The Powertool Shed

It seemed more than a little ironic that the front door of the Jeu de Paume, the venue of Sam Stourdzé’s “Chaplin et les Images” (Chaplin in Pictures) exhibit looks out on Place de la Concorde, just a few short steps from the faade of the Hotel Crillon where Charlie looked down from his position on the first floor balcony at the hoards of adoring Parisians creating a traffic quagmire there in March 1931. Paris and Parisians have been and continue to be kind to Charlie, to hold him in their hearts as well as their minds. This summer in Paris, Charlie Chaplin films were on television every Sunday night, Monsieur Verdoux and The Great Dictator were being shown on the big screen at select MK2 theaters around town and, if you were paying attention, you might have seen him both pictured and quoted in a special exhibit at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s theory of relativity and in an exhibit at the Bibliothque Nationale de France commemorating Jean-Paul Sartre’s 100th birthday, cited as being one of the motivations for Sartre’s visit to America in the 1940s.

But the “main event” was and is “Chaplin in Pictures” at the Jeu de Paume until September 18th and then moving on to the Kunsthal in Rotterdam, the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, and hopefully elsewhere. Although the exhibit is loosely arranged according to Charlie’s creative chronology, it’s best experienced randomly. What struck me first was how multi-textual Charlie’s images are: they’re two-dimensional, three-dimensional, photographic, filmic, verbal and visual-to name a few. And while Stourdzé expertly traces the development and evolution of the Chaplin image, his exhibit suggests that this particular goal is almost beside the point. The Little Tramp is not an evolving product that, like a snake, sheds his skin never to pick it up again. The Tramp of Mabel’s Busy Day is as important to an understanding of the Tramp in Modern Times or of the character of Verdoux as he is to himself or to the Tramp of the Keystone films alone. These Chaplin images overlap; they engage in dialogue with each other; they infect each other. As you face the wall, for instance, and begin to look at a traditionally framed photo-one you’ve only seen in books before and so are a little more than excited to see the real thing-you notice that even this image is not “pure.” The glass covering the photo reflects the film loop playing just behind you, so as you try to look at Chaplin on the stage in Repairs, the Tramp from Kid Auto Races at Venice walks into the frame, sauntering tenuously up to Lehrman’s movie camera. This montage-creating ability of the exhibit design is reinforced by strategically placed display cases that juxtapose magazine covers, postcards and Charlie’s own “official” pressbooks from the archives in a simple and effective collage and by a striking display of modernist artistic representations of the Tramp by Fernand Leger, Erwin Blumenfeld and others which show Chaplin’s character either exploded into familiar parts and re-assembled or placed newly envisioned in unfamiliar contexts.

Another part of the exhibit continues in this mode. At a station containing three small screens, clips from the Mutuals and a few Keystones are creatively blended to highlight similar movements, strategies and bits of business-all while being infected and effected by one of the few sounds of the exhibit, the soundtrack from City Lights accompanying the boxing scene, being screened just a few feet away. A similar effect is created and expanded upon later in the exhibit, in a large space-both open and enclosed-in which three films are projected on one wall, with first the ending of The Great Dictator and the ending of… well, hopefully, you’ll see for yourself.

Not to be forgotten or dismissed in this account is the audience. I think Chaplin himself was always keenly attuned to his audience and so you could say that the audience of this exhibit-you and I and the gaggle of folks crowding around that particular film still from Sunnyside you’re just dying to see-are as much a part of the experience as the artifacts themselves. Young and old, male and female, they were all here. Some shuffled around alone or in family groups, others had obviously taken the time to arrange a private guide-led tour. Very few were completely silent and so, this was the true and perhaps intended soundtrack of the exhibit-shuffling feet, voices making themselves heard at all decibels in both conversation and laughter, and the light swish-swish of clothed bodies in motion.

One of the great things about Charlie is that he belongs to everybody and everybody seems to want to possess some part of him, or connect to him in some way. One young boy figured out that he ould “collaborate” with Charlie in a way when he accidentally discovered that his hand had slipped over the lens of a film projector. Soon he began trying new positions, effecting lighter and darker shadowing on the Charlie image-making the films and Charlie his own. This is just one of the freedoms this exhibit allows-a kind of personal connection to Charlie Chaplin that is long overdue.

To access the entire article, please visit the Archives section of the Chaplin Newsletter (www.discoverchaplin.com/newsletter.html) at www.discoverchaplin.com.

This article on Charlie Chaplin reprinted with permission.
Copyright 2005 Discover Chaplin.

The author of this newsletter article, Lisa Stein, is an accomplished Charlie Chaplin collector and scholar who has written extensively and spoken internationally about Chaplin’s life and art. She also holds a PhD degree for her studies of Charlie Chaplin. In addition to authoring the Chaplin Newsletter for Discover Charlie Chaplin, Dr. Stein maintains her own website thelittlefellow.org: A Charlie Chaplin Fan Page.

The California Council for Interior Design Certification declares a new and single certification examination for interior designers in california from 2009.
CCIDC board is hoping to replace the CCRE and the three national examinations with one certification examination, that will be available online, as well as at various examination sites across the state starting in 2009.
For nearly the past eight years, persons desiring to become a Certified Interior Designer had to take and obtain a passing grade on one of the three recognized national examinations; specifically the CQRID, the NCIDQ, or both parts of the NKBA, in addition to taking a supplemental California Codes and Regulations Examination, the CCRE. Until eight years ago, there was only one nationally recognized exam. In addition to examinations, Section 5800 of the Business & Professions Code outlined requirements for education and experience.

This examination change brings the California certification examination into accordance with Section 139 of the California Business and Professions Code, while also making it available to people that fall under the three categories of experience and education under the law, as well as including people with “experience only.”

Candidates and students will still need to meet all the other requirements, in addition to passing the examination, in order to become a Certified Interior Designer. CCIDC will continue to honor those who previously took one of the existing national examinations, by providing the current CCRE for an extended time frame to accommodate those who wish to take it.

It depends what your priorities in life are. Before asking the question, you should be clear about what you are trying to achieve with an MBA. It does not only mean higher salary, better position but also much more working hours (50-100% more than for a normal job) and more responsibilities, more stress - you also have to be psychically and physically fit for this (consulting and management jobs require lots of travelling, adapting the body to quickly changing factors, less time with the family).

If you are ready for such a challenging life than the MBA is really worth the time and money.

Of, course, the MBA should be at least accredited by one of: EQUIS, AMBA or AACSB. It is an invaluable resource of networking, contacts, getting the soft skills to mastery level and getting the tools for a successful career in management, finance, marketing, etc..

Recommendable would be a 1-year full-time program, or an accredited part-time / distance MBA in order to keep the time and money factors as optimal as possible. Today there are so many offers available that you should really spend a while analysing the best oportunities. Having a look on the accreditation lists of AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA, or on the Financial Times, Forbes or Businessweek rankings might also be helpful.

Ioan Hepes is currently working as Consultant in Hamburg, Germany. Prior to this he has worked in large corporations like IBM, Siemens and Airbus, an NGO which is part of the Open Society Foundation, a financial software company and as Teaching Assistant at the International University Bremen. He has a blog at: http://hepes.blogspot.com

Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) grew up in Eatonville, Florida, the “first incorporated black community in America” (Wall 376). Perhaps her isolation from white racism and discrimination during her childhood and her mother’s encouragement to “jump at da sun” contributed to her strong sense of self and her audacity in crossing racial, social, and gendered boundaries (Wall 376). Indeed, in exploring Hurston’s life and experiences, it is difficult to believe that Hurston herself discerned any boundaries attempting to be foisted on her. Hurston describes her literary aesthetics as: