Comments on: Spirits playground

Spirits playground

Horace Rumpole — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:54:03 -0800

The Brakhage Scrapbooks. Jane Wodening, then Jane Brakhage, assembled three remarkable scrapbooks in the early 1960s, when she was the wife and muse of experimental film maker Stan Brakhage [previously 1, 2] ... Wodening created the scrapbooks from literal "scraps" of their family life, Brakhage's creative process, and the artistic communities of which they were a part. Pages are covered with the widest array of verbal and visual materials including but not limited to letters, manuscripts, photographs, original art, clippings, pamphlets, filmstrips, and flyers.

See selected high-res scans here, and listen to a podcast about the scrapbooks by Yale University lecturer Richard Deming here. (mp3 link)

By: mikeh

mikeh — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:07:16 -0800

Dear world of suburban moms and county fair enthusiasts who think that scrapbooking involves cute framing of a series of pictures and occasional captions that tell us how precious your children and grandchildren are: This is how you scrapbook.

By: netbros

netbros — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:36:54 -0800

I happened upon The Daily Scrapbook the other day and enjoyed the scrapbook stories found by the author. She says, "Identifying the principals is the easy part — but who were these people, really, and how can we tell? Some scrapbooks are tapestries. Others are minefields. Most are somewhere in between, and the more you familiarize yourself with the stories, the more you want to know."

By: furious

furious — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:38:58 -0800

Yeah, this is lovely. Eye-catching and really jarring. And we find the inspiration for Tom's Diner: I am sitting in the single upstairs room of the part of our cabin It was built in 1890's round log walls and split log ceiling And I overlook a forest it is made of pine and aspen so blue mountain range in background And I'm so tired today. Do-do do-do, do-tah-do-do.

By: grapefruitmoon

grapefruitmoon — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:36:37 -0800

I'm a photo-montage artist and I used to keep a journal strictly made of daily ephemera - these are absolutely inspiring and make me want to resurrect that particular project. Thanks for this!

By: -harlequin-

-harlequin- — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:12:32 -0800

After a brief period of appreciation, suddenly I find it kind of depressing that people go gaga over these scrapbooks - it rams home what vapid garbage the norm must be.

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:24:50 -0800

Reminds me of Dan Eldon

By: languagehat

languagehat — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:41:48 -0800

I'm a big Brakhage fan and I'd love to see these. And man oh man:

Writers and artists who are, in some way, "contributors" to the scrapbooks include: Kenneth Anger, Wallace Berman, Joseph Cornell, Robert Creeley, Guy Davenport, Ed Dorn, Robert Duncan, Jess, Robert Kelly, Gregory Markopoulos, Michael McClure, Jonas Mekas, Carolee Schneemann, and Louis Zukofsky.

Talk about a time capsule!

By: xjudson

xjudson — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:46:44 -0800

Pretty much all of modern media design owe a debt of gratidude to Stan Brakhage.

By: Rashomon

Rashomon — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:01:41 -0800

Thanks for this. Good stuff. Love to see every page at some point.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:48:10 -0800

These are wonderful, thanks for the post.

By: pasici

pasici — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:48:24 -0800

This is great. Thanks for the post.

By: Wolof

Wolof — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:05:51 -0800

Dog Star Man!

By: Bathtub Bobsled

Bathtub Bobsled — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:26:56 -0800

Look! Wolof went on wikipedia and brought back three words with him! All by himself!

By: with hidden noise

with hidden noise — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:00:19 -0800

These were on display in the Beinecke Library when I was there in March - not sure if they're still on view, but they're beautiful to look at.

By: Wolof

Wolof — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:36:10 -0800

Look! Wolof went on wikipedia and brought back three words with him! Look! Bobsled went on Youtube and thinks he had a cinematic experience! All by himself!