[Vwoolf] News relevant to Virginia Woolf and Bloomsbury

Thu Sep 13 15:59:55 EDT 2018

To Brenda's thorough list I would also add William Plomer, a novelist and
poet of the younger generation, who lived in Japan for three years
(1926-29) after leaving his homeland of South Africa. Plomer's interest in
Japanese culture, too, stemmed from his association of Japan with queer
sexualities. His biographer, Peter Alexander, provides a delightful story
about Virginia bringing Plomer to Quentin Bell's 19th birthday party at
Charleston only a few months after he arrived in England from Japan, where
he first met Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, Vanessa, and Clive, among many others
of the group. The Woolfs and Forster showed deep interest in his thoughts
on Japan and Japanese art and literature, and he often gave talks on the
subject. In Japan, Guan Yin is often called "Kannon" or "Kwannon" (which,
as I just learned from a bit of diving on wikipedia, was the inspiration
for the name of the camera company, Canon).

On Thu, Sep 13, 2018 at 2:08 PM Brenda S. Helt via Vwoolf <
vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:

> Indeed, several of the Bloomsberries were very interested in, even
> fascinated by, Asian religions, in large part because they understood some
> of them to maintain positive queer religious ideas and traditions.  You
> could see for instance Antony Copley’s *A Spiritual Bloomsbury* on this
> topic.  Forster’s interest is perhaps most well-known, thanks to the
> popularity of *A Passage to India*.  Wendy Moffat’s biography of Forster, *A
> Great Unrecorded History* delves into that interest in detail.  Some of
> the essays in *Queer Forster* also discuss this.  Bill Maurer discusses
> Maynard Keynes’ and Duncan Grant’s interests in Eastern art, aesthetics,
> and religions (which are not really *different* things, entirely) in an
> essay in *Queer Bloomsbury* whose title makes it seem not to be at all
> about this topic:  “Redecorating the International Economy: Keynes, Grant
> and the Queering of Bretton Woods.”  And Simon Watney discusses Grant’s
> interest repeatedly and in detail in his *The Art of Duncan Grant*.  And
> all this is just me being a little lazy and also promoting my baby, *Queer
> Bloomsbury*, as that’s just what I turned around and quickly pulled from
> my shelves.  Others will surely chime in and add to this for you.
>
>
>
> Slàinte!
>
>
>
> Brenda
>
>
>
>
>
> Brenda Helt
>
>
>
> Co-editor *Queer Bloomsbury* (with Madelyn Detloff)
>
> https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-queer-bloomsbury.html
>
>
>
> Fine artist
>
> http://www.brendahelt.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Vwoolf [mailto:vwoolf-bounces+helt0010=umn.edu at lists.osu.edu] *On
> Behalf Of *Harish Trivedi via Vwoolf
> *Sent:* Thursday, September 13, 2018 11:04 AM
> *To:* kschepis at gmail.com
> *Cc:* vwoolf listserve
> *Subject:* Re: [Vwoolf] News relevant to Virginia Woolf and Bloomsbury
>
>
>
> Many thanks, Krista Schepis, and that is not only prompt but also quite
> convincing and conclusive!
>
>
>
> Kuan Yin, more often spelt Guan Yin, is indeed the Chinese goddess of
> mercy and compassion. Before getting transported and transformed to China,
> she was a he in India, a frequently depicted Buddhist deity called the
> Avalokiteshvara (aka Padmapani, the Lotus-in-Hand figure). One of the most
> famous representations of this deity is from the caves of Ajanta in central
> India. (For starters, Wikipedia has a sound enough entry, including a
> reproduction of this iconic mural.)
>
>
>
> A kitsch statue I bought of Guan Yin some years ago in Hong Kong showed
> her holding a pot in one hand with its narrow mouth facing down, from which
> water would drip, drop by slow drop, into the mouth of a crocodile lying at
> the feet of the goddess. "It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven..."
> And this was supposed to go on perpetually, until the water needed to be
> replenished in our hot climate.
>
>
>
> I look forward to seeing a sharper image of the figure at Charleston.
>
>
>
> Did Roger Fry ever write about this or any other Indian/Chinese figures?
>
