Book Review: The Painter from Shanghai

Title: The Painter from Shanghai
Author: Jennifer Cody Epstein
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2008
Category: Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 408 pages

What it is about:
Pan Yuliang was a mid 20th century Chinese artist, renowned for her Post-Impressionist self-portraits and paintings of nude women. She had been sold to a brothel by her uncle at age 14 after her parents died and was rescued from working as a prostitute by an idealistic customs officer Pan Zanhua. He married her and ultimately supported her artistic journey in Shangai, Paris and Rome. This book is the fictionalized story of her life (b. 1895 d. 1959).

Favourite Passage:
"Has it ever occurred to you that our wounds are what drive us to create?" He looks thoughtfully back at Goya's Saturn. "After all, loss in one arena compels us to compensate in others. Think about the senses. The way Loss of sight leads to heightened senses of smell, touch, and hearing for the bling. What if the same is true of the creative process? What if those who've lost comething compensate for it in their work? In that case their damage helps them. It's what compels them to create" He turns back to her." And it might explain why the best artists tend also to be the poorest." (page 251)

Rating:
I read the first chapter of this novel in the bookstore and was breathless with anticipation. I love reading about artists, because I understand the exquisite agony that accompanies creation. The first chapter really seemed to resonate with me and I really enjoyed the chapters that followed Yuliang through the brothel and onto her voyage of self-discovery as an artist.

Ultimately, I finished the book only out of a sense of duty. Something was missing for me and I am struggling now to explain what that was. Pan Yuliang seemed hollow, without real emotion or real dimension especially towards the end of the book. Artists are anything but hollow. I've never met a real artist who did not feel things deeply. I'm not sure a non-artist would really understand or even notice what I am talking about, but in the end, I felt dissappointed. And I really wish that the author had bothered to get permission to use one of the artist's paintings for the cover or as an appendix in the book. A picture is worth a thousand words they say.... (To that end, I've included a couple of her paintings here).

Portraits of an Artist

Oscar Wilde once said "Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter."

I used to paint a lot of portraits and here are a couple of my favourites:


Portrait of a Young Woman, by Ingrid Mida Oil on canvas, 30x90 inches, 2007 (Model Holly in front of her portrait)


The Lacemaker after Vermeer by Ingrid Mida, 2006 Oil on canvas 20x20

Blue Jean Babes (#3 and #1) by Ingrid Mida 2006 Oil on canvas, 30x40

What these works say about me, I'm not sure....

Portraits of Marie Antoinette

Portrait of the Archduchess Marie Antoinette by Martin van Meytens the Younger, 1767-1768 (Schonbrunn Castle, Vienna)

In the many portraits of Marie Antoinette, she is portrayed with smooth, white skin, blonde hair, pretty blue eyes, a high forehead, and an aqualine nose. In the Portrait of the Archduchess Marie Antoinette by Martin van Meytens the Younger shown above, painted before she left for the French court, she seems to be perfection personified.

In spite of this lovely image, it's been said that Marie Antoinette was not considered especially beautiful. Apparently, her "Habsburg jaw and prominent nose were a bit heavy for eighteenth-century taste" (Source: "The Art of Dress" by Aileen Riberio, Yale University Press, 1995). As well, there are few images of MA in profile because she was self-conscious about her aqualine nose.

In the letters between Marie Antoinette and her mother (1770-1780), she makes several references to the portraits being painted of her and that she does not think they have achieved a proper likeness. Here are two extracts from her letters to her mother:

Marie Antoinette to Maria Theresa, 13 August 1773
"I am being painted, right now; it is true that no painter has yet caught the way I look: I would happily give all I own to anyone who could express in a portrait all the joy I would feel in seeing my dear Mama; how hard it is to be able to kiss her only by letter." (page 117).

