Last week I visited the latest Kaffe Fassett exhibition at the American Museum in Bath! I will spare you the details of our journey, suffice to say that the roads leading in an around Bath were gridlocked, which perhaps didn't help my mood. It was also a rather dull grey day! Nevertheless I was greatly looking forward to my visit as I am a admirer of Kaffe work and have seen most of his many exhibitions over the years!
Colourful it certainly was!
I was really pleased to see on of my very favourite things of Kaffe's -
Photography wasn't allowed, so the above pictures have been taken from the Internet which makes it difficult to credit each source!
Despite visiting in Easter school holidays, the Museum was very quiet. In fact I don't think I have ever been there when it was so deserted. Mind you I haven't been there for a while because they now don't do regular quilt exhibits, so no reason to go!
Things have changed and not for the better. The refreshments are now served in a newly built cafe which would have been wonderful, as it has been angled to make the most of the stunning views, but it is a terrible mishmash of styles. The ceilings and windows are modern and cutting edge but someone has then decided to give it a Greek Revival touch and rather nasty pillars and architrave have been added. Then to cap it all it has been filled with really awful brown wooden tables and chairs! Also the lovely array of American cakes and cookies are no longer and neither do you queue up at the old fashioned window and deal with the jolly ladies in the kitchen! Now it has a more professional look and food is served within the new cafe with a more limited choice of quite ordinary British things, not American at all! Ah well, that's the way things go these days! The old fashioned looks and ways, that were so charming, all swept aside in the name of progress! Grrr!
Apart from grumbling about the above, did I enjoy my visit? Well to be perfectly truthful I came away feeling rather flat. Maybe I have seen too much of Kaffe's work and it was all becoming just too familiar. There is no doubt that an awful lot of stuff was there, many of it familiar from other exhibits, but it felt like a small exhibition! It was wonderfully co-ordinated and staged and the colour hit you from the start, but I toured it in less than 15 minutes and didn't return to have another look, as I usually do!
If you would like to hear and see Kaffe talk about this exhibition, here is a link to a very interesting video - click scroll down and enjoy!
Colourful it certainly was!
I was really pleased to see on of my very favourite things of Kaffe's -
Photography wasn't allowed, so the above pictures have been taken from the Internet which makes it difficult to credit each source!
Despite visiting in Easter school holidays, the Museum was very quiet. In fact I don't think I have ever been there when it was so deserted. Mind you I haven't been there for a while because they now don't do regular quilt exhibits, so no reason to go!
Things have changed and not for the better. The refreshments are now served in a newly built cafe which would have been wonderful, as it has been angled to make the most of the stunning views, but it is a terrible mishmash of styles. The ceilings and windows are modern and cutting edge but someone has then decided to give it a Greek Revival touch and rather nasty pillars and architrave have been added. Then to cap it all it has been filled with really awful brown wooden tables and chairs! Also the lovely array of American cakes and cookies are no longer and neither do you queue up at the old fashioned window and deal with the jolly ladies in the kitchen! Now it has a more professional look and food is served within the new cafe with a more limited choice of quite ordinary British things, not American at all! Ah well, that's the way things go these days! The old fashioned looks and ways, that were so charming, all swept aside in the name of progress! Grrr!
Apart from grumbling about the above, did I enjoy my visit? Well to be perfectly truthful I came away feeling rather flat. Maybe I have seen too much of Kaffe's work and it was all becoming just too familiar. There is no doubt that an awful lot of stuff was there, many of it familiar from other exhibits, but it felt like a small exhibition! It was wonderfully co-ordinated and staged and the colour hit you from the start, but I toured it in less than 15 minutes and didn't return to have another look, as I usually do!
If you would like to hear and see Kaffe talk about this exhibition, here is a link to a very interesting video - click scroll down and enjoy!
3 comments:
oh dear, that did not sound like much fun! i have not been to the american museum for many years and remember my visit fondly. perhaps it had better stay that way...
not to sound pushy or anything, but can i venture to plead for the next instalment on the 19th century coverlet ? waiting here if not with bated breath, pretty eagerly.
been wallowing in your pinterest while i wait, you do have the loveliest stuff to relish.
My next post Susan!
woo hoo ! lovely.
thank you
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