2020 CATALOGUE
THE VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY PRESENTATIONS
The hour long presentations are globally contextualized, geared for an intergenerational audience and fostered in beauty.
May 7, The Silk Roads, Part I - Flora & Fauna
PAVING THE WAY TO BEAUTY WITH NETWORKS OF LUXURY & INFLUENCE
As a symbol of power, status and wealth, luxury has always driven cultures and economies. In Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder documented his resentment of the extravagant sum (10% of the entire annual Roman Empire budget) that was being spent for acquisition of luxury goods “to enable the Roman lady to shimmer in public”. Recognized as the epitome of decadence, silk - that most exotic and erotic of textiles - brought first-century Rome into contact with new worlds and new tastes.
Linking the Pacific to the Mediterranean, the legendary Silk Roads have, through the millennia, connected empires seeking the highest levels of luxury. These trade routes have thus had a seismic influence on history. Objects fostered in beauty more than 2600 years ago continue to entrance such ateliers as Hermès, Cartier and Dior. Lavishly illustrated, this series journeys through gorgeous wares which link our global heritage. Discover how the renowned tulips of Holland have origins farther east than Turkey, why exquisite Islamic textiles are to be found in French churches, and how the fall of the Byzantine empire contributed to the success of cloisonné in China.
Transcending the boundaries of time and space, beautiful objects continue to fulfill the very human desire for self-expression.
What moves you?
June 18, THE STORY OF TEA
The Tea Act of 1773 united the American colonial opinion against the British and en route to sign the Declaration of Independence, John Adams asked “for a dish of tea, provided it has been honestly smuggled and has paid no duty”.
Camellia sinensis - better known as tea - has brewed political unrest making empires quiver in places such as India, Hong Kong and America. The British Empire propagated one craving - opium - to pay for the greater addiction, tea.
From her influence on luxury, gardens and even on everyday lexicon, e.g., cash, this humble plant’s enduring power is awe-inspiring. It is a story of rituals, tastes, beauty, colonization, supply chain and friendships. Come discover the beguiling story of a plant that has subjugated monks and monarchs alike.
June 25, The Silk Roads, Part II - Luxury textiles
THE ENCHANTMENT OF UNFAMILIAR LUXURY
“For the beauty that is put on with a garment and is put off with the garment belongs without doubt to the garment, and not to the wearer of it.”
- Bernard of Clairvaux, 12th century
Few things mark precedence so scrupulously as luxury. An indispensable ceremonial symbol for religion, rites of passage, war, diplomacy, enthronement and death, luxury textiles concretize refinement. Throughout history, luxury obeyed aesthetic hierarchies: black velvet with an embroidery of pearls, then white velvet embellished with rubies and emeralds, followed by violet velvet decorated with turquoise and pearls. Some Roman emperors even forbade their citizens from wearing purple clothing under penalty of death.
Identifying the wearer’s sex, country, status as well as the desire for self-expression and beautification, the significance of luxury textiles is immeasurable. The power of opulence transcends boundaries and the proverbial Silk Roads were, and remain, an artistic dialogue across political, cultural and geographic demarcations. As The Nourishment Projects©' four part Silk Road series continues, come discover why snails became the calling card for extravagant wealth.
July 23, The Silk Roads, Part III : Illuminated Manuscripts
WEAVING FANTASIES
Etymologically, “text” and ‘textile” share a common root, meaning ‘to weave’. Speech is woven and the loom, comprised of the mouth and vocal cords, issues words. Language resembles cloth and publication embroiders it to represent the rich tapestry of life.
Our Silk Road Series continues weaving the narrative by now transitioning from luxury textiles to resplendent manuscripts. Join us as we illuminate the bewitching written world. From the lambent Diamond Sutra, the bejewelled bindings of Sangorski and Sutcliffe to the surprising origins of a childhood favorite Aladdin, come discover how books and stories traversed centuries and geographies captivating cultures with the allure of the unknown. Did Scheherazade really have a thousand stories to tell?