Marie Antoinette to Marie Theresa, 16 November 1774
"The painters kill me and make me despair. I delayed the courier so as to allow my portrait to be finished; it has just been brought to me; it looks so little like me that I cannot send it. I hope to have a good one next month." (page 155)

(Source: Secrets of Marie Antoinette by Olivier Bernier, 1985)

As an artist, I know how difficult it is to achieve a likeness when painting a portrait. And even if all the features are precisely in place, considerable skill is required to capture the spirit of the sitter and translate that onto canvas. I wonder if the portrait artists mentioned in Marie Antoinette's letters failed to flatter her sufficiently to win her approval or were lacking in sufficient skill to capture her likeness.

After her mother's death, Marie Antoinette sat for several portraits with Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun. One of her portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette was exhibited at the Salon of 1783 and depicted the Queen wearing a chemise gown causing tremendous controversy. The portrait was withdrawn. To read more about Madame Vigee Le Brun, please refer to my earlier posting on the subject.

Queen Marie-Antoinette by E.L. Vigee-Lebrun, 1783, National Gallery of Art, Washington

I'd hazard a guess that Marie Antoinette would not have liked the contemporary portraits of her painted by Elizabeth Peyton.

Beautiful Libraries

My mother was a librarian and often insisted on visiting libraries when we went on holiday. I never appreciated her interest. And yet, now that she is old and frail and cannot travel anymore, I find myself drawn to libraries so that I can tell her about them when I get home.


The Athenaeum Music and Arts Library in La Jolla, California was built and furnished in 1921 by the efforts of Helen Browning Scripps. Antheneum is a Greek term for place of learning , culture and discourse associated with Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the arts.

This non-profit membership library (one of only 16 in the USA) is devoted to music and the arts and has a collection of books and other media such as DVDs. Concerts and art classes are also offered.

This has to be one of the prettiest libraries I've ever seen. Don't you agree?

Anthenaeum Music and Arts Library
100 Wall Street
La Jolla, California 92037
858-454-5872
www.ljathenaeum.org/home.html

Fashion (and Light Bulbs) in Contemporary Art

Given that fashion is my muse in my artistic practice, I'm enchanted when I find work by other artists who use fashion/clothing for inspiration. The photo shown is of a bronze sculpture in the outdoor garden at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla. Titled Eden it is by Judith Shea, an American, born 1948, whose elegant work reflects her background as a fashion designer.

Inside the gallery, there is an engaging show of work by Jasper Johns (January 18 - May 10, 2009), highlighting the significance of the relationship between his two-dimensional and three-dimensional work. Included in this show were Jasper Johns first sculpture Light Bulb I and his related sculptures, prints, and drawings including several works from the artist's collection that have never been exhibited. (Sadly, no photos were allowed inside the SDMCA).

For Johns, the light bulb is a "Thing the mind already knows," an object so familiar that it is rarely truly observed and a thing seen so frequently that it is usually ignored.

Johns treated the simple light bulb as an object of beauty, by sculpting it in bronze and by featuring it as the primary focus of his drawings in graphite wash and paper, etchings, and lead relief sculpture. His work makes the viewer question his/her perception, labeling and categorization of objects. The light bulb was the subject of Johns first sculpture and became one of his signature images.

Besides the Jasper Johns exhibition, there were a number of other contemporary art works on display including one by Cornelia Parker called Rorschach (Accidental IV) 2006. In this installation piece, she suspended 70 silver plated objects crushed by 250-ton industrial press with metal wire just inches above the floor. In this symmetrical Rorschach-like composition of flattened silver-plated objects, Parker played with the ideas of status, meaning and power. She began this work with silver-plated objects of desire, commemoration and status such as candelabra, tea sets, platters -- objects that she considers traditional signifiers of class of her home in Great Britain. The Rorschach reference becomes a way to measure the unknown and reveal personal histories and secrets. I was mesmerized by this work. The glittery surfaces of the silver took on a different cast when crushed flat. They still were beautiful but there was an associated element of destruction and decay. This was my favourite piece on display at the Museum.

