I totally neglected to write a blog later last week. I had decided to take a wandering over to the museum for a little while, since I had nothing else better to do, and not to mention, I wanted to go see a movie the MFA was offering. So while I waited for the 4 pm showing of The Romance of Astrea and Celadon I decided to check out the Art Nouveau Jewelry exhibit and the Assyrian Wall Carving collection from the British Museum. All I can say is, that I wish I could have had more time, because I could have sat in those galleries for hours!


The Art Nouveau exhibit featured, of course, Reneé Lalique, my personal favorite AN artist. I love his enamel and cast glass work. And I honestly have never ever paid so much attention to the craftsmanship of some of these objects before. I don't think you can fully appreciate a piece of jewelry until you try and make it the hard way yourself. Some of those objects, I must say, they did not look like a picnic to make. My favorite objects from that time period still have to be the bone combs. I suppose because it is a lost art to find a genuine bone comb. Not many women wear their hair up anymore, but there is something so elegant about the comb itself, that emits femininity. It's a shame really that women don't wear them more. If I did want to find one, then it's going to be for hundreds of dollars from some collector or at an antique store. I suppose I'd prefer a nice bone comb over some other things in this world, I must say. But I enjoyed looking at all of the different chains, and learning about all of the different inspirations that I hadn't really noticed before, such as insects and Japanese prints. There were even some Egyptian elements, but specifically focused on returning to nature and the incorporation of flora and fauna.


The wall carving exhibit was also exquisite. I've always been a sucker for history, and since I am not taking any art history this semester, I thought it best to keep some part of my mind in the past. I kind of envisioned the displayed collection as works of prestige since they are, in fact, from the British Museum. I kind of took note of some of the different animal imagery, and the spiritual expression in some of the figures. It was kind of interesting how they displayed the kings and different classes, all together in one large scene, much like some of the illuminated manuscripts I was looking at last semester, or even sections from the Bayeux Tapestry. Which leads me to another interesting part of the exhibit. There was a wall displaying a large battle scene, some parts that have been more interpreted than others, but no doubt that it has been a piece of art historical and archeological phenomenon for some time. To see some of these things in the flesh is rather remarkable, since we spend so much time studying the tiny little details you can fully understand what it all means, and put it into context.


And last but certainly not least, I got to see a rather amusing film. If you are interested in gender-bending, but still have traditional/old-fashioned expectations of love, then this is a film for you. There were points in the movie where I just wanted to smack Celadon upside the head and just tell him to get over himself, but I also thought it rather romantic that he would be willing to dress and act like a woman, a LESBIAN woman to win her affection. And I actually thought Astrea to be a little on the damsel side, and I thought she could have moved on, but then again there wasn't really anyone attractive in her village to be well suited for her. Pretty much all of the women looked better than the men. I would have rather seen her come out with a woman, which is actually ironic considering she ends up having feelings for Celadon's masquerade. Either way, the costuming was simple, the countryside beautiful, and I could have actually believed it to be something that happened in the pre-B.C. Gaul.

I intend to go to the Natural History Museum this weekend to see a glass exhibit there. It's going to be ancient history in January so I'm going with a few fellow classmates in the department. Hooray!