From now until Saturday
Lauren and I will be out of the salon, away from our computers , yet in a healthy distance of our Twitter-infused smart phones. The annual
CAA conference is in our part of the country this year so how could we not attend? The weather, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be in our favor so if you happen to see elegant ladies arriving by litter you'll know it's two gossipers who can't stand to get their mules wet.
Posts will not be going up until after the event, however both of up plan on keeping up to date on our twitter accounts, delivering any sort of 18th century deets we may happen to hear.
Here is a small sample of some of the lectures that have me all sorts of curious:
Madame de Pompadour's Indiscreet Jewels: Boucher, Reproduction, and Luxury in Eighteenth-Century France Susan M. Wager, Columbia University
Warhol's Rococo Allison Unruh, independent scholar, New York
Cosmopolitanism and Art in the Eighteenth Century
Neoclassical Fashion in Art and Life in the 1790s Amelia Rauser (love her!)
It's not to late to attend! The daily rate for each day is $45 and Thursday is filled to the brim with 18th century art topics.
How funny - it seems that we have been to many of the same sessions!! Hmmm....
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved some of yesterday's talks - I want Susan Wager to publish her talk on Mme de Pompadour's jewels so I can get a good look at those stupendous images...and loved her Marcia Pointon shoutout, I've been engrossed in her book on gems, Brilliant Effects. Some of the rococo talks were awfully long but I did love Colin Bailey's of course (though his lecture a few weeks ago at the Frick was more interesting to me). And the Warhol talk was great, I hope she develops it further and publishes...Also enjoyed the dialogue in Cosomopolitanism...
Today's fashion session just topped it all though!!! Really amazing stuff, though I'm not surprised considering the speakers. I just wish it hadn't been so unbelievably stuffy. I wish I hadn't been feeling so woozy, I really wanted to ask Heather Belnap Jensen about the place of Marie Antoinette's chemise a la reine as perhaps a precursor to the fashions she discussed. In that case the dress was considered immoral for the loose fit and the gauzy fabric alone, without actually revealing any salacious bits...
The best part has been seeing all of the people sitting in on the sessions! It made me practically misty-eyed. I'm so used to thinking of the 18c as such a tiny field (because, well, it is) - I am only one of four specialists in an enormous program (compare to 30 or more modernists, at the very least...). It has been amazing to be in a room filled with people excited by the same things as me!! I'm sure you can sympathize.
Sorry to go on and on like this - I just rediscovered your blog totally at random by doing a google search of one of the presenters' publications! I'm going to dive into your archives now...
Oops! I meant Amelia Rauser, not Heather Jensen. I think. Soooo tired.
ReplyDeleteOoo ooo, I just got home, I can respond now that I have my laptop!
ReplyDeleteThe fashion session was one to totally write home about! I too thought the the Warhol talk was something incredibly interesting would love to see a book or at least journal article on it. Loved Colin Baily's speech as well!
And oh IRONY. I also wanted to ask about the gualle gown but chickened out since it was slightly off topic. Looks like it would have been a suitable question!
Hi! (this is Amelia Rauser, and I love your blog!) Just stumbled on this months too late, but you're absolutely right that the queen's scandalous gown was a precursor to 1790s fashions. Working on this now...
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, that room was crazy stuffy! but also it was so exciting to see such lavish attendance at all the 18th-century sessions. We're hot!
Coming from you Amelia, that compliment means so much! I love your work. It probably wouldn't surprise you that I was introduced to you via 'The Butcher-Kissing Duchess of D!'
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe that put that session in such a small room, I was anticipating a big turn out, but it seems they weren't. Hopefully they will be more proactive for future fashion sessions!