On Monday, the haute couture shows opened in Paris. Intermittently the demise of haute couture is postulated, since only three hundred — maybe more or less; this writer heard or saw this figure once and never saw it again — women in the world have the finances, inclination and daring to wear it; this year there have been no ominous forebodings.
Excitement ran at a feverish pitch even among those who follow scandals rather than fashion closely, since the house of Dior showed its first haute couture collection not masterminded by the Briton John Galliano. (Dior announced that it was firing the designer on March 1st; he is still being prosecuted for racist insults.)
..................................
A second first was Giambattista Valli's inaugural haute couture collection, which was displayed in a small old-fashioned corridor in the Galerie de la Madeleine. The guests sitting in the two single rows of gilded chairs included Daphne Guinness, Bianca Brandolini, Olivia Palermo, Shala Monroque, Tatiana Santo-Domingo, and the editor of Vogue USA, Anna Wintour. (On July 1st Charlotte Casiraghi, the daughter of Monégasque Princess Caroline and frequenter of fashion shows, wore one of his designs during the wedding festivities for Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock.)
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
In Honour of Anna Massey
On Sunday the British actress and CBE Anna Massey died, and though I have admittedly only seen her in one role I wanted to pay tribute.
She was the daughter of Adrianne Allen and the actor Raymond Massey, who is familiar for instance for embodying the menacing Karloffian cousin in Arsenic and Old Lace (he was also in East of Eden with James Dean, in the black-and-white Scarlet Pimpernel adaptation as Chauvelin and in John Ford's How the West Was Won playing Abraham Lincoln), and was born in Thakeham, West Sussex in 1937. As a teenager she acted first on the stage, and in the course of time covered works from classic playwrights from Pinter through Shaw and Shakespeare to Ibsen, Beckett, O'Neill and Sheridan; in 1958 she began her film acting with a role in the crime drama Gideon's Day.
The minor film role in which I saw her is as Eudora, the maid to Helena Bonham Carter's heroine in Hazard of Hearts. Adapted from a Barbara Cartland novel, this kind of role seems a test at once of the seriousness and the humour of an actor, since you can either find the material beneath you and do a cynical work of it, or take pride in embellishing the material and enjoying the melodrama with a strain of critical wit. Since the script was slender the portrayers had to fall back on a rich vein of stock characters. Anna Massey's touch as a Cassandra-like croaker and affectionate elder servant was deftly convincing, dignified and individual at once.
In the 80s BBC filming of Mansfield Park, she was Mrs. Norris — still a busybody and a chatterbox, but sincere, which was not the case in the book but certainly makes her far more sympathetic. Besides her expressive face, diction, postures and gestures, and formal, old-fashioned air are the traits of a distinguished thespian tradition.
Her important roles, in controversial films from the 1960s and 70s and then a series of classic film adaptations, testify to her range. In recent years she was Miss Prism in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest with Reese Witherspoon and Rupert Everett, and Mrs. Shrike in The Machinist (2004) with Christian Bale. The CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) was awarded in 2005.
"Anna Massey dies aged 73" [Guardian], by Xan Brooks (July 4, 2011)
Anna Massey [IMDb] and Other works Accessed July 4, 2011
Raymond Massey [IMDb]
"Actress Anna Massey dies at the age of 73" [BBC] (July 4, 2011)
"Anna Massey" [Daily Telegraph] (July 4, 2011)
She was the daughter of Adrianne Allen and the actor Raymond Massey, who is familiar for instance for embodying the menacing Karloffian cousin in Arsenic and Old Lace (he was also in East of Eden with James Dean, in the black-and-white Scarlet Pimpernel adaptation as Chauvelin and in John Ford's How the West Was Won playing Abraham Lincoln), and was born in Thakeham, West Sussex in 1937. As a teenager she acted first on the stage, and in the course of time covered works from classic playwrights from Pinter through Shaw and Shakespeare to Ibsen, Beckett, O'Neill and Sheridan; in 1958 she began her film acting with a role in the crime drama Gideon's Day.