July 30, Evanescence : the poetry of clouds
Counting the molecules of an average cloud - cirrus, cumulus or stratus - would bankrupt arithmetic. Contemplation of clouds, the realm of science and philosophy, has captivated luminaries across centuries, cultures and disciplines; from Basho and Kalidas to Ruskin, Debussy and O’Keefe. Correggio’s painting of Io embracing the cloud-formed Jupiter is the image of profane ecstasy.
In the grace of form, light and shadow, through the various hues created by sunbeams, clouds impart beauty as castles are built in the air and fleecy white sheep browse in cerulean meadows.
Come discover how clouds ceaselessly toil washing away mountains, carving great valleys, scattering minerals and bear feathery snowflakes. Evocatively misty, they are the staunchest pillars of life. Every evening, as the heavens turn lilac and soft, where do you wander as you gaze away at infinity?
Aug. 20, The Silk Roads, Part IV : Performing arts
PRESERVATION THROUGH REINTERPRETATION
Culture, the value inheritance of society, affirms that worth matters as much, if not more, as price. The proverbial Silk Roads, by trading commodities and cultures, undergirded the viability and vitality of nations. Economic history reveals many markets and the global mercantile expansion — the Silk Roads — allowed access to diverse political, social, economic and religious mores for over two millennia.
In this final instalment of The Nourishment Projects©’ four part series on the Silk Roads, join us to explore the cultural exchanges that transcended borders of ethnicity. Despite veils of identity, our lambent eternal connection in this heartbreaking miracle called Life, proclaims that our most canonical masterpiece is Humanity:
What do we know
But that we face,
One another, in this place.
- Yeats, Man and the Echo
Aug. 27, Shadows : an accompanying absence
To delight in shadows is to meditate on aesthetics. From the arboreal splendor of a misty Fall morning to the ocean’s mesmerizing bioluminescence, the nuance lent by shadows enriches our experience of the beauty called Life. Certain Mughal architecture, Giacometti’s sculptures and Indonesia’s Wayang Kulit are examples of human creativity that have been revealed by shadows.
Albert Schweitzer poignantly captures Humanity’s penumbra that “at times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us”. We live our lives in each other’s shadows experiencing realities through the dappled lights of heartache and love.
Our capacity to be illuminated by darkness reveals the optimism that in the shadow of every winter is lambent spring.
Sept. 17, A bed: the layers
When minutiae, small as a pea, differentiates a plebeian from a princess, a bed is no longer mere furniture. One’s sense of subliminal security is revealed by the preference of material, location and design. From the penitent —a bed of nails — to the sybaritic — a bed of roses — lifestyle is but one of the determinants when selecting a bed.
Mae West’s Swan bed, Elvis Presley’s Hamburger bed and the historical Great Bed of Ware all accommodated the owner’s quicksilver needs for rest and play. A constant presence from cradle to grave, come discover how across generations this chameleon morphs seamlessly from a sanctuary to a lair.
Oct. 22, Colors : a dance of light
EXACTING!
From mosaic renovations at Galla Placidia, the vibrancy in national flags to communicating your bedroom wall hue preference, in the world of commerce, color is about precision. Scheele’s green, Turner’s yellow; the names of colors are history. Mongolians have more than 300 words for the color of horses. Perhaps John Ruskin was disappointed by Isaac Newton’s audacity in taking the magic out of rainbows. Having never seen a Scandinavian barn, decorators routinely traffic in “barn red”.
In the imprecise and highly symbolic natural world, colors journey through the magic of alkalinity, sunniness, and that ever-lasting mystery, time. At twilight, when the heavens turn lilac and soft, colors discard our words and the poetry of silence reigns.
“In this world love has no color and yet I am stained by you”.
EXACTLY.
Oct. 29, GARDENS : CULTIVATING BEAUTY - PART I
PREAMBLE - Quiet and Contrary: How does a Garden Grow
A garden is a personal thing. Human nature has played a great part in the evolution, cultivation, naming and even creation of plants. The allure of their shapes, colors, textures, scents and tastes have enchanted and transformed us. This seven-part series entitled Gardens: Cultivating Beauty, is a promise of seduction. An exploration of Beauty, this first installment is a global journey and tribute to the besotted heads of state, botanists, artists and philosophers whose passion – their gardens – transports us to Paradise.
