For those not in possession of feet that can easily walk to the Met on the first springlike day of the year, allow me to personally escort you via dreamland for the next 5 minutes.
Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian Photocollage really hit me hard. Grace suggested I go and I was completely entranced. I was that girl who devours every inch of written word on the walls and lingers too long with her nose pressed to each and every piece. Behavior which I tend to find sanctimonious in others but don't generally hesitate in doling out myself when the time is right.
The show focused on a trend of the mid 19th century- aristocratic women painting vignettes and the pasting photographs of the disembodied heads of their friends and family into the scene. The resulting albums are wildly clever and now my conception of victorian stuffiness is totally skewed.
Not to mention these rich ladies were charming painters, in and of themselves.
Just another reason why I should have been to born to Victorian aristocracy. Instead, I got yoga doing hippie parents in 1984. Not complaining..... Only a little.
oh my gosh i truly LOVE, love these...wow...
ReplyDeleteI always trust you to bring us the undernoticed aspects of the world. Thanks so much for sharing...again.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky to have seen this showing at the Art Institute of Chicago...it gave me goose bumps, I felt so connected, surely I must have participated in this pastime in another live!...I too read every last word and my Mom was kind enough to buy me the book so that I can continue to study every detail.
ReplyDeleteYayyy! We got the catalogue in our library before the show even hit the Met, so it's been on my list for about, oh, three months...but somehow I haven't made it yet. Alas. Maybe Saturday.
ReplyDeleteI also saw this show in Chicago, and did a post of my own on it ... I honestly can't think of anything I like more.
ReplyDeleteMy friend Kyra and I popped in for a look and left like two hours later. I tell you, Victorians mastered the parlor arts -- none shall surpass their exquisite use of leisure.
Glad, but not surprised, to see that you love them too.
And I would just like to add that there is no reason not to create our own photo collage. Well, except maybe time and lack of training in the gentle arts.
ReplyDeleteI am dying to go see that exhibit. 30+ years later, Dadaists would be doing the same thing these bored rich women did in their parlors!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I love collage so much and Victorian period seemed like a past life for me, too. =)
ReplyDeleteThey're absolutely nuts! So surreal!
ReplyDeleteI 've never seen anything like these. Getting myself to the Met right now (or maybe in a little bit).
ReplyDeleteahhhhhh you went! good girl! i will have to see this stat!
ReplyDeleteI adore these! The mixed pickle one is my favorite. Clever,
ReplyDeleteOh my lord those are SO WONDERFULLY WEIRD!! And so you! Oh, I wish I could see them.
ReplyDeleteOh, I wish I could see them in person now, but a walk across the country would be a little long for me.
ReplyDeleteOh I saw these on Nancy Lindemeyer's blog... she was the longtime editor-in-chief at Victoria Magazine. She's a lady with lots of knowledge of this stuff.
ReplyDeletehttp://nancylindemeyer.blogspot.com/2010/02/playing-with-pictures-art-of-victorian.html
I feel as though I may seriously take this up as a pastime. Is that pathetic?
ReplyDeleteThese are amazing! I'd love to see them up close!
ReplyDeleteThese artistic gentiles look like they could have had free thinking, counter culture parents also. Such imagination!
ReplyDeleteI can picture you doing this as well.
love these
ReplyDeletexx
the crumpet girls
These are beautiful! Alexis Mackenzie creates beautiful collages that are entirely in this aesthetic - they're delightful - and mostly for sale! I have two myself. Some of her work can be seen here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fecalface.com/SF/index.php?Itemid=92&id=1085&option=com_content&task=view
I just did some of that on my own recent post! HA!
ReplyDeleteI love the oddities of Victorians, including wonderful things like this and more macabre and disturbing stuff like post-mortem photography (but don't get me wrong, I'm not a weirdo!). These are amazing - sadly I am nowhere near NY!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, these are amazing! This could inspire my scrapbooking habit to get even weirder.
ReplyDeleteyou need to check out the girls at Gracia Louise
ReplyDeletebased here in Melbourne they work with the same concept
think you would love them
p
pick up the book "The Marvelous Album of Madame B: Being the Handiwork of a Victorian Lady of Considerable Talent" its a great tiny book of one woman's Victorian photo collages!
ReplyDeleteI got a copy at the rizzoli store on 57th st.
Love this piece. This would be fun to do with family photos!
ReplyDeleteLordy! How did I miss these last few posts. And I try hard to notice when you've posted a new one. Hrumph.
ReplyDeleteThese collages are so GOOOOOOD. So. Thanks for posting.
The lilacs in the Saipua pictures- I could smell them. Through the computer screen. I love lilacs. I think of them as my birthday flower. Only mine. Not anyone else's.
And Betsy. What a beautiful girl. I'm sorry, Amy and Amy's Mom. I know you'd be best friends.
I am gushing.
ReplyDeletethis collection is really great!! My favourites are the second one and the last one... are really fantastic pieces... thanks
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