We Did It January

A little bit of this, a little bit of that. A look back at the month.

A See Level Outtake

A few weeks ago, when I got close to finishing the newsletter about Kamala Harris’s Vogue cover, I wondered if any of you would care. In the bigger picture of our lives in 2021, what did a controversial magazine cover matter? And then I remembered something that always brings me solace in moments of doubt, The Devil Wears Prada. That’s right; Mother Meryl comes to me speaking words of wisdom. If you haven’t seen this fine work of cinema, let me do a little scene setting for you, Meryl Streep plays the icy cold fashion magazine editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly. Anne Hathaway plays her new assistant Andrea Sachs who could care less about fashion. It’s a bit of a fish out of water premise, based on a book written by a former assistant of Vogue’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. 

In the movie’s most salient scene, Streep delivers the cerulean blue monologue. She explains to her new assistant, who still finds clothes frivolous at this point in the story, how fashion trends trickle down from high-end designers to sales racks. Streep concludes her dressing down with, “It’s sort of comical how you think you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when in fact, you’re wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room.” Ahhh, goosebumps every time. 

I love this scene. It’s a crash course in sociology of culture. Streep elegantly explains how gatekeepers (like magazine editors) choose what work (in this case, fashions, yes fashions with an s) from which creators/producers (fashion designers) reaches consumers. Although Streep directs her controlled ire at Andrea, we viewers catch a few strays. Streep’s speech makes me question the origins of my taste. Who beyond me has influenced what I like? It reinvigorates my interest in understanding how culture works even when the work is invisible. It affirms that all material culture, low and high, big and small, is worthy of some form of attention. Even magazine covers and smart chick flicks. 

Now let’s get into some cultural news from this month. 

Something that made me go hmmm: The Charles and Ray Eames Lounge Chair “Remix” We Probably Didn’t Need  

In 1956 designers Charles and Ray Eames collaborated with the Herman Miller company to create one of the most memorable furniture designs of the mid-century era. The Eames Lounge chair made of plywood, foam, and leather is sort of like a Birkin bag for people with more discerning tastes. Both items were designed to be coveted yet practical, indicating a certain financial status for their owners. Charles Eames thought of the chair as a comfortable escape from the growing pace of modern life. 

The morally corrupt Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane in his apartment on the show Frasier, Eames Lounge Chair in the background.

This month Herman Miller announced another Eames collaboration, this time with the Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford. Ford has taken an Eames Lounger and written the names of, according to Herman Miller’s press release, “victims of racism” in white ink. Ford notes that the people whose names appear on the chair “were not afforded the privilege of refuge” the chair represents. This version of the Eames chair is now touring the country, and selected “people of influence” will sit in the chair and talk about the race-related problems in their fields over Instagram Live in a program called Conversations For Change.

Michael Ford’s Take on the Eames Lounge Chair. Image Source: Brandnu Design

To quote Andy Cohen, there’s a lot to unpack here. First, I wonder what “victim of racism” means. I haven’t counted, but many of the names are people killed by police officers. The phrase victim of racism is vague enough to allow plausible deniability to the perpetrators of this violence. Second, Instagram live conversations are easy to access, but they’re also easy to exit. I do it all the time. Slide in, slide out. To conduct conversations about racism on a platform meant to only hold a user’s attention for a few minutes at a time seems ill-conceived. Lastly, this particular weaponization of Black trauma, in the form of names on a luxury item, feels empty. Like what is the point? I think Ford is doing important work in his community and beyond through his Hip Hop Architecture Camp. And the Conversations For Change are meant to double as fundraisers to help further that work, which I can appreciate. Similarly, I think the Herman Miller company is genuine in their desire to diversify their company community, but maybe support and foster the original ideas of designers of color, instead of talking about it, be about it.  

Something that I learned more about: Multiples

Now that I’m a little older, I have a few friends who did not major in American Studies, and now they have jobs that have allowed them to accrue some expendable income to show for it. The smart ones ask for my guidance on using their extra money for art. I always encourage them to consider starting with prints. Usually, their enthusiasm drains at the mention of an editioned work, and I can tell they’d prefer to buy works not produced in multiples. This month New York Times critic Blake Gopnik wrote a review of the exhibition Multiples Inc. 1965 - 1992 at Marian Goodman Gallery in New York. The article tracks a bit of the history of print and multiple making in art, noting how they make art attainable for more consumers. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the review and wish I could see the show. Read the review here and give prints a chance.

Stuck in my Head: Cicely Tyson and Miles Davis 

On Thursday, the legendary actress Cicely Tyson passed away at the age of 96. As in the practice of our time, when a celebrity dies, people began to post images of Tyson on social media accounts. There are several indelible images of Tyson that I find pleasing. Still, none as arresting as Tyson and Miles Davis’s photograph taken by Ron Galella at the premiere of her movie The Heart is a Lonely Hunter in 1968. They don’t look happy together, but they look good together. In his book Camera Lucida French philosopher Roland Barthes writes about punctum in photography. Punctum is the element of a photograph that makes it emotionally resonate, the part that sticks with you, what you remember most clearly when you recall the image in your mind’s eye. According to Barthes, the photographer has no control over the punctum. It’s something that exists between the image and the viewer. What strikes me about this photograph is the couple’s body language and facial expressions. In our contemporary image-saturated world, their trepidation about the camera feels fresh. 

Image Source: Vogue Magazine

The artist Henry Taylor painted his take on this photograph in a 2017 work called Cicely and Miles Visit the Obamas. 

Image Source: Hauser & Wirth

Read one of my favorite writers, Wesley Morris’s tribute to Cicely Tyson, here.

Secured the Bag and the Award

Through hard work and persistence, my college roommate Christina, Xtina in the See Level comments section, amassed quite the collection of Telfar bags in the last month of 2020. Designed by Telfar Clemons, the vegan leather bags, dubbed the Bushwick Birkin, are owned by other illustrious women like Oprah, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Issa Rae, and Real Housewife of New York City Sonja Morgan. This month, the Black-owned company officially won the Fashion Design of 2020 award from London’s Design Museum for their bag. Major.

Christina’s Telfar Collection.

Other UK News

The English singer FKA Twigs previously mentioned in India’s See Level comment, released a new music video this week. The video prominently features Kara Walker’s Fons Americanus, a work installed in the Tate Museum’s Turbine Hall. The piece, measuring 42 feet high, is meant to be a monument acknowledging Britain’s role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. I’m not sure how it connects to the song, but I welcome guesses if you have them.

Kara Walker with Fons Americanus. Image Source: Artnet News

Screenshot of FKA Twigs video with Kara Walker’s work in the background.

Question of the week

Check out last week’s comments here. 

What are you looking forward to in February?

Thank you for reading.