House of the Day: 743 Eastern Parkway
Describing this house at 743 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights as being “near the Brooklyn Museum” is a bit of a stretch but it’s still kinda interesting, we think. There are two parking spots in the front driveway and a legal professional office on the ground floor for income generation. The two upper floors are…
Describing this house at 743 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights as being “near the Brooklyn Museum” is a bit of a stretch but it’s still kinda interesting, we think. There are two parking spots in the front driveway and a legal professional office on the ground floor for income generation. The two upper floors are currently configured as two separate apartments but there’s no reason they couldn’t be connected to make an owner’s duplex. There’s a surprising amount of original detail left in the house as well. Asking price: $650,000. Good buy?
743 Eastern Parkway [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
chicken- design? History? techn ology? I’m fascinated and now you have to tell me more! One of my past lives was to conserve and restore vintage and antique clothing which is how I got the Museum job for that final exhibition. I did most of my work for a famous Soho store (sadly, long gone now) and the wonderful thing is I got so much hands on experience, which interestingly enough was something most curators and conservators actually don’t get, because they never deconstruct. SO tell me more!!!! ( Bklyn M. also had a huge swatch collection which I hope went to FIT).
bxgrl, in a former life I have a textiles degree
mopar- do you like vintage clothing? some of the Victorian clothing wasn’t just sewn- it was literally engineered. I have never seen a custom tailored contemporary outfit fit anyone the way a Victorian dress could. They were pattern masters- I used to call them textile architecture and there was a real technology to how they were designed and constructed. You do have that today but not to their degree or with their finesse.
One thing that would surprise you- contmeporary designers, even the very famous ones- did nothing that was even close to the quality of 19th century clothing. I’ve seen the underpinnings of St. Laurent’s, Mizrahis, Calvin Klein’s, etc – the designer pieces, not the production lines. They are not even close to a Worth day dress.If you’re ever interested, email me (MM has it)- I love old costumes and textiles- we can go to the Met (sigh….) and have a field trip. 🙂
Sigh. Wish I could see all that, bxgrl. Especially the insides of the gowns. I did once see a pair of 16th c pirate on display in the V&A. That gave me a thrill.
Watch this as a primer.
http://www.moca-la.org/murakami/#
What’s particularly interesting is how insecure the artist seems to be – almost like his importance has been thrust upon him.
“Murakami,
no clue
im sorry but i find people who claim to love museums really dont like them they just pretend cuz it’s a cultured thing to like. (and i work in the industry btw so im not just talking out of my butthole)
*rob*
Posted by: PitbullNYC at April 20, 2009 2:50 PM”
Rob,
it’s almost like you’re wilfully being anti-culture.
I’m not particularly cultured but if I see something that is interesting or aesthetically pleasing, I’ll look it up.
If you look up Takashi Murakami, you’ll see that he is the most important japanese artist of the last decade and pioneer of the Superflat movement.
His most famous work is “my lonesome cowboy” which sold for $15m last year. Look that one up and you will see a naked 6 foot plastic statue making a lassoo out of his own semen. Art doesn’t have to be boring…
It’s not stupid at all. The costumes come from both places. Curators activley seek things out, and collectors or wealthy or famous women would donate clothes when they were finished wearing them. Wealthy society women would often change wardrobes every season and donate clothes to get a tax writeoff. Wealthy Victorian women didn’t usually donate clothing except to poorer relatives or charity but so many of the gowns and outfits were so magnificent that they were kept until the descendents donated them because they were artifacts of their time as well as objects of great beauty.
Sometimes famous designers would donate pieces- they got great prestige. The Brooklyn Museum collection I beeive had pieces dating as far back as the 1500’s. We even had a gown worn by the Empress Josephine. Then you had the accessories- the hats, the handbags, the parasols, the jewelry- the craftsmanship was so far above anything we see today.
There was also an incredible doll collection made after WW II from France to show its gratitude to the US. Famous French Designers like Dior, Chanel, etc. were given special wire doll forms and they created handmade one of a kind outfits for each. This collection travelled all over the US and I think the Brooklyn Museum’s group was one of several such.
And yes- it was a truly wonderful experience!
bxgrl, what a wonderful experience that must have been. Do you know where the collection came from? Did the curators go out and buy stuff or did it come from women in Brooklyn? Or both? Sorry if this is a stupid question.
Heather:
Sure, if you can argue the price of this house to a level you can afford (and is reasonable in today’s market), go for it.
But the beauty of Brooklyn for kids is that most of life’s lessons are just outside the family’s doors.
(And you don’t have to move to Crown Heights to enjoy them!)
As I became an adult, I always found that people from Paris, Cairo, Mumbai, Shanghai, London, etc. shared with native Brooklynites a way of thinking and communicating that set us apart from other folks.
Heck, if you can slide between appreciating art at the Brooklyn Museum and trash-talking in nearby streets, you’re prepared for almost any challenge.
Your children are lucky!
NOP