CULTURAL PLEASURES IN THE BIG APPLE

POLLYTALK FROM NEW YORK

By Polly Guerin
February 1, 2010

CULTURAL PLEASURES IN THE BIG APPLE (c)

What all this talk about cultural pleasures? Really, anyone would say to see our modern dramas that the upper-class spent their days in cultural pursuits and pyjamas. Victorian ladies crafted photocollages, women singers perform, Lord Wedgewood presents at tea and Quebec celebrates with a Winter Carnival. Dear me, fair beauties are not the only charm, raise classes salute the lot. Here’s the scoop!!!
Need a hobby? “PHOTOCOLLAGES Reveal Wit and Whimsy of the Victorian Era” when aristocratic Victorian women had the time and inclination to indulge their fancy and creativity in the little known phenomenon ‘photocollages,’ which occupied their leisure pastime. Whimsical and fantastical Victorian photocollages, created using a combination of watercolor drawings and cut-and-pasted photographs, reveal the educated minds as well as the accomplished hands of their makers. With subjects as varied as new theories of evolution, the changing role of photography, and the strict conventions of aristocratic society, the photocollages frequently debunked stuff Victorian clichés with surreal, subversive, and funny images. PLAYING WITH PICITURES; THE ART OF VICTORIAN PHOTOCOLLAGE, on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through May 9th is the first exhibition to comprehensively examine this little-known phenomenon. http://www.metmuseum.org/.
TEA WITH LORD WEDGEWOOD

All this nostalgic Victorian craze takes me out of town. Pardon me if I skip down to Washington, DC to take afternoon tea with Lord Wedgewood this weekend at the historic Willard hotel. A Victoria Magazine sponsored event, Celebrating 250 Years of Innovation and Artistry, I’ll be taking a private tour of the Wedgewood exhibition at the Daughters of the American Revolution National Headquarters. Mon Dieu! Are any of those daughters still around? Nonetheless, it’s interesting to note that Queen Charlotte (1765) graciously allowed Wedgewood to style himself as ‘Potter to her Majesty.’ www.victoriamagazine.org l.888.411.8995.
WOMEN SING ROMANTIC SONGS

Women take center stage, just in time to set the mood for Valentine’s Day, “WITH A SONG IN MY HEART.” Romantic songs, arias and ensembles are sung by the Professional Women’s Singers Association featuring works by Bizet, Mozart, Puccini, Sondheim, Strauss and Verdi to name a few. Twenty-two of the organization’s members will sing works drawn from the operatic and music theatre canon, and reflecting on the many facets of love and romance. Among the singers is my favorite, Leslie Middlebrook, but all the other stellar performers deserve their just due. Too numerous to list them all you can check the concert roster at www.womensingers.org. Marijo Newman at the piano, directed by Richard Getke. A joyful evening on February 7th at 7pm at Christ and St. Stephens Church, 120 West 69th St.

QUEBEC WINTER CARNIVAL
We’ve had our share of snow but the QUEBEC WINTER CARNIVAL (Canada) is such fun!!! It’s the largest winter festival in the world and the Canadian’s version of a snowman, Bon Homme with his red beret, greets us with a grand medieval-inspired Ice Palace, built with more than 250 tons of ice and illuminated with thousands of multicolored lights. Outdoor dance parties, a parade, sleigh rides, snow-rafting and an elegant ball keep us on our toes from morning to night. Delicieuse, the Quebec restaurants offer world-class dining. Don’t miss the International Snow Sculpture event. Jan. 29-Feb. 14. www.carnaval.qc.ca.
Ta Ta, my darlings. I’m taking Amtrak to DC and take tea with Lord Wedgewood and tell all in my next column. Fan mail to pollytalk@verizon.net. Blogs: http://www.amazingartdecodivas.blogspot.com and http://www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com , http://www.awakenyoursleepingbeauty.

OLD MASTERS AND MODERN DIGS IN NEW YORK

POLLYTALK FROM NEW YORK
January 18, 2010
By Polly Guerin

(c) OLD MASTERS AND MODERN DIGS IN NEW YORK

My heart beats a little faster when I see an Old Master and Victorian vernissages present photocollages. There’s a call for designers, dioramas, and new digs at The Strand, so I am quite sure you understand, there’s diverse cultural treasures in this famous land. Here’s the scoop!!!

‘IN THE GRAND MANNER’ Jean-Luc Baroni, the third generation of a family of connoisseurs art dealers presents rare and old master paintings and drawings from the 16th to the early 20th century, some on view for the first time in the United States during Old Master Week in New York, at Carlton Hobbs LLC, 60 East 93rd St. “I am privileged to have the opportunity to show my works of art in a gallery of such stature and prominence,” said Baroni. One of these masterpieces is the “Portrait of a Lady as ‘Flora’” by Giovanni Batista Tiepolo (Venice 1696-1770 Madrid) was recently discovered in the attic of a French Chateau. Forgotten for over 200 years, now’s your chance to see this stunning picture, plus one of the most poetic of the Bolognese Master Ludovico Carracci (1555-1619 Bologna) is a magnificent painting whose provenance gores back to 1632. Exhibition hours Monday-Saturday, 10 am-6pm. For more info call 212.423.9000 or visit www.carltonhobbs.com Opens January 22-to-Feb. 2.
THE WIT AND WHIMSEY OF THE VICTORIAN ERA is the first exhibition to comprehensively examine the little-known phenomenon of the whimsical and fantastical Victorian photocollages. With subjects as varied as new theories on evolution, the changing role of photograph, and the strict conventions of aristocratic society, the photocollages frequently debunked the stuffy Victorian clichés with surreal, subversive, and funny images. “Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian Photocollages” provides a fascinating window into the creative possibilities of photography in the 19th century and features 50 works from public and private collections, including many that have rarely or never been exhibited before. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art Feb. 2-May 9. www.metmuseum.org.
CALLING ALL DESIGNERS: You may be Macy’s Newest Star! Are you an established apparel or accessories designer and interested in doing business with Macy’s? If so, you’re invited to submit an online application to attend MACY’S OPEN CALL, a unique opportunity to have your work reviewed by Macy’s Fashion Directors, Buyers and Merchandisers. If selected you’ll be invited to present your line in person and possibly have it sold at Macy’s! WOW, what an opportunity. To access more information and the application, visit www.macysinc.com/operncall. Deadline for online applications till January 31.
CHRONOTOPES & DIORAMAS: Dia at the Hispanic Society presents the first major U.S. solo exhibition for Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, one of the leading French figures on the international contemporary art scene. Site-specific Gonzalez-Foerster’s 40-foot wide ‘annex’ presents some of the books (from the Hispanic Society’s research library)some 40 20th century authors “as indigenous inhabitants” in three different terrains rendered in natural-history dioramas. Amazing!!! A must see! Through April 18th. Diaart.org/hindex.html.
THE STRAND, a new boutique hotel takes a stand right in the heart of New York’s fashion district on 37th Street between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas. The entrance hall resonates with a dramatic two-story waterfall. Best of all is the TOP OF THE STRAND, rooftop bar and lounge which boasts a retractable roof and stellar views. The lobby photographs, culled from the New York Times archives features fashion images of models and celebrities. Expect the best in a business and fitness center. 33 W. 37th St, 212.448.1024, www.thestrandnyc.com.
Ta Ta darlings, I’m off to meet some friends at Top of the Strand and capture the sunset and stunning views. Fan mail to pollytalk@verizon.net, or visit my blogs: www.amazingartdecodivas.blogspot.com, and www.thefashionhistorianpollyguerin.blogspot.com and www.awakenyoursleepingbeauty.blgspot.com