Finally Friday - Remember Game of Thrones?

Remember the Red Wedding episode of Game of Thrones?  Here's some of the setting and costumes. 

The Arlington Museum of Art has a very large show featuring all things GOT.  Costumes, swords, film clips.  It goes deep with each family and kingdom.  If it comes to your town, I recommend visiting the exhibits. 

Not the real Iron Throne, but kinda  cool

 Brutal show, brutal world.  

It was fun to peruse the exhibits and remember.  

Monday Moments - Movie Magic

The glory of Disney is shown in detailed costumes.  I enjoyed the exhibit at the Arlington Museum of Art.   So  many princesses.  Here's the  coronation gown for Princess  Diaries 2. It  was worn  by Anne  Hathaway. 

Jadis the White Witch - So Tilda Swinton!   From the Chronicles of Narnia

 This ring is very large.  It was used in a closeup for Leonardo  DiCaprio in Romeo & Juliet. He wore a regular ring, but they need this prop to show the etching inside it.   So cool.

Gotta love some  Monday Movie Magic 

Monday Moments - Costume Magic

Emma Watson was Belle in Beauty and the Beast

Lana Parilla was an Evil Queen in the TV series Once Upon  a Time     Quite dramatic

How about Anna Kendrick's Cinderella in Into the Woods?

One of many glass slippers

Lily James swirled in the Cinderella gown

 And then there's Satine (Nicole Kidman) from Moulin Rouge    You can tell how tall Nicole is from this costume.  So many of the costumes throughout the show are tiny. 

Oh and shout out today to my "baby" sister Lori.  Happy Birthday!!!  She's the best......

Finally Friday - Disney Costumes

The Arlington Museum of Art is hosting an excellent exhibit of all things Disney.   The Crown Jewels include tiaras, watches, earrings, jewelry, and more.  So many little detailed accessories that add to a character.  Quite fascinating.  And  sometimes two items are made - one  real, and one for a stunt double to wear depending on what the object (a pocket watch)  might do in a scene.  Things you don't consider when  enthralled in the movie. 

Heroes & Villains - the Art of the Disney Costume - glorious array of costumes all on the life sized mannequin of the actor who portrayed a character.  
 

Consider Hocus Pocus 2 starring Kathy Najimy, Better Midler, and Sarah Jessica Parker

 

How about Meryl Streep's Witch in Into  the Woods

Jafar from Aladdin 2019  worn by Marwan Kenzari

More  to come.  The  details and richness of the costumers in person is marvelous to behold.   I wanted to touch them all. 

Monday Moments - the "New" Arlington Museum of Art

My pickleball gang branched out to visit the "new" Arlington Museum of Art.  It was previously located in downtown Arlington - it was small, had character, felt intimate, and presented the art exhibits well. 

Now they moved to an old convention center. Bigger ain't better folks. The place felt  like  a concrete temporary box and the exhibit seemed like a pop-up after thought.  Of  course, we have to pay for the "new" place so  fees were higher and they now charge for  Parking.  Boo  hiss!!  The ridiculous part - parking was way in the back of the buildings. Thus the walk to the museum was past dock  doors.  Very ugly first impression.  No signs, no sculptures.  They could at least paint a mural on the docks.  

Meanwhile the exhibit itself was "meh".  It  lacked  many real  artifacts and "wow" items.  There was one decent  short film.  The replicas of equipment created back  in Pompeii were interesting.  Obviously until  the city was buried under ash it was quite advanced.   And in the real Pompeii, Italy more  and more is being discovered. 

Thumbs down Arlington Museum of Art. You are going to have to work hard to lure me back. 

Monday Moments at the Museum

A few Sundays ago, I caught up with a friend to enjoy A Knight's Tale at the Arlington Museum of Art. A close up  look at the decorative detail on helmets, swords, weaponry, and more were displayed. 
 

 This exhibit was from the Museo Stibbert in  Florence, Italy. Armor, mounted equestrian, etc  - 130  pieces from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and up to the 1800s.  It was all quite interesting and we spent an hour perusing. 

