Pass the Sangria and Margarita Popcorn; “This Process Is Flawed. It’s Not Transparent;” Meadow Street & Maymont Legend; Art Nouveau For The Masses; Double Bike Bonus.

RVA 5x5 - August 21, 2023

No algorithms. No content filters. Honest and insightful analysis.
You can find the 5 main stories from Friday’s edition here, and today features the “ALT 5” stories for a nice, leisurely, read. Enjoy!

This week check out our five stories on:

• A small but hip, nouveau look at some of the VMFA’s posters from the turn of the 20th Century.

• A cogent but potent quote of the week about how intimidation and money will be used like never before this fall to approve the casino referendum. It will be ugly and unlike anything Richmond has seen before.

• A fitting tribute to a 103 year-old living legend in the Maymont neighborhood who was honored for her impact and influence that still graces and even shades the neighborhood today.

• A double bonus from City Hall — the RVA Bike Share is back up and running as of today and rides are free until New Year’s.

• Whether you like your movies on the couch or in the theater, there is a local couple serving up popcorn not just with butter, but also flavors like Cinnamon Bun, Dill Pickle, Red Sangria and Margarita.

THE ALT 5

ALT #1 — OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Art Nouveau For The Masses
Karen Newton has a great write up in Style Weekly about an exhibition at VMFA that will transport you back to the turn of the 20th Century when art was changing as fast as society with the onset of electricity, the automobile, and skyscrapers. The Art Nouveau style was sweeping across Europe and America in architecture, interior design, jewelry, and especially art and graphic design. Paintings and viewing art only in galleries was out; stylistic illustrations and posters for the masses was in.

“The Art of Advertisement: Art Nouveau posters of the Late 19th Century,” which includes large posters from the museum’s collection of art nouveau works on paper highlight the iconic late 19th-century design style, which emphasized beauty in natural forms and movement which was often expressed through flowing, stylized lines and flourishing patterns. It highlights works from French, Belgian, Viennese, and American creators such as Alphonse Mucha, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen, Henri de Toulouse-Latrec, Manual Orazi, Josef Maria Auchentaller, among others.

Photo: VMFA

Some of those names might ring a bell but the creators are not as important as what they created. As VMFA notes, “Art Nouveau posters pushed the preconceived notions of “fine art” and merged the gap between academic art and applied arts, and the poster craze spread from Europe to America. Advertising everything from theatrical revues and products to newspapers and literary journals, posters also served as agents of social change, depicting new images of women as fashionable and independent people.”