dream machine

time is a great teacher...

but unfortunately it kills all it's pupils. 

chimney sweeps

last night i saw the most wonderful chimney sweep costume on a man out at disneyland for the halloween party. i didn't get a photo- but i have a splendid picture in my head...

and then

i'll start working on this costume...

here in the town of machine...

dead man and a few quotes :

coarse you can't put much stock in a man who spends most of a 

conversation talkin' to a bear...

talkin' to a goddamn bear.

look out the window...and doesn't it remind you of when you were 

in the boat?

look...

they are shooting buffalo, government says...

it killed a million of em' last year alone.

that doesn't explain why you've come all the way out here...

all the way out here to hell.

i make flowers out of paper,   smell...

what does it smell like?

paper.

it's better to be Nobody,  then He Who Talks But Says Nothing.

did you kill the white man that killed you?

i'm not dead,  am i?

old photos of people i happen to know

my father's sister, Ione

with a fancy man 

while traveling.

my grandmother, Hermione

in backyard

my great aunt margaret 

is holding the fish 

on the left

Dr. Suess taxidermy sculptures, 1938

This is the world’s only known complete collection of these creatures; this set of three was purchased in the late 1930’s and has remained intact. Created by Dr. Seuss, these sculptures were first carved from wood, then hand painted and mounted onto small plaques.

This collection would have been originally purchased in the late 1930’s. They were kept in a child’s room, and eventually retired to the storage barn next to a chicken coop in upstate New York.  The set was acquired for a substantial sum in 2004. Though aged and weathered, restoration was not considered for several reasons. They are perfectly charming, and the need of a face-lift is a matter of opinion, because the personalities remain intact. The aged quality imparts character and denotes the history of these priceless pieces of Americana.  These museum pieces were later copied and reproduced as limited edition sculptures by The Chase Group, the licensee of the fine art property originally created by Dr. Seuss.  The limited edition Blue-Green Abelard was re-created in a smaller edition size than the other contemporary sculptures; only 375 pieces. The Tufted Gustard was 375 pieces and the Mulberry Street Unicorn was 850 pieces. All of those resin limited editions are going for big bucks, which is a good way to gage the value of the originals! The limited edition of the Blue-Green Abelard currently retails in the range of 25-28k! and The Tufted Gustard for 15k!  The entire collection is sensationally popular, because the sculptures are not dead old taxidermy beasts, but Unorthodox Taxidermy, filled with whimsy and life!

 

Today the pieces are part of a larger and very intriguing exhibition by Dr Seuss, in a mideival fortress in France, Chateau de Belcastel, which is a historical monument that is open to the public. The collection includes a pen & ink that was published in The Judge magazine in 1927 featuring Horton’s predecessor and strange creatures and eunuchs. Dr Seuss kept his paintings in his studio, but he created one as a charitable contribution, entitled “Raising Money For the Arts,” which is the only original painting by Dr Seuss on public display in the world, as far as we know. (At some point in time, Dr Seuss’s collection of paintings will go to a museum--either in Springfield Massachusetts or UCSD in Southern California.)   Dr Seuss first used some of these original sculptures in his Esso oil advertising campaign, and photographs of the artist holding various sculptures from this collection are featured in many historical archives as well as the book “The Art of Dr Seuss.” The collection is called “Unorthodox Taxidermy,” and was critically acclaimed. A Retrospective and National Touring Exhibition that was launched in 2001 featured educational panels about it, and the biography, “The Seuss, the Whole Seuss and Nothing but the Seuss” by historian Charles D Cohen writes extensivly about these sculptures.

Due to the delicate nature of the sculptures, the winner of this rare collection and a guest will be flown to the Chateau where the buyer can oversee the packing, and transport the pieces safely away.  Travel and lodging for three nights in the Castle's Romantic and luxerious Tower suite is included courtesy of Animazing Gallery. This is a trip fit for a "king".

Unorthodox Taxidermy

Geisel embarked on an ingenious project in the early 1930’s as he evolved from two-dimensional artworks to three-dimensional sculptures. What was most unusual for these mixed media sculptures was the use of real animal parts including beaks, antlers and horns from deceased Forest Park Zoo animals where Geisel’s father was superintendent. His “Collection of Unorthodox Taxidermy” was born in a cramped New York apartment and included a menagerie of inventive creatures with names like “Two Horned Drouberhannis,” “Andulovian Grackler.” And “Goo Goo Eyed Tasmanian Wolghast.” Shortly after Geisel created this unique collection of artworks, Look Magazine dubbed Ted Geisel “The World’s Most Eminent Authority on Unheard-Of Animals.” To this day, Ted’s unorthodox taxidermy remains as some of the finest examples of his inventive and multi-dimensional creativity.