 I keep saying - check out the nooks and crannies in  your neighborhood - small museums are a delight. 

Monday Moments at the Museum

A few Sundays ago, I caught up with a friend to enjoy A Knight's Tale at the Arlington Museum of Art. A close up  look at the decorative detail on helmets, swords, weaponry, and more were displayed. 

 This exhibit was from the Museo Stibbert in  Florence, Italy. Armor, mounted equestrian, etc  - 130  pieces from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and up to the 1800s.  It was all quite interesting and we spent an hour perusing. 

 I keep saying - check out the nooks and crannies in  your neighborhood - small museums are a delight. 

Friday Fabulousness - 30 Americans

The Arlington Museum of Art brings in some unique small exhibitions.  30 Americans showcases works by thirty emerging and established African American artists of the last three decades. 

There is some striking, thought-provoking work

A lot of work tells so many stories that so many of us don't know or never experienced. 

  Kehinde Wiley's work is always striking.  Very cool 

All of these artists provide a unique blend of visual beauty, humor, and irony while presenting social differences, universal concepts, and emotions on a grand scale.  I was glad I went on Saturday July 3rd. 

Wednesday Wow

 Captain Jack Sparrow - Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean

 Lara Flynn Boyle wore this in Land of the Blind (I never heard of it but the dressing is breathtaking)

 Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet in Sense and Sensibility

Keira Knightley in The Duchess

Cut! Costume and the Cinema is an exhibit at the Arlington Museum of Art  (www.arlingtonmuseum.org).  Thanks to Cosprop Ltd - England for sharing a fabulous exhibit.  Over 43 costumes from 27 period films - many Merchant Ivory winners.  Phantom of the Opera, Sherlock Holmes, The Prestige, and more.

The detail and sewing is stunning. And the waistlines for these actresses are tiny.
They did have a two leather coats from Daniel Craig in Defiance.  One was quite fresh, the other had been beaten with a hammer and aged for late in the film.  Nifty to see.

Beat the heat at a museum and feast your eyes on treasures of any sort.

Street Photographer - Vivian Maier

Check out the documentary Finding Vivian Maier. Then head to the Arlington Museum of Art to see fifty of Vivian Maier's excellent black and white photographs.  This woman worked as a nanny and also took photographs of ordinary people. "Her images represent an incredibly poignant glimpse into the lives of regular people going about the business of daily life."  She lived in the North Shore area of Chicago. Over 150,000 plus negatives and rolls of undeveloped film were accidentally discovered, after she died in her 80s.  This is fascinating and her perspective and eye for art was uncanny. Modest, unassuming, and immensely talented.  This is street photography at its finest.

As I always say, explore your backyard. The Arlington Museum of Art is not very big, but they pull in some nifty exhibits. It's worth an hour to step inside and enjoy some culture.

Pride Star

This Pride Star stands outside the Arlington Museum of Art in Texas. I visited there yesterday and enjoyed a unique photo exhibit. However, the star caught my eye.

Seems appropriate as we reflect on Orlando

It's sad that I've had to write this before - words fail me

July Junque: Day 11 Ansel Adams

 In 1979, Edward Weston's daughter-in-law Maggie Weston approached Ansel Adams for a special project. She asked that he pick his best work. Out of 70 choices, this show Ansel Adams Masterworks presents 48 photographs from the original silver gelatin prints.  What a treat!
Plenty of Yosemite - the famous El Capitan, Half Dome, and more.

The blacks and whites are so pure, so sharp and it's the shades of grays that offer shadows, highlights, and depth. Mountains poke through cloud haze, blades of grass glisten in the rain. The picture on the brochure - Tetons and Snake River - capture the essence of Ansel Adams. Love of nature, luck of timing, and a skilled eye to know he shot magic.

I enjoyed my quick jaunt to the Arlington Museum of Art  www.arlingtonmuseum.org and was happy to immerse myself in the glory of Ansel Adams photography

July Junque - stick your head into a museum and find treats galore