Something Old, Something New at the MFA Boston

 

Wedding Dress, Arnold Scaasi, 1989.

 

We went to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, recently and enjoyed the exhibit Something Old, Something New: Wedding Fashions and Traditions.  For once, I am blogging about an exhibit well before it ends - this display is on view through October, 2023.

From the exhibit introductory wall text:

...Drawing from the MFA's collection of costume, jewelry, and photography, this exhibition explores the origins of American wedding customs and looks at how they've evolved - and stayed the same - from before the Victorian era and beyond.

The central focus of the exhibit is, not surprisingly, the wedding dress.  

Complemented by white veils, shoes, jewelry, and other accessories, the wedding dress is the centerpiece of the ceremony and perhaps the most symbolic of Western nuptial traditions. While its perseverance is attributed to Queen Victoria's romanticized marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 in a gown that was "rich white satin trimmed with orange flower blossoms," many brides before her - especially from Christian communities - chose white to represent virginity, purity and femininity.  This choice was made centuries before by Roman, Greek, Egyptian, and other societies to symbolize wealth, status and power.  The romance and elegance of white silk, lace, tulle, and satin persists as the signifier of a perfect ceremonial gown.

Bridal gowns can often become family heirlooms, passed down through generations.  Nowadays, many modern brides seek dresses they can rewear and incorporate into their wardrobe.  In either case wedding gowns make a great case study for sustainable fashion as they rarely end up in landfills.  Perhaps due to an emotional connection to what the dress tends to represent - hope.  Do you still have your wedding dress or bridal ensemble?

Well, I don't have my ensemble (but still married), however I did have my daughter's wedding dress "preserved" by J. Scheer and Company, specialists in costume conservation.  

Wedding dress, American, 1889.

Wedding dress with leaf motif, English c. 1945.

Woman's bridal ensemble in two parts, Bob Mackie, 1980's.

Woman's wedding ensemble, Priscilla of Boston, c. 1986.

Detail, machine-made lace.

Wedding dress, Geoffrey Beene, 2002.

Wedding dress, Priscilla of Boston, 2011.

A word about Priscilla of Boston - this was a bridal boutique on Boston's fashionable Newbury Street until 2011. Learn more about Priscilla Comins Kidder at the Smithsonian archive.

In addition to the dress, of course, there are all the other wedding outfit accoutrements - undergarments, shoes, headpieces and veils, hosiery, and jewelry.  The MFA has a good collection of these artifacts too.  As someone who knits I was impressed by a pair of stockings from 1855, below. 

One of a pair of wedding stockings, American, 1855.

Wedding corset, made by Ann Priscilla Watson, 1839.

Although I didn't save my wedding dress, I do have an image of my cake topper, below. I used to have red hair, but, unlike the plastic bride figure, I still have both my arms.

Wedding cake topper, maker unknown, 1978.

 

Ruth Asawa in Women Take the Floor

Untitled, detail.

Untitled (S 407 Hanging Five-Lobed Continuous Form within Form with Two Spheres)

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The Boston Museum of Fine Arts has a sizable new installation of work by female artists titled Women Take the Floor.  Gallery 328, in the American wing of the museum, displays part of this overall installation, with the theme Beyond the Loom: Fiber as Sculpture/Subversive Threads.  A stand-out piece in this gallery is the woven wire sculpture by Japanese-American artist Ruth Asawa, created about 1952, in the image above.

The image of the gallery below gives an idea of the scale of the sculpture.

Gallery 328, with work by Sheila Hicks, Olga de Amaral and others.

From the wall text:

Born in California to Japanese parents, Ruth Asawa overcame great adversity to achieve renown as an artist.  During WWII, she and her family were forcibly relocated to Arkansas, as part of the U. S. government's internment of American of Japanese ancestry.  Later, she was denied opportunities that would qualify her as an art teacher.  In 1946, however, she began studying at Black Mountain College with Josef Albers.  During her tenure at the college, she also studied with dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham, mathematician Max Dehn, and visionary architect Buckminster Fuller.