The minor film role in which I saw her is as Eudora, the maid to Helena Bonham Carter's heroine in Hazard of Hearts. Adapted from a Barbara Cartland novel, this kind of role seems a test at once of the seriousness and the humour of an actor, since you can either find the material beneath you and do a cynical work of it, or take pride in embellishing the material and enjoying the melodrama with a strain of critical wit. Since the script was slender the portrayers had to fall back on a rich vein of stock characters. Anna Massey's touch as a Cassandra-like croaker and affectionate elder servant was deftly convincing, dignified and individual at once.
In the 80s BBC filming of Mansfield Park, she was Mrs. Norris — still a busybody and a chatterbox, but sincere, which was not the case in the book but certainly makes her far more sympathetic. Besides her expressive face, diction, postures and gestures, and formal, old-fashioned air are the traits of a distinguished thespian tradition.
Her important roles, in controversial films from the 1960s and 70s and then a series of classic film adaptations, testify to her range. In recent years she was Miss Prism in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest with Reese Witherspoon and Rupert Everett, and Mrs. Shrike in The Machinist (2004) with Christian Bale. The CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) was awarded in 2005.
"Anna Massey dies aged 73" [Guardian], by Xan Brooks (July 4, 2011)
Anna Massey [IMDb] and Other works Accessed July 4, 2011
Raymond Massey [IMDb]
"Actress Anna Massey dies at the age of 73" [BBC] (July 4, 2011)
"Anna Massey" [Daily Telegraph] (July 4, 2011)
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Nine Pillars of the Judiciary To Go On Holiday
The current term of the United States Supreme Court is drawing to a close, so the Atlantic's website ran a list of the best dissent that each justice has filed.
In case a little "Supreme Court for Dummies" is helpful: Since there are nine judges on the court, at least five of them must agree to rule for or against. Then they write an opinion. One opinion explains the majority's decision; the dissenters write another; and sometimes a justice disagrees with minor points of the colleagues' opinions enough to write his or her own. Each remaining judge joins the opinion which best fits his or her understanding of the case.
A long time ago I read former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor's Majesty of the Law. She explains that Chief Justices have historically had very different views about achieving a decision; one or two were obsessed with forging a consensus, which extorted uneasy compromises, and others couldn't care much less about whether the decision was 5-4 or 8-1 as long as there was a decision. This term, around 48% of the rulings were unanimous, 28% were 5-4.
During the past three or so months I haunted the Court's website and scrolled through a couple rulings; the dissent I remember is Sonia Sotomayor's challenge to the majority ruling in United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation. American constitutional law and the circumstances of this particular case are beyond the scope of my amateur legal erudition; so the following may be a complete mischaracterization of the case:
From a human rather than judicial perspective I thought that Sotomayor was right. The issue basically seemed to be that the U.S. government exercises a kind of statutory guardianship over Native Americans. But wards in the traditional sense have much freer access to details of how their legal representation is being run. So the government's lack of transparency and accountability to others is getting in the way of properly pursuing it in the courts where there is reason to believe that it has abused its role. I don't know if the system is really that claustrophobic and defined by Catch-22s, but then I see no foundation for optimism. But Sotomayor's taking up the gauntlet was rather heartwarming.
"I Dissent: A Different Kind of Supreme Court Term Review" [Atlantic], by Andrew Cohen (June 28, 2011)
O'Connor, Sandra Day, The Majesty of the Law (Random House, 2003)
United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation [Supreme Court], decided June 13, 2011 [PDF format; Justice Sotomayor's dissent from p. 31]
In case a little "Supreme Court for Dummies" is helpful: Since there are nine judges on the court, at least five of them must agree to rule for or against. Then they write an opinion. One opinion explains the majority's decision; the dissenters write another; and sometimes a justice disagrees with minor points of the colleagues' opinions enough to write his or her own. Each remaining judge joins the opinion which best fits his or her understanding of the case.
A long time ago I read former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor's Majesty of the Law. She explains that Chief Justices have historically had very different views about achieving a decision; one or two were obsessed with forging a consensus, which extorted uneasy compromises, and others couldn't care much less about whether the decision was 5-4 or 8-1 as long as there was a decision. This term, around 48% of the rulings were unanimous, 28% were 5-4.
