Cupid's Destiny MANTRAPS (Voice of the Lonely Heart #3)

Get Right With God Tabernacle Barn Three Rivers MI RPPC

Real Photo Postcard c. 1920 Collection Jim Linderman

TO SEE MY BLOG OF SIMILAR MATERIAL click OLD TIME RELIGION

High art versus Low art Witness the Elks RPPC

I had intended to take on the sticky issue of "High" art versus "Low" art today, but I smashed my thumb working in the back yard and typing is more laborious than usual. As such, i'll try to let the pictures do my typing for me.

"High" art and "Low" art is a concept which one may approach from a dozen angles. Economically (art for the rich and art for the poor) Esthetically (beautiful art and ugly art) Intellectually (smart and dumb) Compositionally (both in materials used to compose AND how the object is positioned)...by Audience (art for the elite and art for the masses) Scarcity (rare versus common, or a diamond versus "THE BEDAZZLER") Paintings versus comics, fine versus primitive, trained versus untrained, erotic versus pornographic, insider versus outsider, decorative versus functional, fine versus folk...All those and I'm only starting my coffee.

The concept implies a cultural stratification and indicates social identification. I suppose I lean towards low...being a common man myself. If you've followed the 6 months of my blog, that my taste runs right down the stairs to the artistic basement should be obvious. I like my music scratchy, my clothes worn and my fiction trashy.

A pair of images here to illustrate. Two elks. Both representations of the same animal. Both from roughly the same time period. One is "better" by even the most generous standards of high versus low... and it is most certainly BIGGER...note tiny, tiny fat man in between white elk's hoofs. (he is also an "elk" by the way...in that he is a member of a fraternal organization, hence the title of the card) But is the rag-tag, make-do stump art Elk shown less real? Less valid? Less important? Less pleasing? Nah. They're both great.

The most valuable "non-academic" folk art weathervanes were manufactured and forged. The most "interesting" folk art weathervanes were made by hand from materials around the farm. Both told the direction of the wind.

Comments welcome.

Pair of Real Photo postcards "The Two Largest Elks at Carnival Fulton N.Y." and "The Elk?" both circa 1910-1930. Collection Jim Linderman

JIM LINDERMAN The Complete List Links Sites Books Publications Blogs (except for one)

Jim Linderman sites to follow, share and enjoy. Click the blue links to see what he has been up to.

DULL TOOL DIM BULB Centerpiece of the Jim Linderman blog network. A blog about surface, wear, form and authenticity in art, antiques, design and photography. Dull Tool and Dim Bulb were the only swear words his father ever used. Items from the Jim Linderman collection of vernacular photography, folk art, ephemera and curiosities. Weird, wonderful, wicked, smart, essential and DAILY. http://dulltooldimbulb.blogspot.com/

TAKE ME TO THE WATER: IMMERSION BAPTISM IN VINTAGE MUSIC AND PHOTOGRAPHY 1890-1950 Photographs from the Jim Linderman collection with a CD of historic early recordings. Produced by Steven Lance Ledbetter. Essays by Jim Linderman, Luc Sante. Published 2009 by Dust to Digital. Reviews, Film, Press Releases, etc. A published hardcover book 96 pages with CD 2009. Site contains film, reviews, press-kit, links. Available from Amazon and direct from the publisher. http://jimlinderman.blogspot.com/

THE PAINTED BACKDROP
The art of the hand-painted backdrop in 19th Century American Tintype Photography, this book will open a new dialog on the relationship between painting, art and photography. With stunning illustrations from the Jim Linderman collection and essays by prominent writers. To be published in a limited edition with a target date of early 2010, this will be the first book available with the "Dull Tool Dim Bulb" imprint, a new small press endeavor striving to produce unique, beautiful and profound books for the artistic audience in conjunction with Dust-to-Digital. http://thepaintedbackdrop.blogspot.com/

old time religion Vernacular religious detritus from the Jim Linderman collection of photography and ephemera. Jesus is my jet plane and I have the Lord on speed dial. Old Time Religion is a natural line extension from Dull Tool Dim Bulb, where posts of this nature occur every Saturday night while the rest of you are sinning. Wake up, it is Sunday morning! Praise the Lord and Click to Enlarge! http://old-time-religion.blogspot.com/


THE WONDROUS WORLD OF FRANK WENDT
Behold the wondrous world of Frank Wendt. Late of the Bowery, New York City and Boonton, New Jersey. HEREIN LIE MARVELS of HUMAN and ANIMAL WONDERMENT! Astounding feats of photographic portraiture created by the illustrious Frank Wendt from 1890 to 1900 entirely for your pleasure and amusement. Your eyes do not lie. You will most certainly tell your friends and family. You will return again and again! Presented by Jim Linderman. Step up, Scroll down and Click to Enlarge!

Bad Corner Speed Limit Real Photo Postcard RPPC

Real Photo Postcard c. 1925 Collection Jim Linderman

Cross Writing Cross Written Text

Two 19th Century "cross written" letters. Cross writing was a technique to save paper when paper was scarce. Every scrap mattered at one time (one of these is dated 1823) so the writer, upon reaching the end of the page, would turn the paper 90 degrees and add a second layer of text. Once it becomes familiar, the mind adapts easily and cross written letters are surprisingly legible. Charles Darwin famously used the technique.
Original Post from Dull Tool Dim Bulb the Daily Blog
Two Early 19th Century Cross Writing letters, Collection Jim Linderman

Evolutionary Proof in St. Louis FUNNY MONKEYS!!!!!

Well, you certainly can't say the St. Louis Zoo hasn't done their part to prove evolution. These fellas, named Becky, Ellen, Tony, Cecil and, I kid you not, "Little Chief Pancho" seem to have fully evolved right out of their "near to nature haunts" as the reverse of one card reads. Apparently, their primates are so advanced along the evolutionary scale, they willingly play their favorite tunes while Mike XXX and Ben XXX conduct wielding baton clubs. (I know these cards date to 1950, but I still feel compelled to hide the trainers names to protect them from PETA) Appropriate that these cards are attributed to the "Zoological Board of Control" I realize it is hard to stifle a laugh while seeing harnessed chimps forced to circle a track on miniature horses...but please. Intelligent Design may have given us ordained dominance over the little guys, but we can still show some dignity.

Group of Post Cards depicting "The Famous St. Louis Zoo Chimpanzees" 1950-1952 Collection Jim Linderman