Friday, March 27, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Pierre Bonnard
I saw 'Pierre Bonnard: The Late Interiors' at the Met this past weekend—it was gorgeous! He's one of those painters able to transform very 'ordinary' things and scenes (a dining room table, a bathroom wall) into something inexplicably extraordinary. Some of the best paintings have this almost hallucinatory or visionary quality about them. And they are somehow very emotionally charged, too. Words can't really describe—I kind of hate writing about art, which is a bit ironic considering my degrees in Art History...Anyway, here are a few pics borrowed from the internets, even though they just don't do any kind of justice to the real thing.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Ladislav Sutnar
A Czech-born graphic designer (1897-1976). He became a sort of pioneer of information design after immigrating to the US in 1939: It was his idea to put parentheses around the first three digits of phone numbers (the area code). Good idea! Here are a couple of magazine covers he designed while still in Czechoslovakia:
He also designed other things like tea sets and toys.
He also designed other things like tea sets and toys.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Valentina
I went to see the Valentina show at the Museum of the City of New York today. Valentina Schlee was a Russian-born, New York-based couturier working in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. She did some great clothes (simple but beautiful drapey jersey dresses especially) and some awesome hats! She dressed Katherine Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, and Greta Garbo and was quite a personality in her own right. I was excited to finally see the show since it was still coming together when I was interning in the Costume department.
The photos I took are kind of blurry since I couldn't use flash...
This purple dress was gorgeous.
I also wandered around the rest of the museum. MCNY never has any money (and hasn't for a long time) so some of the permanent exhibits look like they haven't been touched for a few decades. But that kind of adds to the charm, I think. Here are some pics from the toy rooms:
The photos I took are kind of blurry since I couldn't use flash...
This purple dress was gorgeous. 
I also wandered around the rest of the museum. MCNY never has any money (and hasn't for a long time) so some of the permanent exhibits look like they haven't been touched for a few decades. But that kind of adds to the charm, I think. Here are some pics from the toy rooms:
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
reading matter
I usually come back from a trip home with at least one book discovered somewhere in my parents' house. This time I picked out Arnold Bennett's The Old Wives' Tale. The book itself is a pretty decrepit paperback (as James pointed out, it has a serious case of old-book-smell) but so far I'm enjoying it.
And here are three of the five books I bought at the Brattle: Always in Vogue, by Edna Woolman Chase (Vogue's editor from 1914-1952) and Ilka Chase, Noblesse Oblige, edited by Nancy Mitford (I just read one of her novels, Don't Tell Alfred, which was highly enjoyable), and Fun for the Household (1897), which I just bought because it's such a pretty little book. It's full of instructions for parlor amusements like "Blindfolded Platter Twirling," "Squirrel in the Middle," and, everyone's favorite game, "My Lady's Reception Apparel." The other two books I bought—Wilcox's Dictionary of Costume and an edition of Boswell's London Journals—are still in Brookline because my suitcase was getting waaay to heavy.
And here are three of the five books I bought at the Brattle: Always in Vogue, by Edna Woolman Chase (Vogue's editor from 1914-1952) and Ilka Chase, Noblesse Oblige, edited by Nancy Mitford (I just read one of her novels, Don't Tell Alfred, which was highly enjoyable), and Fun for the Household (1897), which I just bought because it's such a pretty little book. It's full of instructions for parlor amusements like "Blindfolded Platter Twirling," "Squirrel in the Middle," and, everyone's favorite game, "My Lady's Reception Apparel." The other two books I bought—Wilcox's Dictionary of Costume and an edition of Boswell's London Journals—are still in Brookline because my suitcase was getting waaay to heavy.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
the baked potato
I recently re-discovered the baked potato. It's cheap, easy, and yummy. Lately I've been combining it with an avocado (and some salad greens)—the creaminess of the avocado is a really nice with the mealiness of the potato.
townhouses I want to live in and senators I have seen
This past weekend I visited my hometown. This involved going to the doctor, eating lots of home-cooked deliciousness, having some adventures in photocopying and microtext-viewing at the Boston Public Library, buying more books than I should have at the Brattle Book Shop, and lusting after some real estate in Back Bay and Beacon Hill. The Pinckney Street house below (on the left) is one of my favorites.
I met up with Josh and Jenna and we decided to check out the exterior of John Kerry's townhouse in Louisburg Square. A big, black hybrid SUV pulled up and.......who should step out of it but John Kerry himself! He was carrying a cute tote bag with a tree on it, and, according to Josh, was pontificating on 'the thing about the government' (he was on the phone). Very exciting!! Here is the evidence:
I met up with Josh and Jenna and we decided to check out the exterior of John Kerry's townhouse in Louisburg Square. A big, black hybrid SUV pulled up and.......who should step out of it but John Kerry himself! He was carrying a cute tote bag with a tree on it, and, according to Josh, was pontificating on 'the thing about the government' (he was on the phone). Very exciting!! Here is the evidence:
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