Spectrum Briefs
Maymont trees receive makeover from VCU fashion students
Last week sophomore fashion design students created skirts for trees at the Hampton St. entrance of Maymont Park with the sponsorship of Cotton Inc.
Henry Swartz, an associate professor in the department of fashion design and merchandising told VCU News Center that the sixth-annual tree decorating project is a way for the sophomores to have an outlet for their creativity.
Cotton Inc. provided muslin (unbleached cotton) and trim material for students to use to design and create their skirts for their assigned tree.
Cotton Inc. is also awarding scholarships for best design. The first-place tree skirt will receive $2,000, and the second-place winner will receive $1,000. Winners will be announced on April 15 when the skirts are removed from trees.
Brief by VCU News Center
VCU professor first to publish uncensored ‘Dorian Gray’
VCU associate English professor Nicholas Frankel published a controversial and restored version of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” last month through the Harvard University Press.
According to VCU News Center, prior to Frankel’s publication, the original, uncensored version of the novel has never been available to the public.
Originally censored for references to homosexuality and homosexual intimate relations, the released version was still controversial because of its “gross indecency.”
Frankel, who teaches the novel and is a Wilde scholar, used records from the Pennsylvania Historical Society to find letters and other notes regarding the original publication.
He told the VCU News Center that he believes “Dorian Gray” is a herald of modernity and was key in the transition from the Victorian time period to the modern time period.
Brief by VCU News Center
