1981 to be exact.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
The Goth at the End of the Bar: a play, in several acts
ACT ONE: in which we discover a mysterious matchbox
ACT TWO: in which an entrance to a bar is revealed
ACT THREE: in which, upon further investigation (i.e., opening said matchbox), a dimly lit tavern comes into view...
ACT FOUR: in which a lone goth is sighted at the end of the bar!
POST SCRIPT: Here are a couple more pictures. I tried to capture the wonderfulness of the interior, its furniture and general ambience:
ACT TWO: in which an entrance to a bar is revealed
ACT THREE: in which, upon further investigation (i.e., opening said matchbox), a dimly lit tavern comes into view...
ACT FOUR: in which a lone goth is sighted at the end of the bar!
POST SCRIPT: Here are a couple more pictures. I tried to capture the wonderfulness of the interior, its furniture and general ambience:
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Instant Fortune Dispenser!
A truly interactive mail-art experience! Complete with multiple-chance fortunes for all occasions! Let's take a look (with sound effects as I worked the ingenious mechanism).
Ooh--hand-painted box!
(turning it over) Hmm?
(reading) Open here...
OK! What's in there? (peering into the darkness)
Hah! Tiny! (as little roll of paper falls out)
(unrolling, reading) "You will concquer obstacles to achieve success."
HA! In your FACE, obstacles! Yeah! (fist pump)
An ongoing experience as we read our fortunes again and again. This is so delightful! And replaces my old Magic 8-ball, which started leaking a number of years ago. This has no liquid and can never leak! And it's pretty too. Very clever!
I'm reading my next fortune now: "You will spend old age in comfort."
That is such a relief to know!
Ooh--hand-painted box!
(turning it over) Hmm?
(reading) Open here...
OK! What's in there? (peering into the darkness)
Hah! Tiny! (as little roll of paper falls out)
(unrolling, reading) "You will concquer obstacles to achieve success."
HA! In your FACE, obstacles! Yeah! (fist pump)
An ongoing experience as we read our fortunes again and again. This is so delightful! And replaces my old Magic 8-ball, which started leaking a number of years ago. This has no liquid and can never leak! And it's pretty too. Very clever!
I'm reading my next fortune now: "You will spend old age in comfort."
That is such a relief to know!
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Amber and Fog
I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to post your beautiful postcard. It brought on a vision out of the fogs of the past, the fog of SF in the 80s.
It's been a week since we got home from Phila. We were driving from the airport to my aunt's and had barely gotten on the road when I felt like we were in one of my grandfather's paintings. He painted Philadelphia landscapes in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s: timeless, a place caught in amber, still waiting to be woken up, sleeping on and on through the years. Every time I go back there it's like time travel. It's at once horrible and wonderful, scary and exhilarating. And the torpor. I think amber is the best metaphor for the home of the Liberty Bell and other assorted Americana.
Back to your postcard! I don't think this is the first time your work has reminded me of Odilon Redon. Have you looked at his work? I hope you do. It's very haunted and shrouded in mystery. As opposed to amber, fog would be the operative metaphor, an atmospheric condition that is at once obscuring, but also freeing. Which is how SF felt back then.
I remember reading about Karen Finley, but I never saw any of her performances. And instead of the White Lady, I remember the Red Devil Man in the Mission. He was scary. It was difficult to tell what his deal was and it never occurred to me to talk to him. I don't think I would be able to talk to him now, either.
It's been a week since we got home from Phila. We were driving from the airport to my aunt's and had barely gotten on the road when I felt like we were in one of my grandfather's paintings. He painted Philadelphia landscapes in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s: timeless, a place caught in amber, still waiting to be woken up, sleeping on and on through the years. Every time I go back there it's like time travel. It's at once horrible and wonderful, scary and exhilarating. And the torpor. I think amber is the best metaphor for the home of the Liberty Bell and other assorted Americana.
Back to your postcard! I don't think this is the first time your work has reminded me of Odilon Redon. Have you looked at his work? I hope you do. It's very haunted and shrouded in mystery. As opposed to amber, fog would be the operative metaphor, an atmospheric condition that is at once obscuring, but also freeing. Which is how SF felt back then.
I remember reading about Karen Finley, but I never saw any of her performances. And instead of the White Lady, I remember the Red Devil Man in the Mission. He was scary. It was difficult to tell what his deal was and it never occurred to me to talk to him. I don't think I would be able to talk to him now, either.
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