Oh No They Didn't!: Grace Kelly Exhibit Opens in Toronto on Friday

Posted in 02 November 2011
by Admin.



Oh No They Didn't!
Oh No They Didn't! - LiveJournal.com
Grace Kelly Exhibit Opens in Toronto on Friday
Nov 2nd 2011, 15:40

Torontonians will be able to glimpse the glamour of Grace Kelly when an exhibit on the Oscar-winning actress and princess comes to the city this Friday. Despite a film career that lasted only five years and a life cut short in a tragic car accident, Grace Kelly left her mark on fashion, popular culture and the times she lived in. Based on similar shows in Monaco and London, Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess will feature the very public and very personal life of the Oscar-winning actress - a vast collection of artifacts, including jewels, gowns, letters and a collection of her home movies shot on Super 8 film. The exhibit is based on similar shows: a combination of Grace Kelly Style Icon at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London last year, and The Grace Kelly Years, which was on display in Monaco several years ago. "Although she was among the most photographed women of the 20th century she still remains something of a mystery," says Noah Cowan, artistic director of TIFF Bell Lightbox. "In all phases of her life she became iconic - as a movie star, as a bride, as a princess - and yet it's hard to actually know who the real Grace Kelly is. I think this show actually takes you inside (her world). You see her personal correspondence, what she loved to wear and what she loved to do."
"Grace Kelly rose to fame incredibly quickly," said Cowan. "She became a supermodel in a year, a TV star the next year and then became a Hollywood star a year and a half later — starring in some of the most famous films ever made in an only five-year career." "She continues to be part of our film culture and our culture as a whole. Even though her movie career was only five years long...her presence and the kind of timeless elegance she represents continue to be part of our culture every day," Cowan noted in a media preview this week. He said it was fortunate that Kelly was a "great collector" throughout her life. The exhibit should satisfy Kelly fans and fashion aficionados alike. The first items on display include a lithograph by late iconic pop artist Andy Warhol, done two years before Kelly's death in 1982, as well as the white gloves she habitually wore during public appearances — "a throwback to an earlier time," Cowan said. The exhibit is divided into four parts, beginning with material from Kelly's early life growing up in Philadelphia as part of a wealthy family, including home movies and photographs from her modeling career, playbills from her first appearances on stage, including Broadway, and memorabilia from her pre-film television career. The second part focuses on Kelly's film career, which began in 1951 starring opposite Gary Cooper in High Noon. The exhibit includes Kelly's 1955 Oscar for Best Actress for The Country Girl. It also includes a personal look into Kelly's relationship with British director Alfred Hitchcock, who adopted her as a muse and put her in three of his best-known films, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window and To Catch a Thief. The exhibit includes personal correspondence between the star and the director as well as the Super 8 camera Hitchcock taught her how to operate and that she would use throughout her life for a series of home movies, featuring her husband, children and visiting celebrities including Bing Crosby and opera singer Maria Callas. "One of the really super treasures of the show was this correspondence between Grace Kelly and Alfred Hitchcock. They had such a personal lovely rapport. Clearly they liked each other's company," Cowan said. The third segment of the exhibition focuses on Kelly's 1956 wedding to Prince Rainier III of Monaco, including a reproduction of her famous wedding dress and jewelry by Van Cleef and Arpels, including a 78-karat tiara featuring 144 diamonds, one reason why the exhibit requires around-the-clock security, Cowan noted. It also includes three screens providing footage of both the wedding, a separate civil ceremony and the couple embarking on their honeymoon, some of it shot by MGM Studios, which sought the right to film the ceremony to allow Kelly out of the contract she had with them. Finally, there is Kelly's impact on fashion and culture, including her collaboration with great Hollywood costume designers Edith Head and Helen Rose and a series of dresses designed by famous European fashion houses including Christian Dior, Givenchy, Chanel and Yves St. Laurent. Other personal items include the "Kelly" bag by Hermes and a collection of sunglasses by London designer Oliver Goldsmith. "She is one of the great queens of the silver screen," Cowan says. "When people talk about Grace Kelly, they frequently use the word 'timeless.' She speaks to something that just doesn't go away, which is a certain style, a certain glamour." "We still are finding things out about her and still finding images of her that redefine her sense of style and glamour. She's just an endless source of what makes life more interesting." The show runs from Nov. 4 to Jan. 22 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King St. W.
Sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Short video tour at this source.
Do any ONTDers plan to go?

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