Fanmail

Found this display of fanmail to Marilyn Monroe at the exhibition 'Happy Birthday Marilyn' in Amsterdam (what lasts another 2 weeks) and took a picture...firstly because the envelopes reminded me of my time living abroad, when letters were the only means of contact with friends and relatives overseas, but also coz they show that people took the time to share their thoughts with her in letters. They're a token from the time that fanmail was more than just a Like or Twitter soundbite.

I had time to spare and thus went to see this exhibition and then noticed it's not the kind I enjoy; all her paraphernalia did not interest me in the least, but the photos and some of her quotes I liked... 'Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world'


Translated info from the handout on this exhibition:

"In the year that she would have been ninety's years of age the New Church presents an exhibition of the major style icon Marilyn Monroe. From October 1 to February 5, 2017, the exhibition about her life and her legacy, with many personal belongings from her last house on 5th Helena Drive in Brentwood, California.

After her death, her belongings were stored together for decades and left untouched by the heirs. 37 years later,  auctions started, what began at Christie's in New York, followed by a series of other auction houses. A large part was purchased by Monroe collector Ted Stampfer, and his are the objects presented in this exhibition. The privat belongings, including famous clothing, accessories and personal documents show along with photos and video clips a uniquely intimate picture of this woman, inside and outside the camera's view.

This biographical exhibition reveils some or Marilyn's world, with the successful, glamorous exterior and the often lonely inside full of setbacks and her witty, creative and progressive personality. Determined to make a career in her own way, she gained the respect that many people, even today hold to their imagination. Her statement "I do not mind living in a man's world, as long as I can be a woman in it" says a lot about who she was and who she wanted to be. And this also conveys something about the era she lived in. "