Museum’s “Apron Chronicles” Rich in Nostalgia
By Lauren Poster
Now through March 19th the Myrtle Beach Art Museum is featuring the Apron Chronicles: A Patchwork of American Recollections. The brainchild of writer and “apron curator” EllynAnne Geisel, the presentation features 46 testimonials collected by Geisel and 155 of her own vintage aprons hung from the ceiling on clotheslines.
In a lecture that kicked off the exhibition January 17th, Geisel described her artistic journey. The writer decided to take up the pen after her last child had gone to college; a novice in writing and in some of the more common domestic arts, she also purchased her first apron around this time. While ironing the apron, she felt a moment of intense connection to the previous owner, and had a feeling that the apron symbolized much more than its basic function.
/media/images/Myrtle_Beach_Art_Museum_Aprons_-_01.jpgGeisel began collecting them and, carrying the aprons in a basket everywhere from the bus stop to the grocery store, she attracted spectators. People began sharing their stories – stories of a favorite grandmother, of a childhood memory and more. Geisel listened well and transcribed each story, trying hard to be true to the person who had told it. A chance meeting with award-winning photographer Kristine Loggia (both were covering different aspects of women in rodeo at an event in Colorado where the writer lives) led to a collaboration.
Loggia photographed Geisel’s subjects in a poignant series of stark, unabashed portraits showing each person in their own element. The photos are oddly reminiscent of kitschy 1960’s high school senior shots, with the models staring off nobly into an unseen horizon, spatula in hand. Or in others, the model looks directly into the camera, sometimes kittenish, sometimes shy, sometimes frank and unafraid. Each photo tells a story of its own, from the topless hippie in the half-piece apron to the middle-aged man in perma-press slacks.
The exhibit includes audio tracks of Ozzie and Harriet promos, sappy romance hits of the 50s, and the theme from “All in the Family.” The room is powerfully thick with nostalgia, and one can almost hear the voices of the past whispering from behind the diaphanous fabric. Geisel even provides a basket of various aprons and a full-length mirror for attendees to put themselves in perspective, out of time, out of place, and in the fullness of memory.
Visit the Myrtle Beach Art Museum at 3100 South Ocean Boulevard to see this unique exhibit, sponsored by the Women’s Museum of Dallas, Texas.
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