During the past three or so months I haunted the Court's website and scrolled through a couple rulings; the dissent I remember is Sonia Sotomayor's challenge to the majority ruling in United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation. American constitutional law and the circumstances of this particular case are beyond the scope of my amateur legal erudition; so the following may be a complete mischaracterization of the case:
From a human rather than judicial perspective I thought that Sotomayor was right. The issue basically seemed to be that the U.S. government exercises a kind of statutory guardianship over Native Americans. But wards in the traditional sense have much freer access to details of how their legal representation is being run. So the government's lack of transparency and accountability to others is getting in the way of properly pursuing it in the courts where there is reason to believe that it has abused its role. I don't know if the system is really that claustrophobic and defined by Catch-22s, but then I see no foundation for optimism. But Sotomayor's taking up the gauntlet was rather heartwarming.
"I Dissent: A Different Kind of Supreme Court Term Review" [Atlantic], by Andrew Cohen (June 28, 2011)
O'Connor, Sandra Day, The Majesty of the Law (Random House, 2003)
United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation [Supreme Court], decided June 13, 2011 [PDF format; Justice Sotomayor's dissent from p. 31]
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Counting Pence and the Prince of Wales
The Prince of Wales's annual review has been published and with it his finances up to March 31, 2011. It is a jumble of costs pertaining not only to Charles but also to the Duchess of Cornwall and the Princes Harry and William.
In an article by Stephen Bates, the Guardian does not hold this fiscal annum entirely in good odour, on account for instance of this rise in travelling expenses, which are partially disbursed by the taxpayer:
The obvious, amateur question is whether there is not a good reason for the rise in expenses, or whether these expenses were incurred by (an)other member(s) of the household. Overseas travel tends to be undertaken at the behest of the government, for example the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
His income from the Duchy lands rose, too, apparently on a strong bond portfolio. Since about the only industry that is doing well (though food prices are also rising, and with a little rampant exploitation there are riches to be garnered here too) is the oil industry, investment in which would not correspond to his environmental convictions, I wonder at and rather admire his ability to find anything else that is remotely profitable.
Sir Michael Peat, who is the Duke's secretary, evidently admires it too; but when he observes that it is a 'fall in real terms', I assume based on my solitary catastrophic Macroeconomics course that, though impressive-looking, these figures would have had greater solid worth a couple of years ago. If I'm interpreting the chart correctly, using 2005 as a baseline of 100, the consumer price index shows an inflation of 14.5% in the past 5 years excluding 2011; it means that if you had 100 pounds in your wallet in December 2010, it was really only worth what 85.5 pounds were worth in 2005, so you might have to go to H&M (the horror!) for a pullover instead of Topshop. So if you're dealing with over £10 million, the decrease in purchasing power will be proportionately worrisome, and of course there are other economic factors likewise at play.
Altogether there are 132.8 persons in the household (up from 124) who contribute to official work; the income from the Duchy comprised almost £17.8 million and the taxes with value-added tax (VAT*), national insurance contributions for his employees, and council tax payments** £4.9 million. From taxpayers he received, through various avenues, £1.96 million. Contributions to charity and ecological measures, among them solar panels, have both been raised. I haven't read the whole review, but even in these general terms it's interesting and well-presented nuts-and-bolts stuff.
What has not been divulged was the cost to the Prince of Wales's household from the wedding of his eldest son in April (which was likewise paid for by the bride's family and the taxpayer), on the royal principle that the mechanics of weddings are best decently shrouded in privacy.
(* Proper pronunciation: each letter separately. Value-added tax is paid on goods and services at the grocery store, pub, etc., like Canada's Goods and Services Tax or like Germany's Mehrwertsteuer.)
(** The council tax is paid to local authorities and is known elsewhere as a municipal tax; it is unpopular and the Conservative government has been pushing councils to lower the rates.)
