Gayle Brennan Spencer – sending random thoughts to and from South Austin
Store displays gave us advance warning American Halloween traditions had bridged the ocean to invade Europe.
Spain’s vulnerability is enhanced by the fact that Halloween is the eve of a national holiday – Dia de Todos los Santos, or All Saints’ Day. While not a full-scale conquest yet, Bilbao appears on the cusp of adopting costumes.
Continue reading “Postcard from Bilbao, Spain: All Hallows’ Eve”
Above: “Saint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins,” Pieter Claeissens, 1560
Pieter Claeissens’s painting hanging in Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias attracted my attention because of my unfamiliarity with Saint Ursula. According to legend, 11,000 handmaidens of Princess Ursula set sail with her from southern England on a journey to marry the pagan to whom her father had betrothed her. The ship was blown off course, so Ursula and her entourage decided on an extended pilgrimage to Italy first. Huns had taken over Cologne by the time they finally arrived there, and, for some reason, the Huns failed to appreciate having all those virgins in their midst and slaughtered them.
Continue reading “Postcard from Oviedo, Spain: A few pieces from Museo de Bellas Artes”
Above left: 19th-century Indian fine muslin dress embroidered with silk, silver and gold thread, Victoria & Albert Museum South Kensington. Above right: Lampshade skirt, Mary Katrantzou, 2011, The Design Museum.
Visiting numerous museums in a row, it’s impossible for me not to compare what might seem as incongruous exhibits. A portion of “Rebel: Thirty Years of London Fashion” at The Design Museum struck me as almost consciously mimicking the Asian fashion display in the Victoria & Albert Museum combining robes and fabrics.
Thirty years represents an anniversary celebration of the British Fashion Council NEWGEN program offering young designers an opportunity to expose their creativity to a wide audience. With a fresh M.A. in Fashion degree, Lee Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) was in that first group of beneficiaries.
Continue reading “Postcard from London, England: Fashion fusion”
Postcards from Barton Springs 