[selling for 1,000,000.000 -one can have this collection- information from ebay]

onions and turnips in the post

This is a story about W. Reginald Bray.

Bray lived for most of his life in Forest Hill, Kent from birth in 1879 to 1938 before moving to Croydon where he passed away in 1939. His lifelong passion was to send items through the post that, in one form or other, challenged the Postal system. He even had himself "delivered" on more than one occasion having paid the requisite postage. After experimenting with a number of postal curios his main focus was on the collection of autographs through the post. He sent out thousands of cards to all types of people, ranging from the Pope to the local Station Master, asking for them to return the relevant item duly autographed.

Over the years Reginald amassed over 15,000 autographs, declaring himself the Autograph King - a title that was undisputed by his peers.

He posted onions, turnips, combs and curios...

Among an array of other things.

[information from a website dedicated to the postal activities of

W. Reginald Bray.]

more go here:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.tingey/book/live.htm

man with a lampshade on his head

[anonymous man with lamp shade on his head]

i found this photo above. i think it will be a great addition to the wall of 

'people i don't know but wish i did.'

it's a wall sort of dedicated to all the individuals

that create their own secret worlds and private museums

in their very own homes and hidden rooms.

and sometimes privately in their heads.

and

 i want to share something of a topic that has come up in casual

conversation with random strangers...

compartmentalizing things, anti-art and alternate spaces-

[ideas, little pieces of paper, photos,

images inside and out ...

i only wish i could be this organized.]

[The Dream of Fluxus, by George Macuinas]

a little bit about...

Fluxus was an international group of artists and musicians. Taken from the Latin word 'to flow', the group's name reflected the belief that there should be no boundaries between art movements, or art and everyday life, letting creativity be unrestricted. 

down by the sea

tonight i am throwing a hot dog party for the traveling musee...

list:  get things ready and go grab the beach chairs from storage, get the wieners and snacks,

umbrella and music and more.

looking forward to hanging out with friends, 

 a sunset, 

the sound of the waves &

a breeze from the sea

henry

henry will be going to the neurologist...

he has been having trouble with his back legs-

but he sure likes the pain killers we have been

giving him.

we love him mucho.

and so does fugu...

while he pauses in between a few licks.

and henry loves fugu back..

this is his face after he was licked.

confined spaces

Escapism is the attempt to divert attention from an unpleasant reality.

a crowd surrounds in disbelief...

[An Escapologist on show-out sunday before derby day in the 1930's

image courtesy of Surrey Libraries]

[Billy Tempest]

 During one escapology act, Billy inadvertently invited a mentally disabled out-patient to check his bindings. The gentleman was understandably attentive when watching Billy escape from his straight-jacket. 

the many faces of

the day..

these pretty little snaps
make me smile...

[eva green]

a day in the life of..

a 1967 russian poster of the pacific ocean just came in the post...
and out and about today---
found a gilbert microscope set polaroid junior with a microscope so you can watch shrimp eggs hatch..
also found a handsome painting of a cat smiling behind a tree with red berries from the 1930's..
going to frame that in a moment and put in on the wall by the sofa. it will make people smile the instant they gaze upon it.

in other news-

went and saw the dead weather at the warfield in san francisco the other night. they were really good and the ceiling was nice to look at. i bought a tint little pin that is a rifle that says the dead weather really tiny on it and i will put in on a lapel of a jacket.

also went to the academy of sciences in golden gate park and wondered around the aquarium and the rainforest exhibit looking at the little orange frogs and big spiders building big webs and the penguins diving into the water. i would really like to go back when it is at night and 21 and over. i think it will be more enjoyable.

power animal intermission

slide..





Hey, you created me. I didn't create some loser alter-ego to make myself feel 
better. Take some responsibility!


[this is from face magazine- i saved it just for this picture and interview with ed norton]

narrator: This is crazy... tyler durden: People do it everyday, they talk to themselves... they see themselves as they'd like to be, they don't have the courage you have, to just run with it.

may i take your order

pup n taco

pup n taco

pup n taco

perhaps if i mean it when i say it...

it will magically re-appear in the

el pollo loco spot, where it is supposed

to be.

there were such things as good old

pup and taco days...

securing the figures

above is an unusual aquarium diorama from the Zymoglyphic Museum...

here are three very different image examples of what a

diorama specialist might do:

[side note -one of my top ten dream jobs would be

a diorama specialist.]

This is a diorama at the Colorado History Museum...

Carlotta Espinoza is working to secure the figures,

many of which she resculpted during restoration work in the 1980s,

shown above. The diorama was cut into four sections Friday as the museum packs up for its move into a new building.

and below - with some wonderfully detailed bird poo on the rocks, is a scene from the Museo de historia natual de Milan.