The NESTING Series Resurrected! Part Six: Type Nesting!

Found one of these images on Pinterest and couldn't resist reposting. I love when birds build their nests in odd places. A mess of twigs and other detritus fashioned into a home nestled underneath the eaves of roofs, in the corners of rafters, is something I always delight in discovering. But this has got to be, by far, the best photo collection of bird nests in unusual places I've seen—each one settled into the letters of various street signs. I wonder, what makes for a better ledge to build upon—the arm of an S or the crux of an X?

When clicking through the photos I recognized that a lot of the birds appeared to be of the same variety. Naturally, I Googled "black face city bird" and found out it is the common House Sparrow.

- Cathleen 

[Images courtesy of Type Nesting Tumblr]

The Unicorn Tapestries - Art Survivors

I'll be the first to admit it: tapestries are pretty boring. They're the red-headed stepchildren of art and art history. Tapestries are completely out of fashion to study and they just look like carpets hung on the wall.

However, tapestries can be interesting! I swear.

The most famous set of tapestries are The Unicorn Tapestries. 

The Start of the Hunt

The Unicorn at the Fountain

The Unicorn Crossing the Stream

The Unicorn Defends Himself

The Unicorn is Tamed by the Maiden

The Unicorn is Killed and Brought to the Castle

The Unicorn in Captivity

Created in 1500 (this is an educated guess by scholars) in Brussels The Unicorn Tapestries are shrouded in symbolism. Today I am going to talk about how these tapestries have survived for the past 500 years. 

Tapestries were the prized possessions of nobleman, aristocrats or anyone else with  money. They took several months or years to make. Tapestries were easy to transport and were often taken on the road with nomadic nobles. They were used to display wealth as well as entertain. In terms of function, tapestries helped keep winter wind out of stone castles. 

The oldest mention of The Unicorn Tapestries was found in approximately 1680 in an inventory for Francois VI de La Rochefoucauld. The tapestries remained in the La Rochefoucauld family until the Reign of Terror in 1793 in France. The tapestry set was plucked from the chateau, though thankfully, the set lacked a royal insignia and were spared from destruction by the enraged citizens of the new French Republic. 

In 1850 Comte Hippolyte de La Rochefoucauld began a search for his family's lost treasures. A rumor came around that some interesting old curtains were in a chateau being used as a protective covering for vegetables in a farmyard barn.

These were The Unicorn Tapestries. 

Purchased and repaired, they remained with the La Rochefoucauld family until the 1920's when they were placed in the Anderson Gallery in NYC in 1923. John D. Rockefeller Jr. gifted the set to the MET in 1935. 

Phew! That's quite a journey! We are so lucky to have these treasures safe and within the hands of the MET. The president of the MET is a specialist in tapestries and I am sure he loves spending every day near or contemplating The Unicorn Tapestries. 

I am going to take a nap now, that was a heck of a long post. 

One day we can chat about all of the interesting facts surrounding T.U.T., in the meantime I suggest you read: The Oak King, The Holly King, and The Unicorn, The Myths and Symbolism of the Unicorn Tapestries by John Williamson. All info about this set posted here is from this fabulous book dedicated to this non-red-headed-stepchild tapestry. 

- Grace

* all images courtesy of the MET.

What Do These Two Things Have in Common? Part 2

Palette of Narmer was created circa 3000 B.C.E. and on the front side shows the first king of Egypt, named Narmer, in profile. This piece is laced with symbolism but today I am only going to touch on one element of Palette. Namer is shown in profile defeating his foe. Apparently a profile is as unique to an individual as a fingerprint. Narmer is shown in his profile so that he could always be identified. 

Which brings me to the photo below:

In today's world when someone is booked for a crime their picture is taken full frontal and profile. This is considered a more complete way of capturing what a person looks like. 

Looks like profile shots go back a long way.

- Grace

Artworks of the Week: Valentine Edition

2 of hearts Screenprint, 11.7"x 16.5" 

$35 from coniLab on Etsy  

Art! One of the best gifts you can get for your valentine.

If you order one of these love-y prints for your honey today, it may just arrive in time to warm their hearts on the 14th. Here I've rounded up a sweet little something for everyone. 

You Are Heart Screenprint, 22"x 28"

$44 from IScreenYouScreen on Etsy

Personalized Venn Art Print, 11"x 14"

$25 from SilhouetteBlue on Etsy

Love Boats Screenprint on Handmade Paper, 11"x 17"

$20 from LarsLoveLetters on Etsy

- Cathleen 

What Do These Two Things Have In Common?

Palette of Namer

31st ce BCE

AND

Your standard American mugshot.

I'll give you my thoughts on Thursday. 

Hey I gotta come up with a reason for you to come back, right? 

- Grace

Shot Through the Heart!

I really love the idea of giving valentines to your girl friends. They are probably the most appreciative of those little sweet somethings anyway. If I were going to send a valentine to my bestie, Grace (the second half of Swings & Arrows), this would be it. Amy Marcella sells these on Etsy for $16 in a set of five cards with brown paper envelopes. You can choose five of the arrow variety or just one in a multipack with some other also pretty illustrations. Perfect for the top five ladies in your girl group.

- Cathleen

[Spotted first on Kait's Pinterest page. Good eye, Kait!]

Girl Groups

One of the best parts about my job is my coworker JP. He is fun and funny (not to mention a very hard worker!) and we often show up to the office inexplicably wearing the same color. One of the second best parts about my job is when JP and I listen to Fleetwood Mac, Mama Cass Elliot, and show tunes from Show Boat at full volume singing along and sometimes (ok, often) dancing to the music. JP has introduced me to some really great stuff since I started working with him, including what I currently consider to be the greatest hits of all time: The Girl Group Sounds: Lost & Found: One Kiss Can Lead to Another. He says he found this incredible 5 disc compilation in a secondhand CD and record store many years ago and that the original packaging resembled a lady's hatbox complete with a plastic mirror on the inside and each one of the CDs made to look like powder puffs in a compact. How cute is that?! These albums have pretty much been on permanent repeat for the last month or so. The melodramatics! The insane story lines! The beats that you can dance to! They are all pitch perfect. Lesley Gore has become, for me, a real standout among all of the other girls. Her voice and delivery make me sigh every time she bemoans her broken heart. One song in particular, What Am I Gonna Do:

And another that's not on the album but is also equally great and pitiful, I Struck A Match:  

You Gore, girl. 

- Cathleen