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Museums

Huntington Library and Gardens

This Memorial Day weekend we invited Lauren and her husband to come up and go to the Huntington Library with us. I swear, this place is the best kept secret in Los Angeles – if you have any interest in art, history, or gardens, it’s not to be missed. We were blessed with beautiful weather – only a slight bit of wind, but with a firm grip I managed to keep my hat on!

The site was originally the private home of Henry Huntington, a major businessman of the early 20th century, so there are buildings interspersed in between the gardens instead of one giant art complex. The Huntington’s 1911 Beaux Arts mansion is now the main art gallery, and it’s lovely wandering from building to building through the gardens. We were there for about 4 hours and probably only got through half of galleries and gardens – and we were hurrying!

There were loads of people who were interested in how we were dressed, and we were surprised at how many people knew we were wearing 30s/40s styles. Not a single flapper or 50’s comment! (Although we did overhear one “Night at the Museum” reference in the art gallery, which I thought was pretty funny.)

Sitting on the bridge in the Shakespeare Garden

Lauren is working hard to avoid my hat! It kept banging into anyone who came near, but it was great for keeping the sun away!

Sitting in front of the Judy Garland roses.

Chris and me in the Rose Garden.

Walking from the Rose Garden to the Mansion/Art Gallery.

Sitting on the back railing of the mansion. 

The boys relaxing on the porch. Any minute now, a mummy is going to rise from the tomb behind them.
Photo Effects by Lo-Fi App

A Dealer’s Life

For me, the most fun talk at last weekend’s symposium at LACMA was “A Dealer’s Life: Conversation with Martin Kamer and Wolfgang Ruf”. These were the two men who teamed up to build the collection that LACMA acquired, and together with Sharon Takeda, the senior curator of the Costume and Textiles Department, they told many interesting stories about their friendly rivalry and acquiring these pieces.

I managed to snatch a couple of burry photos from their Powerpoint presentation – there were a lot of behind the scenes shots that were a real treat.
This 1860’s dress is featured in the exhibition to display the roller printing techniques that were newly developed. What didn’t make the exhibition cut was the matching day bodice:
Exciting, right? Well, the audience thought so – there was an audible gasp when the picture flashed on the screen. Kamer also explained that this day bodice has hook and eye tape down the front, which is the earliest example he’s seen of that. (Hope I got that info right – I was madly taking pictures and notes and probably didn’t get everything right!)
Another crowd favorite is this dress from the 1830’s:
Aren’t those beret sleeves delish? Here’s a couple more (fuzzy-wuzzy) shots from the screen.
Bottom and Interior Views
THE SLEEVE FOLDS FLAT!!! Pure genius.
It kind of reminds me of this, but the pink one is way cooler. 🙂

“Fashioning a Collection”: Costume Mannequins

Last weekend I attended the Fifth R.L. Shep Triennial Symposium on Textiles and Dress, “Fashioning a Collection: Vision and Viewpoints”. The symposium had been sold out for weeks, so when I was offered an extra ticket I jumped at the chance! (Thanks Lauren!) It was an amazing day of talks and papers, focusing on both LACMA’s current “Fashioning Fashion” exhibition and the scholarship behind it.

Akiko Fukai, the director and chief curator of the Kyoto Costume Institute, opened the day’s talks. She spoke about how the KCI was one of the first major institutions to collect western historical fashions in the 1970’s, and how they were able to develop their collection for a relatively low cost because there wasn’t competition from other museums at the time. It sounds like they acquired their collection for a tiny fraction of what it would cost today!

She also spoke about the physical considerations of displaying these historical garments – Fukai described it as a challenge to display them in an “authentic and artistic” manner, which is even harder to do in Japan, because they have had to learn what this means in a western culture. To accomplish this, the KCI has developed a range of mannequins that have different body types (sloping shoulders, high bust, monobosom, etc.) and are highly adjustable in their size and movement. They can’t just pin the garments back like in a shop window, so they have to make the mannequin fit the clothing!

Front and Profile View of Mannequins – 18th C, Beginning 19th C., Mid 19th C., Belle Epoque (L to R)
Mannequins showing life-like movement
If you’re interested in how LACMA set up their exhibition, check out their blog entry, Fashioning Mannequins. What a fascinating job it would be to dress these dolls!