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On the philosophy of reenactment...
Dec. 6th, 2006 09:18 am"Typical" vs. "Probable" vs. "Possible". I find myself pondering this one a lot, both as a cook and as a costumer. (And I think the fact I do both may influence me in odd ways.) As much as I am interested in authenticity, I find I draw my "lines in the sand" in some very odd places in comparison to others, and I'd like to discuss that a bit, as it's something I think that everyone comes to different conclusions on (which is great unless you assume everyone has the same line...).
So. Me first, I guess. Unlike many people on my friends list, I find that I am somewhat tempermentally unsuited for having true, living-history style reenactment be my primary goal. (Though I'd still like to try it sometime, and wish I was a bit geographically closer to some of the groups I know of.) There are several reasons for this:
1. The biggest reason is that doing only the persona you can afford to do... doesn't interest me at all. I joke about having a "princess complex", and to some degree that's true - "flashy" noble garb, not "gentry" is what interests me, and obviously (for those of you who know me) I don't have that kind of cash. So, I do what I can, but I don't necessarily stick to what I can do "exactly right". (I.E. I'll do garb tht probably ought to be in silk brocade in wool or linen or even (gasp) cotton velvet or the like).
2. I get bored very easily. And I like to improvise. It's one of the reasons I don't do Elizabethan, though the bling appeals to me very much - I'd feel constrained by all the existant stuff, that isn't really there when it comes to 14th century costuming and certainly isn't there for food. On the other hand, going really-early-period, where there's so much less info, would also drive me crazy - yet another reason it's good to be part of the 14th century Mafia.
3. This is the part that gets me into trouble, especially on the food side. I rather enjoy combining recipes, etc - compatible ones, of course, from similar cookbooks (ie two french ones from 1410-20). I'll be perfectly honest about having no proof that it *was* done, but do I think what I'm making is a possibility? yes, I do. Which leads back to the costuming thing, specifically things like the bias-cut overgown (stealing techniques from other garments to do something different, etc).
Well, that was rambly. And it didn't really sum up where my line is. But I'm not sure I can do that more succinctly - so... that being said, where's yours? (Yes, I wrote this because I want to have a conversation, so please, comment away, even if it's to tell me I'm full of it...)
So. Me first, I guess. Unlike many people on my friends list, I find that I am somewhat tempermentally unsuited for having true, living-history style reenactment be my primary goal. (Though I'd still like to try it sometime, and wish I was a bit geographically closer to some of the groups I know of.) There are several reasons for this:
1. The biggest reason is that doing only the persona you can afford to do... doesn't interest me at all. I joke about having a "princess complex", and to some degree that's true - "flashy" noble garb, not "gentry" is what interests me, and obviously (for those of you who know me) I don't have that kind of cash. So, I do what I can, but I don't necessarily stick to what I can do "exactly right". (I.E. I'll do garb tht probably ought to be in silk brocade in wool or linen or even (gasp) cotton velvet or the like).
2. I get bored very easily. And I like to improvise. It's one of the reasons I don't do Elizabethan, though the bling appeals to me very much - I'd feel constrained by all the existant stuff, that isn't really there when it comes to 14th century costuming and certainly isn't there for food. On the other hand, going really-early-period, where there's so much less info, would also drive me crazy - yet another reason it's good to be part of the 14th century Mafia.
3. This is the part that gets me into trouble, especially on the food side. I rather enjoy combining recipes, etc - compatible ones, of course, from similar cookbooks (ie two french ones from 1410-20). I'll be perfectly honest about having no proof that it *was* done, but do I think what I'm making is a possibility? yes, I do. Which leads back to the costuming thing, specifically things like the bias-cut overgown (stealing techniques from other garments to do something different, etc).
Well, that was rambly. And it didn't really sum up where my line is. But I'm not sure I can do that more succinctly - so... that being said, where's yours? (Yes, I wrote this because I want to have a conversation, so please, comment away, even if it's to tell me I'm full of it...)
