adventures on the open road
Oct. 22nd, 2006 06:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonMade my (not so) big trip yesterday to go see pretty movie costumes and attend papers on related subjects. The drive up was surprisingly easy, but I still got more than I bargained for.
I got a flat tire just as I was driving into the museum visitor parking.
When I lost two last winter, I freaked out, but this time I managed to keep my head. I figured that if I was going to have problems, better at my destination than while on the freeway. I went to the front desk and explained my predicament - that's where the good customer service came in:
After I told her I could call AAA myself, the woman at the desk offered to call auto shops on my behalf so I wouldn't have to miss the lectures(!) I thanked her profusely and went off to call AAA/attend lectures.
I missed part of the first one due to futzing with contacting AAA (and picking up copy of Large, Probably Out-of-Print Book at Competitive Price), but settled in very happily for a paper about the "creation" of fictional pirate garb (short version: blame Howard Pyle and Hollywood, 'cos real pirates would never have dressed so flash as to draw attention to themselves); also learned a fair bit about the degradation of dress shields in museum costume collections.
Lunch rolled around and I left the (old, heavy brick/stone) building where the lectures were taking place only to find AAA had called and I'd missed them due to poor cell reception. I managed to get someone out to my car during lunch to put on my spare, and then I stopped back at the desk.
The woman I'd talked to was not there, but she'd passed my info on to her colleague who told me the best garage to go to, who to ask for, and how to get there(!) This is novel to me only because almost no one ever goes to this much trouble for customers anymore! At the end of the day I wrote a commendation note and put it in the opposite-of-complaint box, hoping the museum director could read through my (tired/inept) handwriting to reward them in some way.
Incredibly, I was able to still attend the conservation lab walk-through, though I had to rearrange for the 2nd section because of AAA (again, no trouble). We weren't allowed to touch anything, but looking was plenty - I was able to see in-progress conservation work of a early 19th c. silk satin quilt decorated with metal thread couched with achingly fine silk stitches (attn:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ellid: Winterthur is having a quilt exhibit in March) and a ca. 1700 cotton quilt made of fabric quilted and dyed in India (attn: shemhazai: you want Master Dyers of the World if you don't have it already).
I'm so in awe of anyone with the skills and nerve to work on artworks so old and fragile - I'd be terrified I'd do something wrong!
The second half of the papers were about historic costume in movies in general, and about the exhibit we were about to see specifically. Most of the costumes in the exhibit were from a single London prop house and often re-used. I was somewhat shocked to learn that some of the costumes use real period pieces (my inner Indiana Jones screams "It belongs in a museum!!"), something that gave much of the audience pause, though the practice isn't unheard of.
The open discussion could have been a garb-snarkers feeding frenzy but was kept very well under control by the moderator, who encouraged us to think about movies with accurate, well done costumes first. The list were some I'd seen, some not (The Three Musketeers and it's sequel, the Four Musketeers, Dangerous Liaisons, Age of Innocence, Restoration and many more - Netflix is my friend :) ). During the discussion of bad costume flicks I learned the wonderful phrase "underwear violation", which describes a (deliberate?) use of historic underwear innaccuracies in order to hit modern audiences over the head that this person is in their skivvies. Example: bloomers/drawers on women (not worn before the 19th c.) or corsets without chemises underneath (unusual in almost any time period).
Now to the meat: the movie costumes themselves. Wow! It's amazing the effort and craftsmanship done for items that are going to be worn only a few minutes on screen, and often not shown in detail. Much as I think "everyday" clothes should be practical, my hat's off to the artists who make things these self-contained, functional works of art, especially when they add to the overall impression that you are viewing something from a different time.
One of the things that struck me about the costumes was how small most of them were - I have concluded that most actresses are 2' tall and weigh 12 lbs (I exaggerate, but little) :P Most didn't look like they could be worn by anyone over about 5'4". Even the men's looked "short" (but then, I live with a guy who is 6'3", so my perception might be skewed) :P In most cases "correct" (at least in terms of natural vs. synthetic fibers) fabrics were used, though some of the treatments were done differently to save time/money (the Dangerous Liaisons gowns were printed, not brocade).
There were also some hands on parts of the exhibit: mirrors so visitors could practice standing with correct period posture (part of what makes the costumes look right), practice tying a cravat, or feel what the real fabrics felt like (donated fabric swatches). I think it's great that the interactive portions could be enjoyed by adults as well as children - too often the touchy-feely fun stuff is focused on kids, when I think it helps some adults learn more too.
After the museum I got my tire replaced and back on the road within about 2 hours, thanks to good directions and not having to do the hunting for a shop myself :)
I didn't give into the stress of the inconvenience until I got home - due to fussing with the car I hadn't eaten well all day and was rather dehydrated, so I ate some leftovers, had some huge glasses of water, and went to bed with a book.
