"Myth: the Eternal Return"
Temporary Exhibit at Georgia Museum of Art
March 20-April 3
Co-curators: Annelies Mondi and Jonathan Krell
This exhibit presented works from the collection of the Georgia Museum
of Art depicting 19th and 20th century interpretations of three great
medieval myths from Western Europe: the Holy Grail, Tristan and Isolde,
and Mélusine.


Kenyon Brown
Remarks on Isolde, a painting by Aubrey Beardsley

Recently, the Georgia Museum of Art housed an exhibit that focused on three medieval myths and artistic representations thereof.  The myths, Tristan and Iseut, The Grail, and Melusine have inspired scholars and artists alike for many centuries since they originally appeared in the litterature of the Middle Ages. One painting shown in the exhibit, Isolde by Aubrey Beardsley, is of particular interest.  It depicts in a single image numerous social values and struggles that surrounded the legendary Isolde (Iseut) and her lover  Tristan in the court of King Mark of Cornwall as appears in the legend. The essence of the painting is a view of Isolde at the moment before she drinks the love potion that will bind her fate to that of Tristan.  One thing the spectator of this moment notices is the presence of a number of oppositions such as that between the colors red and white.  These colors could signify the real opposition between the moral and the immoral expectations of Isolde's society, the red symbolizing adulterous sin, the white representing the 'norm' of a 'courtly' marriage. Beyond colors, the physical space of Isolde is also in question. Beardsley chose to place her in front of what seems to be a curtain.  She also appears to be standing sideways to where the viewer is uncertain as to which direction she is actually facing.  The curtain is a symbol of separation  showing the displacement of Isolde in the society of the court.  Her sin has placed her at the margins of this society which she can neither turn her  back on completely nor return to in her former unblemished capacity.

ALUMNI IN THE NEWS

Several students and graduates of the Department of Romance Languages have been in the news in the last year with two achieving celebrity status.  Danny Roberts, a 1999 B.A. in French, appeared in the ninth edition of the popular MTV program Real World in early 2000.  The show involves a group of people living in an exotic locale (in this case, New Orleans) and how they interact.  He appeared on the cover of the June 19, 2000 issue of TV Guide and was written about in the feature article.  He also appeared on the WB program Dawson's Creek.

Colleen Haskell satisfied her language requirement in French while pursuing a BA in Drama.  She appeared on the original CBS program Survivor , which was broadcast in 2000 and was "voted off the island" on the eleventh episode.  She also appeared on the cover of TV Guide and was interviewed for the feature article.  She starred in a movie called The Animal in Hollywood and has been featured in Entertainment Weekly.

Georgia State Represenative Stephanie Stuckey, BA in French, received a lot of press  when she introduced a bill to increase the maximum allowable alcohol content in beer so that European craft beers could be sold in Georgia.  The measure was defeated in the 2001 session.

On a more serious note, the department was quite worried about Faida Mitifu, PhD in French, 1994, who is Ambassador to the U.S. from her native country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Her president was assassinated in January, 2001, but Faida was in Washington and still carries out her duties.  She appeared on the PBS program Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and debated the issues surrounding her country with State Department representatives.  It is possible to hear the entire interview on the PBS Website.

Instead of taking some time to relax after completing her preliminary exams, Lisa VanZwoll (doctoral student in French) attended the 69^th annual Congrès de l'Association Canadienne -Française pour l'Avancement des Sciences where she presented a paper on Canadian writer Anne Hébert.  Her paper was entitled "La prison maternelle dans Le Torrent et Un habit de lumière."  She said that the conference was interesting because there were sessions on a wide range of topics including literature, education, biology, physics, mathematics, etc.  It was the fist time she had the experience of considering "francophonie" as a way of life rather than seeing Quebec as a country that is just a part of Francophonie.

Deana Shuman (who had just completed her M.A. in French) accompanied Lisa on the trip.  They spent a few days exploring Montreal before heading to Sherbrooke, where the conference was held.  The highlight of the trip was witnessing a manifestation where surrounding cities were protesting being joined with Montreal.  According to  Lisa and Deana, Sherbrooke wasn't nearly as appealing as Montreal.  Also, coming from Georgia, the cold weather was a bit shocking.