JKU's Drawing Notes 01

JKU's Drawing Notes is a monthly mini art zine with a theme randomly chosen by the artist. This is the assignment I want to try for myself and see how long I can keep it going.

For the first issue, I chose 12 dresses worn by Eliza Doolittle in the 1964 movie My Fair Lady. I love the fashion designed by Cecil Beaton and the comedy of the story.

The zines are available in my Ko-fi shop. If you are interested in buying the original paintings, please feel free to contact me to inquire about availability. Thank you! (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── A little notes to myself ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

My Fair Lady is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion (1913). Here is the timeline:

• 1913 – Pygmalion (play)

• 1938 – Pygmalion (film)

• 1956 – My Fair Lady (musical, Julie Andrews & Rex Harrison)

• 1964 – My Fair Lady (film, Audrey Hepburn & Rex Harrison)

In Greek mythology, Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he created, which he named Galatea. He asked the goddess of love, Aphrodite (Greek name) = Venus (Roman name)—the same goddess who received the golden apple from Paris—to turn Galatea into a real woman.

The story of Pygmalion/My Fair Lady is about a linguistics professor, Henry Higgins, who transforms a girl selling flowers on the street, Eliza Doolittle, into a lady of high society. He tells Eliza that if she wants to work in a shop instead of selling flowers on the street, her English must first improve. Eliza decides to accept his language education in order to change her current life.

After watching it countless times, my favorite character is Henry Higgins, who lives sincerely and stays true to himself. At the end of the story, Eliza tells the professor that he looks down on her because he has always viewed her as a flower girl. The professor clarifies that he treats everyone the same—even the Queen—he would view her as a flower girl too. I think people like this fit Tsai Kang-yung's definition of high emotional intelligence.

Professor Higgins doesn’t change his behavior based on other people’s status. Pickering is similar in that he treats everyone as a lady and is a true gentleman. However, I suspect Pickering may not live as freely as Higgins does.

What’s most interesting is that after Eliza complains about the professor’s behavior, she eventually chooses to return to him, even picking up his slippers—implying she accepts him for who he is. As a young girl, I might have found this romantic, thinking it’s a love story. But now, I feel like it’s more of a compromise in love, and I wonder if such a relationship could really last...