Not the day I expected, but it all turned out well :)
I got a flat tire just as I was driving into the museum visitor parking.
When I lost two last winter, I freaked out, but this time I managed to keep my head. I figured that if I was going to have problems, better at my destination than while on the freeway. I went to the front desk and explained my predicament - that's where the good customer service came in:
After I told her I could call AAA myself, the woman at the desk offered to call auto shops on my behalf so I wouldn't have to miss the lectures(!) I thanked her profusely and went off to call AAA/attend lectures.
I missed part of the first one due to futzing with contacting AAA (and picking up copy of Large, Probably Out-of-Print Book at Competitive Price), but settled in very happily for a paper about the "creation" of fictional pirate garb (short version: blame Howard Pyle and Hollywood, 'cos real pirates would never have dressed so flash as to draw attention to themselves); also learned a fair bit about the degradation of dress shields in museum costume collections.
Lunch rolled around and I left the (old, heavy brick/stone) building where the lectures were taking place only to find AAA had called and I'd missed them due to poor cell reception. I managed to get someone out to my car during lunch to put on my spare, and then I stopped back at the desk.
The woman I'd talked to was not there, but she'd passed my info on to her colleague who told me the best garage to go to, who to ask for, and how to get there(!) This is novel to me only because almost no one ever goes to this much trouble for customers anymore! At the end of the day I wrote a commendation note and put it in the opposite-of-complaint box, hoping the museum director could read through my (tired/inept) handwriting to reward them in some way.
Incredibly, I was able to still attend the conservation lab walk-through, though I had to rearrange for the 2nd section because of AAA (again, no trouble). We weren't allowed to touch anything, but looking was plenty - I was able to see in-progress conservation work of a early 19th c. silk satin quilt decorated with metal thread couched with achingly fine silk stitches (attn:
ellid: Winterthur is having a quilt exhibit in March) and a ca. 1700 cotton quilt made of fabric quilted and dyed in India (attn: shemhazai: you want Master Dyers of the World if you don't have it already).I'm so in awe of anyone with the skills and nerve to work on artworks so old and fragile - I'd be terrified I'd do something wrong!
The second half of the papers were about historic costume in movies in general, and about the exhibit we were about to see specifically. Most of the costumes in the exhibit were from a single London prop house and often re-used. I was somewhat shocked to learn that some of the costumes use real period pieces (my inner Indiana Jones screams "It belongs in a museum!!"), something that gave much of the audience pause, though the practice isn't unheard of.
The open discussion could have been a garb-snarkers feeding frenzy but was kept very well under control by the moderator, who encouraged us to think about movies with accurate, well done costumes first. The list were some I'd seen, some not (The Three Musketeers and it's sequel, the Four Musketeers, Dangerous Liaisons, Age of Innocence, Restoration and many more - Netflix is my friend :) ). During the discussion of bad costume flicks I learned the wonderful phrase "underwear violation", which describes a (deliberate?) use of historic underwear innaccuracies in order to hit modern audiences over the head that this person is in their skivvies. Example: bloomers/drawers on women (not worn before the 19th c.) or corsets without chemises underneath (unusual in almost any time period).
Now to the meat: the movie costumes themselves. Wow! It's amazing the effort and craftsmanship done for items that are going to be worn only a few minutes on screen, and often not shown in detail. Much as I think "everyday" clothes should be practical, my hat's off to the artists who make things these self-contained, functional works of art, especially when they add to the overall impression that you are viewing something from a different time.
One of the things that struck me about the costumes was how small most of them were - I have concluded that most actresses are 2' tall and weigh 12 lbs (I exaggerate, but little) :P Most didn't look like they could be worn by anyone over about 5'4". Even the men's looked "short" (but then, I live with a guy who is 6'3", so my perception might be skewed) :P In most cases "correct" (at least in terms of natural vs. synthetic fibers) fabrics were used, though some of the treatments were done differently to save time/money (the Dangerous Liaisons gowns were printed, not brocade).
There were also some hands on parts of the exhibit: mirrors so visitors could practice standing with correct period posture (part of what makes the costumes look right), practice tying a cravat, or feel what the real fabrics felt like (donated fabric swatches). I think it's great that the interactive portions could be enjoyed by adults as well as children - too often the touchy-feely fun stuff is focused on kids, when I think it helps some adults learn more too.
After the museum I got my tire replaced and back on the road within about 2 hours, thanks to good directions and not having to do the hunting for a shop myself :)
I didn't give into the stress of the inconvenience until I got home - due to fussing with the car I hadn't eaten well all day and was rather dehydrated, so I ate some leftovers, had some huge glasses of water, and went to bed with a book.
Not the day I expected, but it all turned out well :)
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Date: 2006-10-23 02:23 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2006-10-23 03:19 am (UTC)