***
Table taken from the Annual Review:
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
And, since His Royal Highness is a greenie:
SUSTAINABILITY ACCOUNT
***
Prince Charles's income up by £1m [Guardian], by Stephen Bates (June 28, 2011)
"Annual Review 2011" [Prince of Wales]
In an article by Stephen Bates, the Guardian does not hold this fiscal annum entirely in good odour, on account for instance of this rise in travelling expenses, which are partially disbursed by the taxpayer:
although the review indicates the prince travelled 34,000* miles on royal duties in the past year, to the end of this March – 9,000 fewer than the previous year – and halved the amount of foreign travel he undertook, the cost rose by £388,000, to £1,080,000.*Officially 34, 287 miles.
The obvious, amateur question is whether there is not a good reason for the rise in expenses, or whether these expenses were incurred by (an)other member(s) of the household. Overseas travel tends to be undertaken at the behest of the government, for example the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
His income from the Duchy lands rose, too, apparently on a strong bond portfolio. Since about the only industry that is doing well (though food prices are also rising, and with a little rampant exploitation there are riches to be garnered here too) is the oil industry, investment in which would not correspond to his environmental convictions, I wonder at and rather admire his ability to find anything else that is remotely profitable.
Sir Michael Peat, who is the Duke's secretary, evidently admires it too; but when he observes that it is a 'fall in real terms', I assume based on my solitary catastrophic Macroeconomics course that, though impressive-looking, these figures would have had greater solid worth a couple of years ago. If I'm interpreting the chart correctly, using 2005 as a baseline of 100, the consumer price index shows an inflation of 14.5% in the past 5 years excluding 2011; it means that if you had 100 pounds in your wallet in December 2010, it was really only worth what 85.5 pounds were worth in 2005, so you might have to go to H&M (the horror!) for a pullover instead of Topshop. So if you're dealing with over £10 million, the decrease in purchasing power will be proportionately worrisome, and of course there are other economic factors likewise at play.
Altogether there are 132.8 persons in the household (up from 124) who contribute to official work; the income from the Duchy comprised almost £17.8 million and the taxes with value-added tax (VAT*), national insurance contributions for his employees, and council tax payments** £4.9 million. From taxpayers he received, through various avenues, £1.96 million. Contributions to charity and ecological measures, among them solar panels, have both been raised. I haven't read the whole review, but even in these general terms it's interesting and well-presented nuts-and-bolts stuff.
What has not been divulged was the cost to the Prince of Wales's household from the wedding of his eldest son in April (which was likewise paid for by the bride's family and the taxpayer), on the royal principle that the mechanics of weddings are best decently shrouded in privacy.
(* Proper pronunciation: each letter separately. Value-added tax is paid on goods and services at the grocery store, pub, etc., like Canada's Goods and Services Tax or like Germany's Mehrwertsteuer.)
(** The council tax is paid to local authorities and is known elsewhere as a municipal tax; it is unpopular and the Conservative government has been pushing councils to lower the rates.)
***
Table taken from the Annual Review:
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
| Year to 31st March | 2011 | 2010 |
| £000s | £000s | |
| Income from Duchy of Cornwall | 17,796 | 17,161 |
| Funding from Grants-in-Aid and Government Departments | 1,962 | 1,664 |
| Total income and funding | 19,758 | 18,825 |
| Official expenditure | 11,406 | 10,723 |
| Surplus after official costs | 8,352 | 8,102 |
| Taxation | 4,398 | 3,484 |
| Non-official expenditure | 2,539 | 1,694 |
| Capital expenditure (less depreciation), loan repayments and transfers to reserves | 1,184 | 2,695 |
| Net cash surplus | 231 | 229 |
And, since His Royal Highness is a greenie:
SUSTAINABILITY ACCOUNT
| Year to 31st March | 2011 | 2010 |
| Tonnes | Tonnes | |
| CO2 equivalent emissions | ||
| Household: sources under the Household’s control | 1,523 | 1,581 |
| Household: official overseas travel | 438 | 1,479 |
| The Home Farm | 2,025 | 2,060 |
***
Prince Charles's income up by £1m [Guardian], by Stephen Bates (June 28, 2011)
"Annual Review 2011" [Prince of Wales]
Monday, 27 June 2011
Fashion as Sadism: Men's Fashion Weeks
IN THIS SLIDESHOW, the Daily Telegraph picks out the runway looks that best incarnated the French saying, "Il faut souffrir pour être belle." — "To be beautiful one must suffer.":
"Bizarre trends from men's fashion week, spring/summer 2012" [Daily Telegraph], Photos from various agencies (June 24, 2011)
It seems far too early for Spring/Summer 2012 fashion weeks; in fact these are only for men's apparel. The outfits here — some of which are fairly conventional for the extreme aesthetic of the catwalk and some of which, like the giant green egg in the first slide, verge on the extraterrestrial — appeared in the Paris and Milan showings.
