I keep seeing Takes about how recent media like Glass Onion and The Menu aren’t taking “eat the rich” seriously enough to launch real change or revolution and like?? yeah??? popular crowd-pleasing entertainment where horrible rich people Suffer A Comeuppance for the pleasure of an audience is one of the oldest tropes in all of human history???? It is a crowd pleaser! It is the bread (ha) and butter of the Western canon! It is in Chaucer it is in Dante it is in Shakespeare it is the stuff of Dickens and 95% of Agatha Christie and almost every teen movie ever made??????? “look at these horrible rich idiots and hypocrites…and now enjoy their DESTRUCTION” transcends time and space and historical moments! It is so strange to be surprised that Hollywood returns to this well without any intention of seeking anything more transgressive than an audience having a hearty chuckle lmao
William Morris wasn’t just a brilliant artist and designer; he was also a committed socialist who raged against the injustices of capitalism and imperialism. From his political essays to his utopian novel News from Nowhere, Morris left us with a vital legacy.
Specimen of ‘Vine’ wallpaper pattern, a foliate design of two types of leaves and grapes; Hand printed in distemper colours by wood block, on paper; William Morris; Part of 'Volume 1’, a pattern book containing 25 Morris & Co. patterns from 1862-81 (E.441-529-1919); England; First issued 1874.
Sixty years ago, they were so unfashionable they were in danger of being forgotten. Today the Victorian artists Evelyn and William De Morgan are having a renaissance with, supporters say, interest never higher.
The De Morgan Museum recently reopened in Barnsley after a major refurbishment. In the last few weeks it has been given accreditation status by Arts Council England. This month it also joined the National Gallery in London and the Metropolitan Museum in New York on an app offering online tours. Plus, there are touring exhibitions in the US and UK and displays in Surrey and Wolverhampton.
All of which is not bad for an arts organisation which is run on a shoestring with just one paid member of staff, Sarah Hardy.
Evelyn and William De Morgan were a married couple who excelled in their chosen fields: William as one of the Britain’s leading ceramicists and Evelyn as a radical, symbolist artist who succeeded at a time when the obstacles for women were numerous.
“She was an extraordinary woman and an exceptional painter,” Hardy said. “And she was a huge feminist and supporter of women’s suffrage.
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