And finally, I had to laugh when I tried to take a photo out of a window cut-out in a gallery overlooking the ocean. I was stopped by the guard (NO PHOTOS!!!!) who told me that it was a work of art and therefore no photos were permitted through the cut-outs. This piece was called “1.2.3.4” by Robert Irwin 1997. It was a witty piece of contemporary art in which the artist framed the best views of the ocean with cut-outs. It was very clever but incredibly frustrating not to be able to photograph the ocean, never mind "the art"!


Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego La Jolla
700 Prospect Street, La Jolla 92037
858-454-3541
www.mcasd.org

18th Century Embroidery Techniques

Embroidery in the 18th century was a professional occupation, dominated by men who belonged to a Guild. Creating the intricate and elaborate decorative effects on courtier's clothing required considerable expertise, patience and time.

In one of my earlier posts about Marie Antoinette's letters to her mother, she refers to a waistcoat she was embroidering for the king. While it is not known if she ever finished that waistcoat, I thought it might be fun to see a photo of an embroidered waistcoat from that period.

Man's Waistcoat, 1750-1770
Gawthorpe Hall, Lancashire, UK

This elaborate waistcoat in cream satin illustrates the metal-thread technique known as rapport embroidery. This specialized technique required a high level of skill and I'd hazard a guess to say that it is highly unlikely that Marie Antoinette could execute it.

Valentino: The Last Emperor

Valentino Retrospective, copyright Ingrid Mida 2007


The latest must-see movie for fashionistas opened last night in Manhattan. The documentary: Valentino: The Last Emperor by Matt Tyrnauer offers glimpses into fashion designer Valentino Garavani's opulent lifestyle.

This 96 minute long documentary portrait includes scenes in his atelier, at Valentino's lavish palaces, on his private jet and on his yacht with his life and business partner Giancarlo Giammetti and their six pugs. When asked the question "What do women want?", the legendary designer responded "They want to be beautiful".

The movie also documents the 45th anniversary celebrations of the Valentino line in Rome, which included a retrospective of his work at the Ara Pacis Museum, a ball at the Villa Borghese and a spectacular party at the Colosseum. (I was in Rome at this time and attended the retrospective which was breathtaking in its beauty and took some fabulous photos one of which is posted above). Two months later, Valentino retired.

I am a huge fan of Valentino, especially of that special shade of cherry-red known as Valentino red. I must say I was sorry to learn of his retirement. The line is not the same without him!

Milliner of Note: Luke Song

When Aretha Franklin stepped onto the podium during the inauguration of President Obama in January, her hat was a show-stopper. I don't remember what she sang, but I certainly remember her hat. That lavish gray felt hat with a huge bow will be going to the Smithsonian where it will be on display until it becomes part of the Obama presidential library.

Photo source: nytimes.com

The creator of the hat is an unassuming milliner from Detroit named Luke Song. After studying biochemistry in college, he left (one credit short of his degree) to pursue art studies at Parsons the New School for Design in New York. His parents refused to pay for his art schooling. Uncertain how to pay off his loans after he completed art school, he turned to a career in millinery, seeing parallels between sculpture and the creation of hats.

The demand for Luke Song's hats has exploded since the inauguration. Working in a cramped workroom in Detroit, with the help of his family and a team of eleven staff, he creates about 100 hats a day, many of which are custom made. Although Song would like to "double his workforce", finding experienced staff has been difficult for the milliner. Song says that "millinery is a dead art".

P.S. This will be my last post on hats. I'm all hatted out.
P.P.S. Yesterday was my 100th post and I didn't even notice. Hurrah for me!

Book Review: My Life in France

Title: My Life in France
Authors: Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme (her husband's grandnephew)
Publisher: Anchor Books, New York, 2007
Category: Non-fiction, biography
Number of Pages: 352
Price: $14.95 Paperback

What the book is about:
Julia Child tells the story of her life and how she came to write the classic book "Mastering The Art of French Cooking". It all began when her husband Paul (who she married at the age of 34) was stationed in Paris as a cultural attache. Julia learned to speak French with intensive daily lessons at Berlitz and tried to teach herself to cook using recipes from Gourmet Magazine.