"Bizarre trends from men's fashion week, spring/summer 2012" [Daily Telegraph], Photos from various agencies (June 24, 2011)
It seems far too early for Spring/Summer 2012 fashion weeks; in fact these are only for men's apparel. The outfits here — some of which are fairly conventional for the extreme aesthetic of the catwalk and some of which, like the giant green egg in the first slide, verge on the extraterrestrial — appeared in the Paris and Milan showings.
Mythdusters: The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus
IN HONOUR of Seven Sleepers' Day, observed today here in Germany: The day itself is founded on the old Catholic myth of the sleepers at Ephesus and like a religious Groundhog Day it is traditionally considered as a harbinger of the weather for the following seven weeks:
Cave of the Seven Sleepers, Turkey (1987)
by user Kpisimon, via Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution 3 Unported License)
TO BE honest, I'm fond of the tale in a secular way because I'm very fond of sleeping, especially at epic lengths if there are no particular responsibilities to fulfill and therefore relaxing is in order.
Cave of the Seven Sleepers, Turkey (1987)
by user Kpisimon, via Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution 3 Unported License)
TO BE honest, I'm fond of the tale in a secular way because I'm very fond of sleeping, especially at epic lengths if there are no particular responsibilities to fulfill and therefore relaxing is in order.
Friday, 24 June 2011
A New Ascetic: Peter Zumthor
In anticipation of his turn at the Serpentine Gallery in London's Hyde Park, the Guardian's website has published an article and slideshow of the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor.
The last and first time I read about him was in an exhaustive article in the New York Times, which did not strike me much then but must be good to adhere in my memory: "The Ascension of Peter Zumthor" (Mar. 11, 2011) by Michael Kimmelman.
He is 68 years old and an inhabitant of a Swiss village, with his office in Chur. His father was a cabinetmaker and put him under considerable pressure to take over; instead Mr. Zumthor went off to study art, industrial and interior design, and ended up informally in the architectural field. Eventually he was officially designated as an architect by the Swiss government, waiving the formal qualifications. In 2009 he won the Pritzker Prize.
Rowan Moore's Observer article has good descriptions of his architectural style. His famous projects have so far included a baths (Therme Vals, 1996), field chapels, and a construction in Cologne where he had to work with the ruins beneath. More recently he completed a commission from philosopher Alain de Botton, building a low hilltop house in South Devon, England, as one of five holiday homes within the "Living Architecture" project. (The houses, which can be rented, pursue de Botton's aim to endear the best and brightest in modern architecture to hoi polloi.) These works are very individual and his architectural team is little; he neither seems to sprawl internationally nor expel a worldly urban flair like Zaha Hadid or Frank Gehry. (Sir Norman Foster, for instance, cooperates with around 600 people. Zumthor is also unusually prone to picking and choosing what he wants to do, which enables admirable creative independence.)
Two years ago, Jonathan Glancey captured something of the high regard in which Mr. Zumthor is held as he wrote, for the Guardian's website,
In his Serpentine Gallery pavilion, the projected image shows a big, slant-edged rectangular roof aperture in a tombesque room of slate grey, which opens a flower garden to be arranged by Piet Oudolf to the air. Glancey elucidates that the walls will be made out of timber and finished with "scrim and black paste made with sand." Previous pavilions, ten in all, were designed among others by Hadid, Gehry, and Daniel Libeskind.