Nov. 12, GARDENS : CULTIVATING BEAUTY - PART II
FRENCH GARDENS - Le Courrier Charmant
From the sixteenth to the early eighteenth century, the French gardens were celebrated for their expensiveness, tastefulness and difficulty of cultivation. The royal gardens of Louis XIV were markers of power in military, political and aesthetic arenas. Near the end of the Napoleonic Wars, flowers were charming couriers for shy young ladies to communicate with friends, or lovers, while evading detection from inquisitive parents. A rosebud whose stems had its thorns and leaves intact signaled “ I fear but am in hope” while a rose with the thorns removed conveyed ‘love at first sight’.
Join us as we journey from the traditional associations of gardens -- with ephemerality, beauty and femininity -- to our current age where private gardens, in confidence and secrecy, reveal the refinement and intelligence of the individual engaged in their cultivation.
Nov. 19, Wool: yes sir, yes sir, three bags full
In 1379, an Italian was murdered in London. Court documents reveal the murderers’ confessing that that they were acting on behalf of their masters — London mayoral and ruling elites — since the victim would have ruined the wool merchants in London.
For fourteen years, Geoffrey Chaucer had been a controller of the wool custom in the Port of London. In his Shipmans Tale, the chapman, a trader — unsettled and distracted by far-flung enterprises, humiliated by his wife’s sexual escapades — laments:
‘… evermore, we live our lives in dread
of loss & fortune in our chapmanhood’.
Wool is one of the most resilient, ecological and sustainable natural fibers in the world. It is used in the creation of beautiful garments by luxury brands such as Hermès and Loro Piana. Though fireproof, this commodity has historically set the trading world ablaze with terms that are relevant to our modern ears : one percenters, speculative deals, xenophobia, protectionist tariffs, foreign competition, currency crisis. History repeats itself.
Join us as we spin an international yarn about this marvellous material and we promise not to pull the wool over your eyes.
Dec. 10, GARDENS : CULTIVATING BEAUTY - PART III
ENGLISH GARDENS - The Immigrants
In 1731, from the watery margins of Lesotho -- then part of the British Crown Colony of Basutoland -- Britain welcomed the serene arum lily, whose grace may be justifiably compared to that of a white swan gliding through the waters. The conclusion of the Seven Years' war in 1763 brought Britain vast territories, including several West Indian islands, Quebec, Florida and large areas in India which had previously been under French influence. These global territorial gains reaped horticultural dividends. The Royal Gardens at Kew and her overseas related botanic gardens brought to England the most unlikely trophies of war, plants.
The horticultural hedonists of Britain are surrounded by nasturtiums from South America, rhododendrons from the Himalayas, hostas from China, lavender from the Mediterranean, gypsophila from Siberia etc. Come discover how 21st century Britain, though having one of the smallest natural flora of any country, contains the widest diversity of any nation on Earth.
Dec. 17 : Words - the warp & weft of language
“Our naturall tong is rude” wrote John Skelton, a 16th century English poet. He’s running (a verb) or ‘a running engine’ (an adjective) or ‘my favorite hobby is running’ (a noun) - grammar and words can run circles around us and neither are as tidy as we may have previously believed. Escher-esque logic confounds us when certain words are spoken in a different geography or time; tomato or tomatoe, same difference. And, it is entirely foreign when read in a text-message; just my .02 DQMOT BSF WCA 2TXT W/LOA.* Join us as we try to tease things apart as best we can.
*Just my two cents don’t quote me on this but seriously folks who cares anyway to text with list of acronyms.
BOOKS THAT INFLUENCED THE 2020 PRESENTATION FRAMEWORK
The Spirit of Inquiry Susannah Gibson
The Book of Tea Kakuzō Okakura
The Religion of Man (1930, The Hibbert Lectures) Rabindranath Tagore
Marks of Genius Stephen Hebron
The Quest of Plants Alice Coats
The Monumental Challenge of Preservations Michèle Valerie Cloonan
On the Making of Garden Sir George Sitwell
In Praise of Shadows Jun’ichirō Tanizaki