i went to find the hidden folk

charlotte, she/they, 27, queer, autistic, aspiring art history professor i just have a lot of thoughts and feelings about art and music curator of @historical-fashion-polls rambling at @almost-a-loneliness

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

welcome!

hello and welcome to my little corner of the internet!

my name is charlotte, and I have an art history masters degree and am currently an art history phd student! my goal is to eventually become a professor 💕

this blog is dedicated to my love of both art and music, and I create edits of lyrics combined with artworks

the vast majority of my edits currently come from just hearing music or looking at an artwork and suddenly thinking it would be great for a particular edit. but I do also take requests (I'm just very slow at fulfilling them), so if you have any lyrics, songs, artworks, etc. that you would like to see in an edit, feel free to request it!

also, just as an fyi, this blog runs primarily on a queue simply because I would never remember and/or find the time to post otherwise. but I am on here almost every day, so feel free to send in an ask if you feel so inclined ☺️

below the cut I'm going to put my spotify link as well as the art historical research projects I've done in the past, in case you're interested. if you find them intriguing, or if you have questions, just know that I'm always super happy to talk to anyone about art history (and/or music)! whether you're interested in going into art history, or just want to chat about art, or are just curious, I would love to hear from you!

otherwise, I hope you enjoy my little blog and find something that inspires you!

yours in art,

charlotte 💙

here is a link to my Spotify if you're interested

I'm pretty meticulous with creating a specific mood for each playlist, and every song I add is vetted thoroughly for lyrical, sonic, and thematic content to make sure it matches the overall vibe of the playlist

art historical research projects (in no particular order)

Mary Cassatt as a painter of the modern world

Ana Mendieta and endless cycles of death and rebirth in her Silueta series

dark academia, knightcore, and the reinterpretation of medieval and medieval revival imagery (this is my undergrad senior thesis)

the ethics of displaying human remains in art exhibits

the "modern girl" in Korean inter-war cartoons

constructing criminality though depictions of murderers in the late Victorian London press

El Geco's Mary Magdalens and the Counter-Reformation

creating a visual Irish identity through the visuality of The Book of Kells, the Celtic Revival, and The Secret of Kells

wilting Victorian women, tumblr sad girls, and the aestheticization of female suffering

disease and disability at the Spanish Habsburg court

images of faeries in children's books from the Victorian era to the present

the wabi aesthetic, cottagecore, and idealized rurality

persona construction and visual identity curation via reblogging on tumblr (this is my MA thesis)

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

✨ women in music ✨

rules: share 9 female artists you’re into lately

thank you so much for tagging me @starlightsearches ☺️💖

Jensen McRae / Erin LeCount / Florence + the Machine

Rabbitology / Paris Paloma / Allison Russell

Isabel Pless / Rose Betts / BLÜ EYES

I never know who to tag and I don't want to leave anyone out, so if you see this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged!

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

Blackthorn // Daffodil // Foliage // Jasmine – William Morris, Morris & Co. // Perfume and Milk – Florence + the Machine

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

Head of Medusa – Franz von Stuck // Witch Dance – Florence + the Machine

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

Lady Lilith – Dante Gabriel Rossetti (detail) // Drink Deep – Florence + the Machine

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

so is anyone else aching aching aching and alive or is it just me and that singer from south london

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

FLORENCE SONG ABOUT THE FAE LET’S GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

The Plum – Édouard Manet // At the Café – Édouard Manet // Looking Back – Lord Huron

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

Hello, Charlotte my beloved!! I hope you've been doing well and that your February has been good so far! Did you do anything fun during Valentine's? I hope you got to treat yourself to something delicious and also cozy!

I wanted to invade your inbox because I know you're the expert on historical fashion and I thought I could come to you with this! So, as you know, I'm going to Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter tour this April, and it's exciting because I need to figure out what the hell am I gonna wear. It's the first concert I go to that isn't rock/metal, and where it's sorta unsaid yet definitely understood that there will be a dress code, with the theme of it being cowboys. I'm a bit lost because I'd normally just wear T-shirts and jeans, but thought this was a chance to do some research and come up with something creative. I was wondering if you had any cool information/facts on cowboy wear in history to inspire an outfit. But, I was mostly curious about finding out if, and how do cowboy and alternative/goth fashion meet. Cause you know me, I'm interested in darker aesthetics. When you search "goth cowboy" on pinterest you do get pictures, but I thought, surely there must be a historically accurate representation of that concept if these two cultures have ever fused.