A trip to Mexico in 1947 led Asawa to experiment with the technique of wire-looping, inspired by traditional Mexican basket weaving.  The resulting forms, hovering suspended from the ceiling as here, became her signature style.  The method of continuous looping was key to her art, and Asawa noted:

 "I was interest in the economy of a line, making something in space, enclosing it without blocking it out.  It's still transparent.  I realized that if I was going to make these forms, which interlock and interweave, it can only be done with a line because a line can go anywhere."

Untitled, detail.

Gender Bending Fashion - Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Alessandro Trincone, Annodami dress, 2017.

The unexpected popularity of the attendance record-setting 2011 show featuring Alexander McQueen's work, at the Metropolitan Museum of New York, kicked off a movement of fashion arts exhibits in museums traditionally known for collections of painting, sculpture and decorative arts. A recent example these big fashion installations in major cultural institutions is Gender Bending Fashion, curated by Michelle Finamore, Penny Vink curator of Fashion Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and on display from 21 March 2019 through 25 August 2019.  This exhibit is making a splash, with favorable write-ups in both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Kudos to the design and installation fabricators of this exhibit, which features custom plinths and lighting in a rainbow of colors, creating a display environment responsive to the artifacts and content.

Exhibit intro wall text - rainbow foil lettering.

The dress in my first image above, intended for a male wearer, is a mix of Italian and Japanese influences;  characters in anime and in video games introduced elements of samurai dress to westerners.  Remember Teenage Ninja Turtles? A samurai warrior costume included a kimono topped with a pleated overskirt. The "Annodami" dress above has layered elements which are halfway between pleats and ruffles, but the Japanese influence is unmistakable in the parasol/hat and the tied straps and belted elements.

Source: http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat16/sub107/item502.html

I'm currently reading the first volume of the Usagi Yojimbo graphic novels (hey, I learned to read with comic books) and am enjoying the adventures of this rabbit ronin, dressed in an outfit that is a first cousin to the Trincone dress.

Another action hero in karate-ready garb takes me back to my teenage years.  Actually a heroine - Mrs. Peel (actor Diana Rigg) from the television series, The Avengers. Below is the sketch for one of Mrs. Peel's form-fitting outfit, and a black-and-white photo of Ms. Rigg wearing the garment. Finally, Ms. Rigg, shown below as Lady Olenna Tyrell, continues to wear character-defining costumes in HBO's Game of Thrones.

Diana Rigg outfit for The Avengers, John Bates, c. 1965.

Source: http://www.heavymetal.com/news/20-pictures-of-diana-rigg-as-the-deadly-adorable-emma-peel/

Source: https://wikiofthrones.com/14035/diana-rigg-thrones-end-olenna-tyrell/

I enjoyed seeing fashion sketches, in addition to actual outfits, as it gives a sense of the designer's working process. Below is a sketch by Lucien Lelong, with fabric samples, for a menswear-influenced woman's evening outfit.  Broad shoulders and narrow hips create a masculine-ized silhouette, while the lower part of the ensemble is ambiguous - a skirt or palazzo pants? (It's a skirt). Gold net, with metallic thread embellishment, at neck and lower sleeves gives a bit of sparkle and reminds me of the lace collars and cuffs from men's outfits of the 18th century.

Lucien Lelong, sketch "Le Grandin" (the Dandy), 1935.

Men's ensemble, 17th c. Collection Victoria & Albert Museum.

The theme of gender identity aside, luxury fabrics remain one constant throughout the exhibit; of course this is partly due to the survival of more expensive clothing worn only on occasion. Garments of lesser quality and which experienced daily wear would have been discarded or repurposed.  My grandmother (1900 - 1994) would make rag rugs out of ripped-up, worn-out garments.

Invitation for O'Rossen fashion show, Robert Polack, early 20th c.

The drawing above was used as the cover for a fashion show invitation. Reminds me of the dress for success books aimed at women in the 1970's; the popular, research-based book by John T. Molloy was also displayed in the exhibit.

First edition, The Woman's Dress for Success, 1977.

The show featured numerous images of entertainers crossing, or blurring, gender lines in dress, including the well-documented - Marlene Dietrich, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix - as well as figures such as maverick Harlem Renaissance performer Gladys Bentley.

Ensemble worn by James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix, 1967.

Although he was a stellar entertainer, Jimi Hendrix's music was not my soundtrack of my youth; rather, I used to wash the dishes while listening to station WXYZ in Detroit.  Mouthing the words to "Stop in the Name of Love" I'd wave the dishcloth in the air, mimicking Diana Ross's "stop" hand motion. "Girl singers" of that era wore beautiful pageant-ready gowns and had elegantly styled wigs and hair. Such presentation made them acceptable to all audiences.

While much of the exhibit was devoted to the role of entertainers as "influencers" one gallery devoted a sizeable display to women in active wear as well as in uniform. As women entered the work force clothing became more practical, and was often adapted from the male wardrobe for work and recreational.  The image below shows women's attire for swimming, riding astride, and auto racing. Of course, women aspiring to be like men - perceived as addressing a deficiency - was in some way less threatening than men appearing in women's clothing, which still has the power to discomfit.

Dressing for the active life in colorful installation.

Turner-prize winning artist Grayson Perry. Source: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Grayson-Perry   

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/style/jason-momoa-scrunchies-for-men.html

For most straight men, just wearing pink makes a statement. Check out the matching scrunchie on Mr. Momoa's right wrist, above.  I found myself best liking the outfits that subtly combined masculine and feminine elements, such as the outfit below, where a black man-tailored suit is partly obscured by a beautifully embroidered kimono-like garment.  Mixes business with pleasure.

Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garcons, Dress/jacket, 2006-7.

Dress/jacket, detail.

I also really like the red ensemble, below center, worn by Janelle Monae at the 2018 Oscars.  In eye-catching red, the tailored bodice starts to descend into a skirt, but the skirt volume is cut back in front, revealing red trousers. The skirt does continue in back into a train; a fascinating meld of menswear tailoring and red carpet glamour.

Christian Siriano, Evening Suit, 2018.

The final gallery of the exhibit is really a set design, with panel backdrops and nine pedestals bathed in diagonal aurorae of projected light, almost outshining the nine outfits displayed in this gallery.  In an exhibit examining self-presentation, it is fitting that the galleries themselves have personality.

Gallery overview.

John Singer Sargent paints textiles at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

John Singer Sargent, Mrs. Edward Darley Boit, 1887.

The polka-dot-clad lady above is Mary Louisa Cushing Boit, Boston matron and mother of the four girls in the well-known Sargent painting, the Daughters of Edward Darley Boit. Mary Louisa's portrait is part of Exhibition Lab: Sargent and Fashion, at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, on view from November 10, 2018 until June 23, 2019.  As explained in a video dialog between curators Pamela Parmal and Erica Hirshler, this exhibit is really a preview of what will be a larger show, to open in 2022, of Sargent works, with a focus on his representation of apparel.  Patron feedback is solicited via iPad as well as paper and pencil in this gallery. So, visit and weigh in!

It can be dangerous to consider painters as textile historians. In the portrait of Mrs. Boit, first image above, Mrs. Boit is dressed in an assortment of fabrics, including tulle, velvet and satin. Most eye-catching, however, is the black polka-dot fabric with the pink ground. According to the wall text, while polka-dots were fashionable at the time, the pattern was found more commonly in juvenile apparel, and it does seem at odds with the sober black of her overall costume.  Was this outfit part of her usual wardrobe or something assembled at the behest of Sargent, responding to what author Henry James called the "eternally juvenile" facet of her personality?

Gallery overview.

Hung on the wall nearby were actual samples of taffeta, satin and velvet fabrics, all black, welcoming patrons to touch and examine. The fabric "petting zoo" is a great idea but the dark color made it a bit more difficult to see the weave structure.

Two portraits, two dresses.

The image above reveals additional examples of Sargent's approach to textiles in his society portraits. On the wall to the left is a reproduction of Portrait of Mrs. J. P. Morgan, Jr., nee Jane Norton Grew (1868-1925).  The gown she wore for the portrait, designed by French couturier Jean-Phillipe Worth and owned by the MFA, is displayed in the foreground. Although it's difficult to tell in my image, Sargent only hints at the woven pattern of the dress.  He also seems to reduce the reflective nature of the fabric; in the portrait the surface is depicted as almost matte, with few highlights to distract from her face, bosom and arm.  This is a distinct departure from earlier attitudes towards shiny fabrics, which gave painters a chance to show off their skill in depicting reflectivity.  Almost more important than the dress is the feathery (furry?) white stole, which practically buries her right hand, barely modelled, and holding a fan.  Jane Morgan almost looks enveloped in a protective cloud.

