freaky as their fiberglass sculpture, but still pretty creepy.

An installation called Stuff of Nightmares in which schoolchildren and artists collaborated on a forest popluated with, well, the stuff of nightmares.

I wouldn't want to stumble upon these cutesy animals with ghoul eyes in the forest.

The Magic Worlds exhibition had sections on “Fantasy,””Illusion,” and “Enchantment” full of fairy tales, fairies, elves, and mythical creatures, and included works by some of my favorite illustrators.

Elder Mother Tree from Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales, by Arthur Rackham, 1932. She found herself face to face with a stately lady, watercolor illustration by Edmund Dulac for Beauty and the Beast, 1910.

A Rehearsal in Fairyland, Richard Doyle, 1870.

Cottingley Fairies with Elsie Wright taken by Frances Griffiths, 1920.

I love how so many were duped into believing that this series of fairy photos were real.

Ceramic tiles - Flora's Train, designed by Walter Crane, Pilkington Tile and Pottery Company, 1900-01.

The Elf, printed cloth pattern for a soft toy. Made in England by Dean's Rag Book Co. Ltd, 1909.

The exhibit also included some illustrations by Wayne Anderson, whose work I was unfamiliar with. I like it so much, it deserves a seperate post!

Confessions of an Art History Nerd: Vittorio Carpaccio

I often draw inspiration from historical styles of dress as shown in paintings. As much as I love the styles of the 1960s and 70s, I love clothing styles and art work of Art Nouveau, Pre-Raphaelite, Renaissance and Medieval  periods as well.

I have a graduate degree in art history and was a museum curator for a decade and a half. Ever since high school, I have paid attention to clothing depicted in paintings (In graduate school, I entertained the idea of creating a line of hats and shoes based on Northern Renaissance paintings).

Whenever I go to a museum, I take a little notebook and make sketches and notes of dress styles/color combinations I might want to emulate. Spread over dozens of notebooks, it seemed like a good idea to record those notes here in order to have them all in one place. I’m a nerd, I know.

Last spring, in Venice, I spent hours poring over two series of painting– Miracles of the True Cross and Stories from the Life of St. Ursula in the Gallerie dell’Accademia. My previous post showing my Marks & Spencer vertical-stripe leggings reminded me that I had tried to find leggings with geometric designs or Renaissance patterns after that trip. Although I like wild patterns, they are usually tempered by being in earth or dark tones (like the blue, olive, brown stripes of the M & S leggings).

Detail of The Healing of a Possessed Man, 1494, Miracles of the True Cross, by Vittorio Carpaccio (c. 1465-1525/1526), Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice.

Check out the patterned hose of the gondolier in the front left.

Detail of Arrival of the English Ambassadors, 1495-1500, Stories from the Life of St. Ursula, Vittorio Carpaccio (c. 1465-1525/26), Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice.

The red coat with black velvet (?) collar and cuffs is quite fetching as are the tri-colored hose of the figure on the left. (Hey, I have those green boots worn by the man in the center!)

(After seeing so many images of men in close-fitting leggings, I wondered how they were constructed back then. The website, Dressing a Venetian Nobleman in 1500, explains how.)

The closest I’ve found to the Venetian hose from 1500 are these tights by birdapparel on Etsy.

OK, not Renaissance inspired, but I quite like these brown and white ikat print leggings by PeekoApparel on Etsy.

I might just experiment with thrift store leggings and sew two different-colored legs together to get this look.

 

Photo: iMAXTREE, Bernhard Wilhelm, 2008 Menswear Collection.

These are ugly color combinations, but I see that this designer was inspired by the look as well.

Mary Tyler Moore meets Woodland Elf

My latest fashion obsession is pairing a top with short puffy sleeves and a scoop neckline over a top or tunic with full sleeves, preferably with both in heathery earth tones.  I wear them with vertical-stripe or velvety leggings and short boots. I’m sort of going for a medieval /elf look. I top them with a 1970s polyester double-knit  jacket in hunter green for a dash of Mary Tyler Moore.  

Accessories include a weighty moon-face pendant purchased in the 1970s, a beaded bracelet given to me today by my man, and blue and green woven belt I got at a clothing sway a few years back. Last week, a young man I had just met was admiring the moon-face pendant  and asked me where it was from. I told him that I didn’t remember as I had purchased it in the late 1970s. To which he replied, “So, it’s an antique then?” Gee, thanks.

Light olive green elastic waist tunic, purchased at TRAID, Camden, London, £4;heathery brown scoop neck, lined t-shirt, purchased at TRAID, Camden, London, £4; vertical-striped leggings purchased at Marks & Spencer in the early 1990s; 1970s hunter green polyester jacket, purchased at Goodwill charity shop, Cambridge, MA, $7.99 Steven Madden vegan lace-up boots; moon-face pendant purchased in the late 1970s; woven and canvas belt, free from clothing swap; seed bead bangle, gift from my man.

Linking this post to Visible Monday, as I'm fairly sure no one else is trying for a medieval/elf look.

Wallis meets Biba

At one of the Saturday vintage markets in Spitalfields, London, I spotted a printed jacket with a Wallis label that I swear I had seen last year when I was in London.