As always I'm very curious to see if you have any input on this topic!! Although I know the crossing between cowboys and alternative fashion might be quite niche, so THANK YOU in advance for putting up with my long, and probably crazy ass question!

Love you, Charlotte!! and Happy Valentine's day!! <3

hello my dearest irma!! 🥰🥰

first, I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this question! 😭❤️‍🩹 I was hoping to have time to do some more research on the subject, but with all my phd stuff, that just hasn't happened 😭😭

unfortunately I fear I'm not going to be of much help, although I really wish I could be because this concept sounds so so fun! from what I know, the cowboy aesthetic as we know it today took off in the 1940s and 1950s in response to an increase in "westerns" (both in book and film form), although I will willingly admit that I don't have much additional knowledge about this specific subset of culture/fashion. and then (as I'm sure you know! ☺️) a lot of what we might call "alternative" fashion emerged in the 60s and 70s and even later into the 20th century (things like punk and goth). but I'm afraid that I am just not much of an expert on late 20th century stuff, so I'm not sure what crossovers there might have been between these different aesthetics 😭😭

the closest I could find that I've ever featured on historical fashion polls is this one from 1948 (I was thinking specifically the black shirt), but that would have been before the rise of alternative fashion, so it's mostly just a cowboy-esque shirt in black rather than incorporating more alternative elements, but maybe the style could still provide some inspo??

again, I'm so sorry I can't be of more help here! I'm afraid my familiarity with historical fashion really diminishes around the 1950s, so anything after that I can't claim much expertise 😭😭

but I hope you find an outfit that you're excited to wear to the concert! dressing for shows is so so so much fun! (I know I bought my dress for the lord huron strange trails 10th anniversary show that I'll be going to in may like a few months ago lmaooo 😅) and I hope you have an absolutely amazing time at the concert! I'm sure it will be fantastic!! 🥰🥰

sending you so much love!! 🥰🥰

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

The Assassination of Julius Caesar – Bartolomeo Pinelli // 100 Years – Florence + the Machine

Happy Ides of March! 🗡

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

The Murder of Caesar – Karl von Piloty (detail) // This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things - Taylor Swift

Happy Ides of March! 🗡

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

Okay, this is a bit of a long one lol. First of all, I'm very glad your health issues have gotten better!! Dealing with stuff like that just adds an extra layer of stress over the rest of life's normal things and it isn't fun at all; so I'm relieved to hear that you've made it through the wave. 🫂

On my work being published!! There's a whole little story to it. I was taking a creative writing class last semester and my final project was a flash fiction/short story submission. I struggled with what I wanted to write about for a while before deciding I'd kind of cheat a little and going through some of the personal essays I'd written throughout the year. The one that I felt I could really work some magic on was a piece I started after my childhood dog passed away early on in the year. I was pretty happy with the pieces I already had so I re-wrote and re-edited some bits so it had more of a traditional beginning/middle/end structure to it.

I was very nervous about submitting it since it still had a personal essay slant to it but I took the chance and luckily it paid off!! My professor loved it. He even said it made him cry lol. Not only did he ask if he could use it as an example for future classes (which I agreed to) but he also suggested that I submit it to my college's journal (which he is conveniently the webmaster for). So I did just that and now here we are a little over a month later and it looks like it's getting published!!

I'm feeling super proud and grateful that my work got picked. The submissions editor (who also conveniently taught the expository comp class I took during my first year) said he was very impressed with my work and hoped they'd see more submissions from me which like...makes my heart so insanely happy. Especially since The Dog (that's what I titled my piece) is so special to me. It really encompasses the grief I felt in the months leading up to and following my sweet boy's passing. I'm just so glad that my tribute to him was heard and has been embraced in such a beautiful way.