To the right above is  Mrs. Charles E. Inches (Louise Pomeroy), painted in 1887.  The lush red silk velvet dress on display, copied from a Worth gown by the Boston company of Auringer and Lewis, may be the same dress. I gather the documentation is uncertain.  Whether or not the dress retains it original neckline, in the painting Sargent lowered the neckline as much as he dared in this portrait of a wealthy physician's wife, who was pregnant at the time with her third child. The right strap (from the viewing perspective) of the dress has been minimized, exposing more skin and emphasizing the bow, and the left bow seems to have disappeared altogether, emphasizing the elegant curve of the arm.

Sargent clearly "tailors" his sitter's apparel to suit his technique and goals. I look forward to learning more in the finished exhibit in 2022.

An aside: a brief Google search for "Auringer and Lewis" yielded nothing; perhaps an enterprising fashionista will write a history of couture in Boston.

More Knitting at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly, Mary Cassatt, 1880.

Mary Cassatt's plein-air portrait of her sister doing needlework is part of a wonderful exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York.  In a sort of kindred-spirit tableau vivant, knitting was also on display in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, as part of the Member Make and Mingle program. In this program, free for members and up to four of their guests, about 50 women (and some men) brought yarn and needles into the Shapiro Courtyard.  Beginning at 9 am, an hour before the regular opening schedule, we sat on comfortable chairs, couches and stools and manipulated our needles and yarns. A knitter who also teaches first grade engaged us in a round of brief introductions and descriptions of our projects. The lighting was much better than in an earlier incarnation of this activity.

Busy knitters in the Shapiro Courtyard.

Skilled hands at work.

My friend Robin knits with hand-spun yarn.

Soft mohair yarn spilling out of a bag with matching handles.

When we learn about artwork in reproduction, either in print or online, it's easy to overlook the element of texture - on pages and screens, subtle surface qualities are hard to perceive and appreciate. Moreover, we must interact with artworks in a museum visually - no touching allowed!  So, working with yarn, from smooth worsted to fuzzy angora - reconnects us to the tactile appeal of objects.

Scarf in a sort of sampler style.

Knitter wearing her creations.

Knitting in company.

Dale Chihuly's Lime Green Icicle Tower looms over knitters.

Knitting is also one of the ways folks who think they are not artists nevertheless demonstrate that creativity extends beyond the traditional plastic arts. Conjuring objects from skeins of yarns  requires decisions about color, texture and form, as well as technical mastery.

Sweaters in purple and lime green.

The event was a sort of delightful fashion show as well, as many knitters wore their own beautiful garments, such as the sweater in the image below.

Expert work and great colors.

Coffee and cables.

Finally, another image of a someone engaged in needlework, painted by one of the women artists in the Impressionist movement, Berthe Morisot.  (This painting is also part of the Public Parks, Private Gardens exhibit at the Met.)  I wonder if the young woman's hands were moving as quickly as Morisot's brush, as the painter worked at her easel in the garden capturing the atmosphere and light of the moment.

There are two more Knitting in the Galleries sessions this spring: May 5 and June 2.

Young Woman Knitting, Berthe Morisot, c. 1883

Knitting and Mark Rothko at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Knitters with No. 1, Mark Rothko in the background.

On Friday, September 22, I joined a large group of women at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for "Knitting in the Galleries" a novel way of engaging with art.  For about two hours, with casual oversight by two museum staffers, we sat, chatted and knitted, surrounded by an installation of Mark Rothko paintings.

Knitter communing with paintings.

Unfortunately, the area given to the knitters was rather underlit and, as I brought dark-colored yarn, I moved to another spot, directly beneath a light, in the gallery. See me in the right hand edge of the image above, working on my Paris Toujours shawl?  The better to devote  myself to both knitting and that peculiar state  of quiescent awareness which Rothko's work elicits.

Below is a brief video taken by my husband of the activity.

Another view of knitters at work.

I also learned, from staffer Anne S., that it is perfectly acceptable for knitters to sit in the galleries at any time and work on their fiber projects.  

Mulberry and Brown, 1958.