The Art History Blog » Oddities

Yoga in the Galleries

Chelsea — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:15:34 +0000

Ever wanted to practice your child’s pose or downward dog surrounded by incredible works of art? Turns out you can — at UNC Chapel Hill’s Ackland Art Museum, where weekly yoga programs are offered in the Asian galleries. Although I was a little shocked at first at the idea of any sport-related anything being done in a museum, on second thought, yoga seems like the perfect activity in a calm, quiet, well-lit atmosphere surrounded by beautiful objects. Now, to convince my college museum to move yoga from the gym to the galleries…

Yoga in the Galleries, at the Ackland Art Museum

Elvis in Rome… 1900 Years Ago?

Chelsea — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:00:49 +0000

I’ll spare you the corny puns on overplayed lyrics and get straight to the point: a Roman acroterion (decoration on the side corners of a sarcophagus or tomb) was recently put up for auction that looks weirdly like… Elvis.

Image from the UK Daily Mail

The picture speaks for itself. Personally, having seen some of the crazy hairstyles Roman women wore (seriously, you will want to click on that link. Just as funny as Roman Elvis up there), I’m a little hesitant to go shouting about Elvis’s long-lost great-great-great-etc. grandfather walking around the Forum… but well, on the other hand, the resemblance certainly is there…

Either way, perhaps the most astounding fact of all this is that Bonham’s, a pretty reputable auction house, is indeed auctioning it off, and it is expected to sell for one million pounds. See the article in the UK Daily Mail here. Thanks to Gabrielle for this bizarre but entertaining news story!

New Jewelry for (Really) Old Ladies

Chelsea — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:00:55 +0000

Continuing with our theme of art infiltrating everyday culture, spotted on Fifth Avenue in New York City earlier this week was this display. Henri Bendell’s jewelry window features Renaissance beauties decked out in necklaces and earrings… but not painted ones. Rather, the jewelry poked into the “canvases” of the Lady with an Erimine and Maddalena Doni are, naturally, for sale in the high-end department store. Clever or tacky? I wonder if Leonardo and Raphael would approve…