I Was Working On A History Paper Today And Found A Book From 1826 That Seemed Promising (though Dull)

my grandma has this 115 year old picture book, and apparently in 1907 they would just let you publish anything

Bodice, 1700s.

You know how fantasy worlds are almost always based on (mostly Central and Northern) European Medieval aesthetic and folklore?

For a while I’ve been thinking that if we had a fantasy world made here, it would be interesting to have it be inspired by Modernisme (the Catalan artistic movement from the late 19th century - early 20th century). I mean, look at this and tell me it doesn’t have potential:

Interior of the Sagrada Família basilica, Barcelona. The stained glass in different sides of the temple are different colours, so the light changes colour depending on the hour of the day. (Photo sources x x)

Illa de la Discòrdia, Barcelona. x

Benches in Parc Güell (Barcelona), made with the “trencadís”, the typical mosaic used in many of Antoni Gaudí’s works (he’s one of the most famous Modernist architects, and one of the most famous Catalan architects of all times too). x

A hall in Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona. x

Ceiling of Palau de la Música Catalana, a concert hall in Barcelona.

Lots of these things. This one is in Argentona (Catalonia, too). x

And fashion would be like this:

Stained glass in Cerdanyola, Catalonia. x

Illustrations by Gaspar Camps.

More stained glass, now in Museu del Modernisme, Barcelona. x

Modernist jewels by Lluís Masriera (I’ve talked about Modernist jewels in this previous post). x

Even the furniture:

x

Interior of Casa Amatller in Barcelona. x.

Even in wood looked pretty.

x

And lots of cool windows inspired by nature!

And from outside

Olot, Catalonia. x.

And of course all kinds of windows. Light is important!

Torre Bellesguard. x.

Barcelona. x.

This ceiling in Palau Güell with holes to let light in. x.

And this lamp?? Also in Palau Güell. x.

Everything would have to be very curvy.

Casa Milà, Barcelona. x.

And shops

This bakery in Palma, Mallorca. x.

And I won’t begin with the tiles to not make the post longer…

What do you think?

And for people from other countries, what element in your culture do you think a fantasy world could be based on, aesthetically?

I VOTED WOOP

I VOTED AND I'VE BEEN EXCITED TO VOTE FOR LITERALLY YEARS!!!!! I VOTED DID THE FIRST TIME AND IT'S SO EXCITING I'M V HAPPY!!!!

Thanks.

sometimes i marvel at the fact that people actually tell me they’re intimidated by me or scared of me when i am??? the embodiment of this gif???? thats literally all i am

why afraid

Please don't send me chain mail stuff! Even when it's positive it, the whole chain mail thing has such a bad connotation because of the scary stuff that I have to delete them. It makes me low key anxious and I can't do it.

I'm having a hard idea coming up with an exact point, but I want to talk a bit about my field of expertise. I have a master's degree in history and work in a museum. I know so many people who are leaving the museum field (or who never got in) because it's extremely underfunded so people are overworked and underpaid. Budgets are precarious so most people are working contract to contract because institutions simply can't commit to hiring people permanently. MANY museums have one person doing the work of 3-5 people and they're making little over minimum wage. Burnout is a huge issue.

I hit the jackpot when I snagged a permanent full time position in a museum with a relatively healthy workplace culture. I make just enough to make ends meet and pay my student loans, and that's more than I can say for most of the people my age I know in the museum field.

But people constantly complain that our museum is only open 8 hours a day, six days a week, that we don't offer more public programs, that we don't have more exhibit changes. Meanwhile our budget, which comes from the government, has been status quo for almost a decade. That means we have the same budget now as we did ten years ago, even as the cost of utilities, staff, insurance, everything had increased. My museum is running on what is essentially a skeleton staff. We need 12 more people to have a comfortable distribution of duties and 23 to reach our full potential. (We have 24 permanent staff so we essentially need to double our work force).

People want their museums (and their libraries and art galleries and many other institutions) to offer endless, cutting edge services but they aren't willing to pay a small tax hike to fund them. People honestly think it's perfectly reasonable to expect a museum to expand its services when its budget has essentially been cut every year for a decade.

Museum exhibits and programs don't appear out of thin air. They take weeks, months, sometimes years of research, writing, conservation work, graphic design, and community consultations. Before they even start to be installed! The people behind each of these parts have specialized education and training. And most of them are making a bit over minimum wage if they're lucky.

People work in museums because we're passionate about them, but that doesn't pay the bills! People love their local museums until it's time to fund them. People love to complain about what their museum isn't offering but grumble and groan when a museum tries to fundraise from its community.

Basically if you want cultural institutions in your community you need to support them! If you can't donate, visit! TONS of museum grants are based on the number of feet through the door. If a local museum admission fee is too high for you to access, find out which level of government funds it and write to that representative. (Also see if your museum has days with reduced or free admission or if you can rent a membership from your local library, libraries renting out memberships to museums and galleries is becoming more and more common).

This is a very winding post and idk what I was aiming for but I needed to get it out.

Gang, I am looking for a photograph I know exists, but I can not find. It is a historic black and white photo of a group of butches/transmen with a sign that say's "Who says there are no boys in Chaigao" (I believe, in reference to the draft)

Zanavykija, Lithuania