"Zumthor Rising" [New York Times], slideshow by Hendrik Kerstens, and Julian Faulhaber for the Times (March 13, 2003)
"Peter Zumthor - in pictures" [Observer] by various photographers (June 19, 2011)
"Peter Zumthor: In pursuit of perfection" [Observer] by Rowan Moore (June 19, 2011)
"Swiss architect untouched by fad or fashion wins prized Pritzker award" [Guardian], by Ed Pilkington (April 14, 2009)
"Jonathan Glancey on architect Charles Holden" [Guardian], by Jonathan Glancey (Nov. 5, 2009)
"Alain de Botton commissions holiday homes to promote modernist architecture" [Guardian], by Robert Booth (May 9, 2010)
"Peter Zumthor unveils secret garden for Serpentine pavilion" [Guardian] by Jonathan Glancey (April 4, 2011)
The last and first time I read about him was in an exhaustive article in the New York Times, which did not strike me much then but must be good to adhere in my memory: "The Ascension of Peter Zumthor" (Mar. 11, 2011) by Michael Kimmelman.
He is 68 years old and an inhabitant of a Swiss village, with his office in Chur. His father was a cabinetmaker and put him under considerable pressure to take over; instead Mr. Zumthor went off to study art, industrial and interior design, and ended up informally in the architectural field. Eventually he was officially designated as an architect by the Swiss government, waiving the formal qualifications. In 2009 he won the Pritzker Prize.
Rowan Moore's Observer article has good descriptions of his architectural style. His famous projects have so far included a baths (Therme Vals, 1996), field chapels, and a construction in Cologne where he had to work with the ruins beneath. More recently he completed a commission from philosopher Alain de Botton, building a low hilltop house in South Devon, England, as one of five holiday homes within the "Living Architecture" project. (The houses, which can be rented, pursue de Botton's aim to endear the best and brightest in modern architecture to hoi polloi.) These works are very individual and his architectural team is little; he neither seems to sprawl internationally nor expel a worldly urban flair like Zaha Hadid or Frank Gehry. (Sir Norman Foster, for instance, cooperates with around 600 people. Zumthor is also unusually prone to picking and choosing what he wants to do, which enables admirable creative independence.)
Two years ago, Jonathan Glancey captured something of the high regard in which Mr. Zumthor is held as he wrote, for the Guardian's website,
I find it thrilling when I come across something – be it a school, a factory, a place of worship, a Tube station – that could be a lasting memorial for our own age and endeavours. I see this in the work of contemporary architects such as Peter Zumthor, Caruso St John, Tadao Ando, Oscar Niemeyer and Alvaro Siza.Zumthor's work is generally sombre (it is tempting to take Glancey's "memorial" literally, as "funerary"), though he would probably not appreciate such a reduction, and has a Scandinavian spareness and severity of line that echo the sterner alpine geology and historical religious strains in Switzerland. It also counteracts the idiosyncratic (for instance) Austrian tendency to seek brightness in its art, trim houses with geraniums and petunias and folk crafts, and turn to neatness and colour and transalpine Mediterranean warmth in its architecture. In his Bruder Klaus chapel, for instance, the inverse-ribbed walls are dark and though a circle and shaft of light emanates from the top the joy of religion seems too contemplative to be very present.
In his Serpentine Gallery pavilion, the projected image shows a big, slant-edged rectangular roof aperture in a tombesque room of slate grey, which opens a flower garden to be arranged by Piet Oudolf to the air. Glancey elucidates that the walls will be made out of timber and finished with "scrim and black paste made with sand." Previous pavilions, ten in all, were designed among others by Hadid, Gehry, and Daniel Libeskind.
"Zumthor Rising" [New York Times], slideshow by Hendrik Kerstens, and Julian Faulhaber for the Times (March 13, 2003)
"Peter Zumthor - in pictures" [Observer] by various photographers (June 19, 2011)
"Peter Zumthor: In pursuit of perfection" [Observer] by Rowan Moore (June 19, 2011)
"Swiss architect untouched by fad or fashion wins prized Pritzker award" [Guardian], by Ed Pilkington (April 14, 2009)
"Jonathan Glancey on architect Charles Holden" [Guardian], by Jonathan Glancey (Nov. 5, 2009)
"Alain de Botton commissions holiday homes to promote modernist architecture" [Guardian], by Robert Booth (May 9, 2010)
"Peter Zumthor unveils secret garden for Serpentine pavilion" [Guardian] by Jonathan Glancey (April 4, 2011)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)