We believe what we're told and rarely trust our own instincts. A museum is as good a place to start as any. Priceless art hangs on a wall and for years people line up to look and admire. Not so much because they know anything about art, but because they've been told the painting is art and, this is always important, it's worth a shit load of money.One day the curator learns the painting is a fake and -- what elicited so much respect -- is no longer worth looking at. So what happened? One day it's art. The next it's not. The painting didn't change but perceptions did when the authenticity was taken away.
Museums offer a frame to art. Not the one you see with the painting but the one that gives you a perception. "Well, it's a museum so this must be art." Same with a popular restaurant, "It's impossible to get a reservation so the food must be good." With wine, "Robert Parker and The Wine Spectator gave it a 90. It must be good." Art, food and wine are given a 'frame' to help our increasingly lost and vacuous culture find their way, without much effort, to the "good stuff."
And since all this is about making a buck - too many times the black velvet Elvis painting gets the nice frame while real art sits frameless and ignored in a dusty corner. When Goody's, the southern discount store, was going out of business I was traveling around a big chunk of the Southeast on business.
Goody's carried Duck Heads and I was positive their demise would spell the same for Duck Head. I stopped in every Goody's I could find and bought up every pair of plain front pants for insane discounts.
It's been a few years but Duck Heads are finally back. The classic trousers that are the sartorial symbol of the khak-i-fied south are the same shade of boiled peanuts and just as salty. Duck Head never had much of a frame. They don't need one. I know my memories connect me to these trousers in ways I can't even begin to describe.
You don't need to frame your memories -- 'cause they're something you understand and know. More Duck Head to come. In the mean time visit their web site and Face Book page.
Duck Head is offering a coupon code DHW186520 for 20% off and Free Shipping on orders over $100.
