Cartes de Visite and Literati

An exhibition and a theatre play with some Brontë connections:

1. In the Carleton College (Northfield, MN) an exhibition:

Victorian Novels: The Carleton ReMix
March 29th, 2010 to May 31st, 2010.
Laurence McKinley Gould Library

In the picture: Young Jane Eyre.
Click here to see Grieving Heathcliff.

What do you get when you combine a Victorian novel class, a photography class, a curatorial class, and a class on bookbinding? The answer is “Victorian Novels: The Carleton ReMix,” on display in the Carleton College Gould Library through May 31, 2010. This past winter, Carleton students from across the curriculum recreated Victorian novels by re-imagining key characters, re-creating illustrated serial editions of these literary classics, and re-animating Victorian social practices through book design, portraiture and cartes de visite (a Victorian business card). This exhibition celebrates the creative collaborations between those students in classes taught by Susan Jaret McKinstry, Helen F. Lewis Professor of English; Linda Rossi, associate professor of art; Laurel Bradley, senior lecturer in art and art history; and Fred Hagstrom, Rae Schupack Nathan Professor of Art. (...)

Having read classic novels like Eliot’s Middlemarch, Dickens’ Bleak House, and Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, the English students were asked to collaborate with the photography class to create a portrait of one of the characters—and the photography class had also been studying Victorian photography styles in anticipation of the collaboration. Using costumes and props from the theater department, students from both classes paired up and took dazzling portraits that breathed life into the characters they had read about. (Mallory Monsma)

2. In Chicago, IL, a curious theatre play with some Jane Eyre... or not:

Chicago Dell'Arte
The Literati
3 guys. 25 literary classics. 5 randomly selected each night. Comedy ensues.

April 9th to May 1st (Thursday through Sunday).
The show is approximately 99.99999 minutes (due to the nature of the play, this time varies from night to night) and there will be one 10 minute intermission.

Show times are as follows:
Thursdays @ 8pm
Fridays @ 8pm and 10:30pm
Saturdays @ 8pm and 10:30pm
Sundays @ 7pm

Gapers Block explains the premise:

Throughout their run, they won't be retelling one story, but 25. Every performance, five randomly selected audience members will roll a die, determining which five mini-adaptations will be performed that night. Incorporating a range of Commedia styles, classics such as Ulysses, Don Quixote, and Jane Eyre will be transformed into rock operas, puppet shows, and who knows what else. (Randall Colburn)

Categories: Art-Exhibitions, Jane Eyre, Theatre