2023 was a particularly quiet year on the blog and social media front due to some big projects! A book chapter, two grant proposals, two talks, and the website redesign meant I couldn't put out much content. I hope to remedy this in 2024, but I can't make any promises, especially as I'm writing another book chapter due in September, two more grant proposals, two papers and the website redesign is ongoing. Here's my attempt to prioritize projects this year. (Yes, I realize we're already 4 months in!)
First up is the Museum's exhibition shortlist, the topics that I think are the most important and might be doable by myself. Following the same grouping as 2023, in addition to the shortlist, the second group consists of exhibitions that I think would have wide appeal but require co-curation, and the 3rd category is for lower priority topics, i.e. ones that are good but not quite as pressing as the shortlist. If the title has no notes next to it, that means the description and my thoughts on these haven't changed since previous years.
Priority:
- "Indies and Influencers: The Changing Makeup Landscape"
- "Youthquake: Teens and Makeup" – tweaked the title a bit from last year, and given all the hubbub around Sephora tweens as of late, the exhibition would include this age group as well.
- "Color History Through Cosmetics: Blue"
- "The Medium is the Message: Makeup as Art"
- "Flutter: A History of Eyelash Adornment" – So, this isn't a brand new topic as I mentioned it last year, but I did change around the working title and gave it a lot more consideration, and concluded that this most likely will be the next exhibition. There are so many different subtopics and areas to weave in, like when it was decided that long, dark lashes are beautiful, the dangers of lash tinting and false lashes, and moral considerations – lots of vintage lashes used human hair, which probably was not gathered in an ethical way. See also: mink eyelashes.
- "Ancient Allure: Egyptomania in Makeup"
- "Just Desserts: Sweet Tooth Revisited"
- "Beauty Marked in Your Eyes: A History of '90s Makeup" - It will be 10 years in the fall since I had this idea and not much progress, but I'm still not giving up!
- "Design is a Good Idea: Innovations in Cosmetics Design and Packaging"
- "Nothing to Hide: Makeup as Mask"
Here are the ones the Museum will need much help with.
- "From Male Polish to Guyliner: A History of Men's Makeup"
- "Queens: A History of Drag Makeup"
- "Aliengelic: A Pat McGrath Retrospective"
- "Ugly Makeup: A Revolution in Aesthetics"
- Fashion x Makeup (still haven't thought of a decent title!)
- "Working Beauty: Makeup Artistry as Profession"
- "Mineral, Animal, Vegetable: 5,000 Years of Cosmetic Ingredients"
And the last set, which are things I'm still debating or that need to wait a bit.
- "From Mods and Hippies to Supervixens and Grrrls: '60s and '90s Makeup in Dialogue"
- "Gilded Splendor: A History of Gold Makeup"
- "Vanity Projects: Celebrity Makeup Brands"
- "Black and Blue: Punk Makeup, 1975-2000"
- "Pandemic: Makeup in the Age of COVID-19" – Sorry to everyone who thinks COVID is over, but it's not, so this is sadly remaining tabled.
- "Catch the Light: Glitter in Cosmetics from Ancient Times Through Today"
"Wanderlust: Travel-Inspired Beauty" - "By Any Other Name: The Rose in Makeup"
Poor little neglected blog! I just can't seem to balance it with the bigger projects like papers and book chapters. I am aiming for at least 15 posts this year, but once again, I can't make any promises.
MM Musings (1-2): The next installment will be about problematic objects and how/if to display them. Museum accessibility and revisiting permanent collections and the issue of ethics in collecting are still up there too. I've also been dipping my toe into material culture and design history, so maybe something about the materiality of makeup objects.
Makeup as Muse (1): Oof. No Makeup as Muse in 2023. In addition to last year's shortlist of Janine Antoni, Rachel Lachowitz, Asa Jungnelius or Tomomi Nishizawa, I'm now looking at Anika Leila and Caroline Zurmely. I was also thinking that if the Museum should ever have a physical space, we could hold painting classes where people would bring in their expired makeup (or use some provided by me, LOL) and be their own Makeup as Muse. And of course I'd still love to do a whole exhibition on Makeup as Muse artists.
