After climbing out of the metaphorical blackened crevasse of an ugly break-up in June, I decided that it was high time that I surfaced for some sunshine. Don’t get me wrong, living as a troglodyte for one month had its benefits. I finished reading my collection of Regency-era romance novels, and binge-watched Korean dramas for… Continue reading My Own Muse: Hot Date with Myself, No. 2, Blithewood Garden, Red Hook, NY.
Tag: culture
My Own Muse: Hot Date with Myself, No. 1, Vanderbilt Mansion Italian Garden
In June of 2017, I had a summer of fun heating up on the horizon. My boyfriend would return from Florida, I was on summer break from grad school, and I had a killer new collection of crop tops to show-off my hot rib cage with! Yowza! However, the ripe promise of June came with… Continue reading My Own Muse: Hot Date with Myself, No. 1, Vanderbilt Mansion Italian Garden
A Leopard Must Change its Spots….
I embark upon this new year, wearing plaid pants, a banana brooch, and a big-old leopard-print swing coat. Embedded in the threads of my loud and incongruous get-up are messages of hope, destiny, and….what the hell am I doing with myself in 2018?!?! Like the clothes that I wear, this question is rhetorical. As a… Continue reading A Leopard Must Change its Spots….
My Muses: Thalia and the Mona Lisa
As the Greek muse of comedy, Thalia is among my favorite of the fair affecters. She sparks a willingness to smile and knows that a perfectly timed practical joke is worth more than a picture and its thousand words. At least, that’s what my muse of comedy, Mona Lisa, could tell you! On August 21st,… Continue reading My Muses: Thalia and the Mona Lisa
The Victorian Bathing Suit of Winslow Homer’s “High Tide”
Winslow Homer’s Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts (High Tide), which is exhibited in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, represents a transitional period in American art, clothing, and society. Embedded within the appearance of the three young women on the seashore, rendered with lively brush strokes, is a cultural cocktail of change and… Continue reading The Victorian Bathing Suit of Winslow Homer’s “High Tide”
My Muses: Erato and Anais Nin
Erato. The muse of love poetry. If I were to assign a mortal woman to Erato’s position, I can’t think of any gal more suited to inspire romance than Anais Nin—writer of erotica, and memoirist of passion. Born in France to Cuban parents in 1903, Anais began her life amid the peaceful haze of the… Continue reading My Muses: Erato and Anais Nin
My Muses: Clio and Anna Comnena
I’ve already mentioned that my ability to enjoy relaxation is limited. So, in an attempt to dampen the sunny fun of my vacation, I’ve created a small project for myself. For the nine days that I’m on holiday, I will assign a real-life, honest-to-goodness lady to an appropriate Greek Muse. So far, I’ve managed to… Continue reading My Muses: Clio and Anna Comnena
The Public Enemy: Disenchantment With the American Dream
The Public Enemy was a terrific example of the gangster genre, which emerged in full force during the early 1930s. As the film came out in 1931, and was unhampered by the restrictive measures of the Hollywood Production Code, enforced in 1934, The Public Enemy retains its punchy lines, seedy settings, and bawdy women: grit… Continue reading The Public Enemy: Disenchantment With the American Dream
The Historic Crescendo of Indian Cotton Muslin in the West (1770-1820)
Muslin fabric was the textile of emperors. While the Indian continent historically boasts many different varieties of textiles—from calico to ikat— it was the remarkably translucent, wonderfully white characteristics of cotton muslin that the Indian Mughal court revered. When The British East India Company received a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I of England, in 1600,… Continue reading The Historic Crescendo of Indian Cotton Muslin in the West (1770-1820)
Les Daoboliques: Synergistic Celluloid
There are a plethora of articles, essays, and books devoted to uncovering the devices which make Henri-Georges Clouzot’s film, Les Diaboliques, the model of suspense-thriller perfection. But, I cannot determine that it is any one thing that makes Clouzot’s masterpiece run like clockwork. Rather, it is the collective result of expertly fused elements that wind the viewer’s mind… Continue reading Les Daoboliques: Synergistic Celluloid
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