A magnificent project is complete

CLEANPING

Apples and People has published its 46th and final exploration of the rich culture, history, folklore, and art of the pomaceous fruit.

The group plans additional apple-themed exhibitions in Herefordshire in the United Kingdom.

Starting in early 2021 with a map and a tale about Cezanne's paintings of apples, A&P has published layered stories on diverse topics from around the world.

• An account of the tree that grew the apple that inspired Isaac Newton—including an original song, "Dear Gravity."
• How the Dutch brought apples to South Africa, to nourish sailors employed by the Dutch East India Company.
• The Golden Apples of the Hesperides, in art and myth, including the apple that started the Trojan War.
• Eve and the Apple looks at the Garden of Eden story in art, old and new.

Claire Partington has created a porcelain "Drunk Eve" who stands defiant with a discarded fig leaf, swigging cider instead of eating apples. The serpent has been silenced at her feet. 

• The golden apples in the 4,000-year-old diadem of Queen Puabi is the entry point into an examination of apples in ancient Sumeria.
• Sometime after that, the image of a rainbow colored apple was adopted as the trademark for a certain computer company.

The map is now complete, with stories from around the world across the span of human civilization.

Apples and People is a joint project of the Brightspace Foundation, the Museum of Cider, and the National Trust in Herefordshire, with assistance financial and otherwise from an honor role of fruit, cider, and historical experts and benefactors.

I first blogged about A&P in 2021. As I noted then: don't miss the site's Journal of Apples, detailing dimensions of apple creativity from artists and experts.