MM Mailbag (2): Again, none in 2023, so at least one this year would be helpful! Would also like to return to Dream Teams.
Vintage/brief histories (4-5): Mostly the same as the past two years, but more ideas popped up later in 2023, which are: oshiguma, Chinese beauty advertising of the 1920s and '30s, MCM design (had way too much fun with Art Deco last year!), the "multicultural" wars of the '90s, and histories of Femme Arsenal, Agnes Sorel, Xanadu by Faberge, Eddie Senz, Alo Cosmetics and Mona Manet Cosmetics. Really need to work on local (Baltimore/Maryland) beauty history too. And while I didn't get to it for this year's National Denim Day, I'd like to write something about makeup and healing from sexual assault (and while it's unrelated to the purpose of National Denim Day, there is a lot of denim-themed makeup.) To save you a click, here are some ideas from previous years: cosmetic practices of various Indigenous peoples, ear makeup, mouches and skin tone, true crime and makeup, a history of face gems, bindis, matching portraits on vintage compacts, the art of shibayama inlay, makeup for glasses wearers, spray (airbrush) makeup, Russian cosmetics during the communist era, guns and makeup, Riot Grrrl makeup, vices in makeup divided into 4 subjects (gambling/casinos, smoking/cigarettes, junk food and alcohol), dolls and makeup, histories of early modern powder applicators, setting sprays and color-changing cosmetics, copycats, profiles of some more obscure makeup artists from the '60s through the '90s, and histories of defunct brands (a slew of celebrity lines, Inoui ID, and revisit Stephane Marais), especially Black-owned brands like Marva Louis and Rose Morgan.
Continuations: Still need to finish up posts on Dorothy Gray's portrait series, Chinese makeup brands, and clothing and color coordination.
Topics to revisit (1-2): Mostly the same as 2022 and 2023 sadly, since I still did not tackle them: faux freckles, non-traditional lipstick shades, and a deeper dive into surrealism and makeup. I also need to do updates of both the mermaid exhibition and the Stila girls exhibition. 😉
Artist collabs (5): If you thought last year's list was overwhelming, it grew again in 2023. Additions include Aya Mobadeen for Bare Minerals, foxco for Clarins, Nicolas Lefeuvre for Shu Uemura, Elzbieta Radziwill for Sisley, the Eeni Edit for Ulta, Elizaveta Porodina for Addiction, and the Lancome Louvre collection. And already in 2024 there are a few: Margot Reverdy for Clé de Peau, Masaru Suzuki for Etvos, and Kerri Rosenthal for Bobbi Brown.
Book reviews (2-5): The list continues to be staggering. Take a peek at the Beauty Library and let me know what you'd like to see a review for.
Fashion: Off-White, Lauren Goodday for Prados, Marco Ribeiro for Pleasing, Sabyasachi and Shuting Qiu for Estée Lauder are the priorities, along with couple of vintage brands (Diane von Furstenberg, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Henry Rosenfeld).
Color Connections (1-2): Slowed down from 2023, but still keeping up with them!
Tabled for now: history of colored mascara, how makeup language has evolved (for example, why we typically say "blush" now instead of "rouge" for cheek color, the idea of makeup as jewelry, day and night makeup, wear-to-work makeup from the 1970s-90s, profiles of Halston, Calvin Klein and Nina Ricci brands, BIPOC salespeople and customers in MLM companies, and makeup ad illustrators.
New series: the Collector Chronicles. This would be a series of interviews with other makeup collectors and maybe it could be expand to include collectors whose interests fall outside of makeup. I've met so many fellow collectors online and would love to hear more about their collections!
Miscellaneous: Same as 2023, but adding a catch-up on Shu Uemura holiday collections.
Books are the same as last year with one new idea: if there seems to be interest, I could see the Flutter exhibition becoming a book. I finally got around to reading Zahra Hankir's excellent Eyeliner: A Cultural History and I was really inspired! I think a history of eyelash adornment in a similar format could be useful too.
What exhibitions and blog posts do you want to see the most? And what do you think about lashes as the next exhibition topic?