Once upon a time men were men and a new exhibition related to Charleston farm house

Past and present intertwined

A couple of weeks ago, feels like a lifetime ago really, I had the joy of going to Lewes in East Sussex /UK invited by my lovely tai chi teacher. She knows I love everything related to a group of free thinkers who settled in Charleston at the beginning of 1900 so this was an invitation I simply couldn’t resist to. This place, Charleston farm became popular among the radical artists, poets, writers, economists and more for the next 2 decades, was almost forgotten for many years but luckily entered in a revival period sometime ago. The group was called Bloomsburry.

Situated in a beautiful hilly area, Charleston farm was a place where people shared controversial ideas, expressed their sexuality freely, got involved in gardening, painted, hosted parties, cooked simple food, welcomed fascinating individuals attracted by the spirit of the group, enjoyed everything that life had to offer without limitation or barriers. The rules of the world did not apply there.

More about Charleston house in another blog post. For the time being I will go back to Lewes and to a fascinating fireman building which was refurbished and became temporary (but with good prospects for extension) an attractive cultural spot on the map of a picturesque town.

What this group experimented with was … experimental thinking. Isn’t it amazing? Let’s read the words again …. experimental thinking. Say it out loud … EXPERIMENTAL THINKING and I would also say experimental living! Do you feel your lungs filling up with passion, dynamism, energy? I hope you do!

The exhibition I went to see and I highly recommend is called “Bring no clothes Bloomsbury and fashion”

To say that this was a memorable experience would be an understatement.What I have been exposed to was a trip back in time, but also in the future, a bridge between past and present via the art of haute couture.

Although the Bloomsbury group members were far from being followers of the fashion of the day, they had style. You know that saying …..if you have style even a pijama looks extra smart on you. This was exactly their case!

I will concentrate on the me’s fashion and cannot but be impressed with the way men were wearing their suits. Even indoors, on a regular day, suits were in site. Yes maybe a bit of a rolled sleeve here and there but it was present and it looked smart. Compare it to the way regular man dress nowadays and one wants to scream and hide. What happened to the self respect? What happened to style? What happened to all of us?

There are various layers to the exhibition so I will concentrate on the black and white photos, snippets of existence, scattered around. At times, one feels as if one is a fly on the wall, observing the group’s daily life. Even the way photos were taken was genuine and one was able to read what was hidden behind the faces, eyes, dresses. Nothing staged and exaggerated but real and normal. No huge, meaningless smiles plastered on the faces, no fake teeth, no botox in site, no exaggerated make up. And yet, the grace was there, style was there, personal stories were there for us to discover.

Dior and Fendi used the paintings found in Charleston as a source of inspiration for their 2021 cat walks. Just as a reminder 2021 was the year of the … bug, the lost year, the manipulated year, the year humanity was taken for a ride.

You will notice that Dior was inspired by Duncan Grant’s work and style and I have to say that I have never seen so many pieces I absolutely loved and said to myself.. yes I could wear this , yes I would love this (I am not a man but love some of the pieces as they are pretty androgynous)

When I saw some of the patterns I couldn’t but recognise them. Yes I admired Charleston for many years and the paintings, painted furniture, gardens are forever etched in my memory.

Once upon a time, men were men - to be continued. In the meantime be curious, be awake, get involved in creative endeavours as they help you restore and reclaim your life :)

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There is an old saying … an apple a day, keeps the doctor away. Starting my own version but with .. drawings … a drawing a day … keeps your mind .. sane. There you are we have a rhyme! :)