Anyhoo, thanks for asking and subsequently reading this long message!! Love you bunches and am sending you hugs and well wishes always!! 💛☕️

meda!! oh my word that is so so so lovely!! 🥰🥰

it's so fantastic to have your work (which I'm sure is incredible given the fics of yours that I've read) embraced in such a warm and welcoming way! 💕💕 it's also so nice to hear when things that are meant to elicit an emotional response do just that ☺️

also huuuuuge congrats on getting that "can I use this an example?" validation because boy oh boy does that hit different (at least for me lmaooo)

so so so incredibly excited for you, and it's just so amazing that they asked to see more of your work too! ☺️💕

you absolutely deserve all this recognition and more, and I hope you're able to continue sharing and celebrating your writing!! 🥰🥰

sending you so much love always!! 💕💕💕💕

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

bestie ily ive missed u sm, i know ur getting a masters (good for u) but did u have to do a thesis for ur bachelor’s? I have to do two and just wanted to know what ur thesis topic was since im starting to brainstorm mine. n e way hope ur having a good day and i cant wait to start taking up space in ur inbox again 💌

omg hello hi!! 💕 so lovely to see you in my ask box!! ☺️

thank you so much for your questions! ☺️ I am currently in my very first year of my phd (eeeeek!!), so I now have both a bachelor's and a master's thesis completed, and I am more than happy to discuss both! 🥰 (oh and I should mention that these were both in art history, so that's the larger field for both my theses! I also majored in french for my BA but I did not have to do a thesis for that lol)

for my bachelor's thesis, I explored dark academia, knightcore, and the reinterpretation of medieval and medieval revival imagery in modern internet contexts. for the dark academia section, I looked particularly at the use of gothic and neo-gothic buildings and the way they are often obscured/highly edited in dark academia imagery in order to create stages/backdrops for imagined narratives. in knightcore, I examined issues of gender and the way that the modern knightcore phenomenon actually illuminates the complex and diverse presentations of gender that have always existed (even in the medieval period, which some folks like to think of in terms of strict binaries). chappell roan was not really around in a big way at the time I wrote my thesis, but if I were writing on this topic now I would absolutely bring her uses of medieval/knightcore imagery into this analysis!

for my master's thesis, I actually studied tumblr lmao! I looked at two blogs by musical artists who created personas for their albums. by comparing and contrasting the construction of online identity and visual persona creation on the two blogs, and by analyzing the ways in which the reblogging function of tumblr allows for the constant recontextualization of imagery to create visual personas, I coined the phrase "mosaic virtual identity curation" to discuss this phenomenon. I won't get too in the weeds on this one here since it was a long and involved paper with a lot of moving parts, but I'd be happy to yap way more about the specifics of what I studied for this if that's of interest!

so fun that you're starting to think about thesis topics! please know that I'm here if you want to brainstorm anything or bounce ideas around! ☺️💕

the biggest piece of advice is this: do something that interests you!!!! you'll notice that neither of my topics were like "high art" focused, and they were barely "traditionally" art historical at all. but I didn't care!! because I had questions that I found interesting!! and art historical analysis was going to get me to the answers, so I asked the questions!!

I'm so serious when I say that you should look at something you find cool or weird or interesting and then ask yourself why it intrigues you, and what else you might want to know about it. that's what's going to lead you to the questions that you'll actually care about and have fun answering!

and now I shall stop rambling at you about this, but please know that I am always here to answer any questions I can or to do any brainstorming that might be helpful! 🥰🥰

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

Hello, Charlotte my beloved!!

Just stopping by to wish you a very happy new year!! I wish all of your goals, wishes and hopes for this new year come true, and I’m sending you the BIGGEST hug with all of my love!! May you be filled with inspiration to keep on creating, and thank you for having made my own 2024 brighter and better just for your presence on my dash and every act of kindness you shared with me! ❤️✨

Also just wanted to check in and see how you’ve been doing lately, since it’s been a hot sec! And to tell you that I’ve been loving the polls on your historical fashion blog SO MUCH lately!! All of them have been such SLAYS. Do you have any plans for holiday like you did on halloween yet? Or just ideas in general of new types of creations to try out?

