Woolf as Commodity

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Woolf is a bust by Valentina Mazzei

Posted in 21st century Woolf, art, Woolf as Commodity, tagged Valentina Mazzei, Virginia Woolf sculpture on Wednesday 6 January 2010| 7 Comments »

If it weren’t for blogging, I would never have seen the beautiful bust of Virginia Woolf created by Italian sculptor Valentina Mazzei.

Valentina posted a comment and link on Blogging Woolf that clued me in to the fact that she is a Woolf afficianado whose most recent project is a lost wax hot cast bronze sculpture of Woolf.

The sculpture is available in four different finishes in a limited edition of eight pieces. It measures nearly 8 inches by 5 1/2 inches and is priced at $1,200.

You can see more views of Mazzei’s sculpture here and here.

I plan to be in Rome in mid-May, and I hope I have the opportunity to meet Valentina and the bust in person. If so, I will write more about it.

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Woolf shoes hold porcelain stones and meaning

Posted in commodification, fashion, Woolf as Commodity, tagged "She Who Explores", Deakin University, Rowena Hannan, Virginia Woolf fashion, Woolf art, Woolf shoes on Thursday 7 May 2009| 2 Comments »

Since I have been writing on the subject of Woolf clothing and accessories lately, here comes another addition to the author’s imaginary wardrobe. This time, it is shoes.

But these are not just any shoes. These are shoes with artistic value. These are shoes with meaning.

I found this information online a few days ago, and now it has reappeared via the VWoolf Listserv. Rather than wait for the third time to be the charm, I decided to blog about these shoes on the second sighting.

The shoes are ceramic, and they are one of 10 pairs created by West Footscray artist Rowena Hannan for the “She Who Explores” exhibition at Deakin University in Australia until May 23.

The pair created in Woolf’s honor detail her relationship with husband Leonard and lover Vita Sackville-West. The sole of each shoe features the beginning and ending of letters.

Poignantly enough, Woolf’s shoes are filled with small porcelain stones, reminders of the stones she slipped into her coat pockets before drowning in the River Ouse. There is something quite sad and lonely about the way these shoes sit side by side, looking as empty and worn as Woolf may have felt before she headed across the Sussex Downs on her last walk.

“It’s about dialogue, essentially between lovers or people that are intimate,” Hannan is quoted as saying in the Footscray, Yarraville, Braybrook Star. “The shoes are supposed to be about the letter, or the dialogue, that’s between the beginning and the ending enscripted on the bottom of the shoes. The shoes reflect their relationship and who they are as people. It was a lot more about research than anything else. If you dig deep enough, you find out some amazing things about people.”

Deakin University’s Web site describes Hannan as using “porcelain to transform mundane objects into repositories full of suggestion and evocation.”

For more, download the exhibition program.

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Jewelry offers new take on the Woolf whistle

Posted in commodification, Woolf accessories, Woolf as Commodity, Woolf sightings, tagged commodification, wendy Brandes, Woolf accessories on Tuesday 5 May 2009| Leave a Comment »

Literary puns are in store for those who browse this Web site to read more about the Virginia Woolf Whistle pendant.

The whistle, designed by Wendy Brandes in gold and diamonds, pops open to reveal a miniature wolf. The wolf is also available separately as a necklace in silver for $50.

Both seem to be popular with young women who are either infatuated with literary puns and/or wolves and/or unusual jewelry and/or Wendy Brandes and/or the iconic Woolf.

As one Wendy fan put it, “There really aren’t enough Woolf accessories in the world. How ’bout something inspired by Vita Sackville-West?”