From the Zone of the Unreal

A chalk drawing I bought at the New York Outsider Art Fair earlier this year.  The artist's name is (I think) Jack Flich, or Jack Flitch.

A moment of high tension, obviously.  Three women--as in the Robert Altman film of the same name--always an uncanny grouping, bound for a realm of dream and disturbance. 

Danielle Darrieux

Darrieux the star of one of the greatest films of all time: Max Ophuls'  The Earrings of Madame D----.  Now that Lauren Bacall is dead, Darrieux is one of a tiny handful of actresses still alive from the Golden Age of Cinema.  She is 97.  In 2002 she gave an extraordinary performance in the French director François Ozon's 8 Femmes.

Here's a YouTube link to some gorgeous pix of her when young, set to her recording of "Petite Fleur," which I believe she wrote herself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpsi4XpPRwk  

I adore her.   OK, a little bit wonky during Vichy period--and married at one time to legendary--and fairly unsavory--Porfirio Rubirosa--but we won't hold that against her, at least for a few minutes.

Fun Dog Day

Now here's a RPPC curio.  I bought this postcard, as I recall, for the intelligent and friendly smile of the dog, not for any visual quirkiness (other than that the image was a good enough example of the very trendy vernacular-photo-collecting category--"cast shadow of photographer unintentionally visible."

Looking at the image now I see it's a bit more complex: a double exposure of some sort.  The woman (?) here is standing on a porch with her back to a rather sparse-looking landscape.  One might surmise that the light-source, the sun, is coming from behind her, casting her in darkness.  Yet the dog, who seems to  be in front of her, is fully illuminated by the sunlight. 

How the silhouette plus secondary outline of the woman came to pass is beyond me.  Dog seems to be having fun, though.

Bowler Man

....slightly tinted.  (I must have done something to this scanned version, but I can't quite tell what.)  It's a larger-size tintype, hand colored, and I've used bits and pieces of it in various art works.

My favorite among many nice elements--the extraordinary design the shirt, stand-up collar, and necktie make.

She-Devils Everywhere

Some street art stencils--a photo I took in Prague a while ago.   Just came across it again yesterday and thought the colors especially were rather nice. 

(.... In Keeping Up with My Postcard Posts)

I confess: Pinterest and Instagram have briefly drawn my attentions elsewhere---I need to get back to good old wholesome Fun With Postcards....   Here's a weirdee: the artist has made several of the gals here--2 central figures especially ---look as if their arms have, indeed, been put on *backwards.*