I LOVE YOU! ❤️

my beloved irma!!!! 💕💕

thank you so so so incredibly much for this super duper sweet message!! 🥰🥰 I'm so happy to see you on my dash every day and I hope you know that I am always sending you love!! ☺️💕

thank you so much for your comments on the fashion polls! I'm so glad you've been enjoying those!! ☺️☺️ I think my next little planned event will be in may, which will be a "garden party" where I take garments that have been featured on the blog that have floral or plant-related motifs and match them up into polls 💐 and I'm definitely going to make the halloween tournament a yearly thing, so I do sort through all the outfits that get featured so I can more easily find the ones that will qualify for the different halloween brackets 🎃🦇

and lastly I'm so sorry to hear you've been having a shitty time with that guy 😔😔 something kind of similar happened to me where I was friends with this guy and I invited him to something thinking it was just a cool friend thing but then it turns out he saw it differently and asked me out a couple times after that even though I wasn't super comfy with the idea. I know it's a little different, because for me he did more explicitly say he wanted it to be a date, but I would absolutely say to stick to your boundaries and your standards, and just tell him if you feel uncomfortable with what he's proposing. I know it's so much easier to say than to actually do, but it's definitely worth it to feel comfortable with yourself! 💖💖 (also feel free to dm me about this if I can be of any help! ☺️)

thank you so much again for this lovely lovely message!! 🥰🥰 I apologize for not being more communicative! my social energy levels have been pretty low, but please know that you brighten my day every time I see you on ye olde dash! ☺️💕 sending you so much love always!! 🥰🥰

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

Charlotte!! I had to pop in and say a few things. First, your theme is so gorgeous. Immediately brings me back to when I was sixteen and absolutely obsessed with Van Gogh and it makes me feel all warm inside. Second, I hope that your health situation improves soon!! You bring so much love and light and warmth to this space and you deserve nothing less that having it all returned to you. Take care of yourself, my friend. And happy holidays!! Sending you a warm slice of homemade apple pie and a big hug. 💛🫂🍂🥧

meda my beloved!!! 💕💕

I truly must apologize for being so late in responding to your lovely message! ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 I wanted to wait until I had enough energy but then I was tired all the time, but I have recovered a bit now and am trying to catch up on everything!

thank you so much for your lovely comments on my theme! I absolutely love van gogh and I actually have the little lego version of "starry night" on my bookshelf ☺️💕

and thank you also for the well wishes!! luckily it seems like everything has mostly resolved itself now, but it was def a stressful few weeks. not to get too far into it but I actually had a follow-up appointment with a specialist recently just to make sure all was well and he was looking at my lab results from a month or so prior and he was like "damn okay so your levels were like very high and I am surprised you were not doing worse" lmao but it seems that things have stabilized now 💖

also you are soooooo sweet 😭🥰😭🥰 thank you so so much!! shit is tough out there but I try to do what I can to create and nurture spaces for joy ☺️

also huge congratulations on getting your story accepted to your school's magazine!!!!!!!! 🎉🎉 dude that is so frickin cool!! if you would be comfy sharing, what's the story about??

thank you so much again for this super lovely message! 🥰🥰 I am happily eating the slice of apple pie and I am sending you back a piece of my homemade chocolate cake! ☺️ I hope you are taking care of yourself and I am sending you so much love! 🥰🥰

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

just checking in, hope ur doing okay 🩷 my best friend shared the lotr “small things keep the darkness at day” quote with me today and I just want you to know that I hope you keep going with this blog and all your other ones and that hopefully all these small things (art, fashion polls) can help make everything feel better 💐 make sure to take care of yourself :) k thx ily bye 💖

hello hello hello my dear!! 💕💕

I am so so so sorry for taking so long to respond to this! ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 things were very shitty and then I got sick and then I started a new semester and also everything is still very shitty but y'know the horrors persist but so do we!!!

I truly appreciate your words so so so much!! 🥰🥰 it was receiving this ask that prompted me to reblog that edit I made with the noah kahan lyrics "don't let this darkness fool you / all lights turned off can be turned on" 💖💖

I try as much as I can to make space for the small things that bring joy to me and others, and I really hope that you have the space to do that too! 💕💕 I hope everything is going well (have you started another semester too??) and that you are treating yourself with care and kindness!!! 🥰🥰 sending so much love!! ☺️💕

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

The Houses of Parliament – Winslow Homer // So Long, London – Taylor Swift