But her passion really took hold at age 37 when she took cooking lessons at the Cordon Bleu. Not satisfied with the lessons for housewives, Julia transferred into the more intensive professional program. As she grew ever more knowledgeable about French cuisine, she supplemented her learning with private lessons and her own research. Eventually she met two Frenchwomen who had started writing a book on French cuisine and who needed an American to assist them with translating the recipes for a US reader. Spearheading the creation of this tome on French cuisine, Julia made it a labour of love spanning many years. After publication in 1961, Julia embarked on a self-structured USA publicity tour that ultimately led to her introduction to tv and "The French Chef".

Why I chose this book:
Being a passionate home chef, I have always been in awe of Julia child. I have vague recollections of watching reruns of "The French Chef" on PBS and seeing the spoofs of her on Saturday Night Live. I also have her cookbooks. And of course, I read "The Julie/Julia Project: 365 Days, 524 Recipes and 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen" about the food blogger who nearly loses her sanity cooking every recipe in "Mastering The Art of French Cooking". But it wasn't until I read this book that I truly appreciated the contribution that Julia Child made to the world of the home chef.

Favourite Passage:
"The more I thought about it, the more this project fired my imagination. After all, the lessons embedded in these recipes were a logical extension of the material we used in our classes. I liked to strip everything down to the bones; with a bit of work, I thought this book could do that, too, only on a much more comprehensive scale. I had come to cooking late in life, and knew from firsthand experience how frustrating it could be to try to learn from badly written recipes. I was determined that our cookbook would be clear and informative and accurate, just as our teaching strove to be." (page 144)

Rating: A
This is a delightful book. There were many twists and turns in the story that made for a fascinating read, even for a non-gourmet. I had a whole new appreciation for her success as a chef and a writer. And I felt like I got to know her as a person, shortcomings and all.

More Mad Hats from the Paris Runway

I find it amusing that as soon as I took notice of hats, they are everywhere, including the Paris runway shows. Peek back at my post from Friday for a look at the curious hunting-style caps at Dior by John Galliano.

Karl Lagerfeld included these amusing hats in last week's runway shows in Paris for Chanel (did you know that Coco Chanel began her career as a milliner?)




Photo credit: NYMag.com

Don't they remind you of the Mad Hatter?

Another Mad Hatter's Tea Party!!!

Welcome back for the second Mad Hatter's Tea Party!!

'Have some wine,' the March Hare said in an encouraging tone. Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea.'I don't see any wine,' she remarked. 'There isn't any,' said the March Hare. Then it wasn't very civil of you to offer it,' said Alice angrily.
(Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)

I'm sorry to say that there won't be wine. But pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy today's selection of lovely hats.

Mad Mad Hatter's Hat by Tristan Robin Blakeman at Enchanted Revelry:



Origami doll hat by Peggy Gatto at Peggy's Mixed Up Art



Three fabulous hat collages from Judith Thibaut at Studio Judith.


Judith also tried the origami hat and produced this fabulous gold paper hat creation.


And finally, a lovely spring hat by Kelly from The Chic Geek.




Aren't they just divine! If you like them, please leave a comment for our party guests.

Hats from the Paris runway Dior show

Fashion scribes have been writing about the sobering impact of the recession on designer's visions for the fall. I was plenty sobered after looking at these hats from this week's runway show at Dior in Paris. Was John Galliano forecasting an apocalypse when he featured these hats? They remind me of hunting caps!!



And while this is not a hat per se, these bobby pins are fantastic! I thought they were a hat until I looked closely. Now that is recessionista style!

To see more from the runways of Paris, check out nymag.com

Tomorrow, I'll be hosting another Mad Hatter's Tea Party. Hope to see you there!