>
>
>
> Best wishes.
>
>
>
>
>
> Harish Trivedi
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, 13 Sep 2018 at 22:49, Krista Schepis <kschepis at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Greetings,
>
>
>
> I believe I have found information about this statue on this page,
> https://www.charleston.org.uk/charleston-room-by-room/, clicking "The
> Studio" as the room of interest.
>
>
>
> This site tells us: "The walls are deliberately painted in neutral tones
> as a background for paintings. The fireplace decorations, a pair of florid
> caryatids painted by Duncan Grant onto wooden panels around 1935, provide a
> focus for the room. The tiles behind the stove are by Vanessa Bell,
> c.1925-30. The figure of the Chinese Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin, on the
> mantel shelf is a cast of a sixth century AD original which was owned by
> Roger Fry."
>
>
>
> Not sure if that's the one you were thinking of....
>
>
>
> Best,
>
> Krista Schepis
>
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 13, 2018 at 1:11 PM Harish Trivedi via Vwoolf <
> vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
>
> Would anyone know what that Hindu/Buddhist statue is right in the centre
> of the mantelpiece? I had no idea any of the Bloomsbury group were into
> appreciating Indian art, much less collecting it.
>
>
>
> Any info most welcome. A sharper image of that sculpture would be welcome
> too.
>
>
>
> Best wishes to all.
>
>
>
>
>
> Harish Trivedi
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, 13 Sep 2018 at 21:37, Neverow, Vara S. via Vwoolf <
> vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
>
> Greetings,
>
>
>
> Three articles on Charleston--the expansion and the acquisition of Duncan
> Grant's famous women plates. One on the Bloomsbury Hotel.
>
>
>
> Vara
>
>
>
>
> https://thespaces.com/the-bloomsbury-groups-storied-charleston-house-expands/
>
>
> <https://thespaces.com/the-bloomsbury-groups-storied-charleston-house-expands/>
>
> The Bloomsbury Group’s storied Charleston house expands
> <https://thespaces.com/the-bloomsbury-groups-storied-charleston-house-expands/>
>
> thespaces.com
>
> With a new gallery by Jamie Fobert Architects
>
>
> https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/bloomsbury-group-s-country-home-to-open-all-year-round
>
>
>
>
>
> https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/sep/06/famous-women-orlando-charleston-review-grant-bell-bloomsbury
>
>
> <https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/sep/06/famous-women-orlando-charleston-review-grant-bell-bloomsbury>
>
> Famous Women/Orlando at Charleston review – the fundamental daftness of
> Grant and Bell
> <https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/sep/06/famous-women-orlando-charleston-review-grant-bell-bloomsbury>
>
> www.theguardian.com
>
> A jokey Famous Women Dinner Service and a faint celebration of Woolf’s
> novel Orlando are lightweight openers for the Bloomsbury Group shrine’s
> spacious new galleries
>
> And...one more review of the Bloomsbury Hotel.
>
>
> https://sg.asiatatler.com/life/hotel-review-tatler-checks-into-the-bloomsbury-hotel-in-london
>
>
>
> Vara Neverow
> Department of English
> Southern Connecticut State University
> New Haven, CT 06515
> 203-392-6717
> neverowv1 at southernct.edu
>
> _______________________________________________
> Vwoolf mailing list
> Vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
> https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwoolf
>
> _______________________________________________
> Vwoolf mailing list
> Vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
> https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwoolf
>
> _______________________________________________
> Vwoolf mailing list
> Vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
> https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwoolf
>

-- 
Todd Nordgren
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of English
Northwestern University
toddnordgren at u.northwestern.edu
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.osu.edu/pipermail/vwoolf/attachments/20180913/a01c71ab/attachment-0001.html>