It had that Art Deco geometric-type print reminiscent of Biba. I loved the big notched collar, the slightly puffed shoulders, the nipped in waist and the soft tie belt. In a fine wool, the jacket is warm with a nice drape. I got it home and did a bit of research and found that I wasn’t far off thinking that a fabric used by Wallis would be similar to one used by Biba as they shared fabric suppliers.

I got even more excited when I found a print advertisement on Smashingbird for this exact jacket. It is shown with matching wide-leg trousers.

1970's Wallis wool jacket, market in Spitalfields, London, £20

Unfortunately, I’m not tall and willowy, so it doesn’t have the wrap effect shown in the photo, but the self-tie belt makes it look like I have a waist. The print has purple flowers and triangles made up of multi-colored stripes on a light gray grid. It will probably be very versatile as I can wear it with skirts or trousers in any number of hues. Now I’ll have to find a short necklace with a huge bauble like the one in the ad! Anyone have any suggestions on how to accessorize it?

In quest of a pair of sneakers, I braved the throngs of post-holiday shoppers at the Westfield Stratford City mall today. I also picked up a pair of gray boots  that were on sale. It is so hard to find vegan shoes or boots, I've taken the tactic of buying them when I find ones that I like, that fit and that I can afford whenever I find them. (Plus, it seems to be the case that for every 4 pairs of shoes I buy, only one ends up being comfortable enough to wear with any regularity).

The best thing about the mall was this video celebrating 100 years of style in East London that was made for its opening. The video made the rounds on the internet a few months back, but I don't tire of watching it. I only wish that it was a bit longer so I could really see the clothes.

Elf boots

These boots from Vegetarian Shoes in Brighton were to have been my Christmas present, however, they were sold out by the time I arrived in the UK. And they won't be in stock again until after I leave. I have a thing for red boots, and boots that look like they might be worn by an elf. It is particularly difficult to find vegan red elf boots, which is why I was excited when I saw these on the Vegetarian Shoes website. I even planned my entire wardrobe that I brought to the UK with me around the assumption that I would have red boots.

Christmas

This was my first Christmas in London. We had a quiet day at home with lots of home-cooked food prepared  from River Cottage Veg Everyday cookbook.

Parsnip ginger soup

Ratatouille and bulghur

Cute little mince pies

Vegan goodies: hipohyfryd chocolates, Holy Cow golden crunch toffee, Fabulous Fudge factory dairy-free fudge, and Daisy & Co. vanilla marshmallows.

I've been wanting this blog to include vintage and vintage-inspired fashion but have been afraid to start, so I guess I'll just jump in now with what I wore today.

I purchased the Ted Baker aubergine (my favorite color) knit vest with pleated cap sleeves this week at TRAID (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) in Camden, London. It has a early 70s, Ziggy Stardust type of shape to it. I remember wearing cap sleeved knit vests in 1972. Does anyone know of any images of cap sleeved vests from 1970s ads or photos?

I've had this H & M velvet skirt for ages; it has been incredibly versatile. I've worn with a turtleneck sweater and boots for day and a satin bustier for evening.

newish Ted Baker knit vest, £8.00; Equipment embroidered blouse, purchased in early 1990s, H & M velvet skirt purchased in mid-1990s; 1960s black and white poodle print scarf that belonged to my mother. 1940s sterling brooch.

Top Hat & Dhoti documentary

My friend Tan is making a documentary about the incredibly talented and prolific 19th-century Indian photographer, Lala Deen Dayal. If you want to help fund this project, let me know.

Top Hat & Dhoti: Photographer Lala Deen Dayal from Joel Gardner on Vimeo.

Lala Deen Dayal (1844-1905). Photograph of the entrance bridge to the city of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892'. British Library.

Chennai spay/neuter project

After another weekend selling at Cultural Surival Bazaar, I'm ready to donate the profits of the past two Bazaars to animal welfare organizations. First donation is to the Blue Cross of India's spay/neuter project in Chennai.

Blue Cross of India has been successful in controling the street animal population to the extent that the city is now free of rabies (a major public health issue in India). However, they have to continue to spay and neuter to keep the city rabies-free.

Time for a change

The premise of this site was to be about my hobbies -- traveling to India, the Indian crafts that I sell, and animal welfare issues. Now that I work for an animal protection organization and don't travel as frequently to India, I'm considering a complete overhaul of the purpose and look of this site. Right now, I'm playing around with a new look, so please bear with me.

Another day at the Bazaar and a surprise

The Bazaar of the past 2 days was fun; it's always nice to hang out with all the other vendors. Linda of Tribal Arts and I had a lot of laughs and only more so when she told me what her husband overheard from two young people leaving an earlier bazaar -- one said to the other, "This is where old hippies come to sell their stuff."

Uh, yup, that's about right.

I bought an amazing necklace with big red beads and round discs with Arabic script from Linda. And came home to find a bouquet of red and purple flowers outside the door of my apartment -- a birthday present from My Man in the U.K.

Joyatri at the Bazaar

Long day at the Cultural Survival Bazaar, but happy that I sold some items to beneift Indian doggies. There's still lots more to sell though!

I was glad to be next to Tribal Art's booth with all the great vintage textiles and objects from all over the world.