Wow they make big families in Albuquerque! Poor Mrs Vivian. I'll bet Mr Vivian couldn't wait to get out of the house in the morning…As I recall, the Vivian Girls, all fourteen of them, were famous in the seventies for their disco number on American Top Forty, Something about the Hair. Of course the 80s followed and their alopecia and subsequent struggle to make that elusive comeback.
The world of Rock and roll was tough, ask the guys with the glasses. Personally I prefer the round specs. As ever a treat to receive your wonderful mail art, DS! Hopefully something will get made in the near future in reply.
And I'm going to book my tickets for this unique double bill: Return of the Vivian Girls and Men in shades
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Okay, just wanted to make sure this worked before I wrote a bunch. I seem to have difficulty making comments on this page. Anyway, I've been meaning to thank you more sincerely than a coupla likes on FB for your sterling blogposts. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.
ReplyDeleteNow....regarding the VIvian girls. They are not my offspring. They are the progeny of Henry Darger, the most famous outsider artist in America. (There may be other contenders). But I urge you to make a few googles around Darger and the Viv Girls because if I pass along my sesame seed of knowledge it will likely be wrong or misguided and you should come to it with your own eyes anyway. (Begin Your Google Now) (Continue after googling) One of the art jokes I've pursued over the years is "whatever happened to the Vivian girls?" (I'm not alone in this sort of speculation.)
The other thing about this particular Viv Girl card is that I made it while visiting my 101 year old mother in July. I didn't have access to my electronic toys so I made a bunch of things by hand. All these faces were cribbed from a clothing catalog my mom received. What struck me about it is that every single model was happy, happy, happy. And that seemed to be a good outcome for the heavily traumatized Viv girls.
I may have to make an alternate world card with the Vivian Family you've conjured. "Something About the Hair" is screaming for an album cover. Thanks again. Your friend in Santa Fe,
Dave
In the Realms of the Unreal is a wonderful film about Henry Darger. If you are ever in Chicago the gallery Intuit has a Henry Darger room. The gallery took possession of the contents of Dargers one room apt. It is worthwhile to see it along with other outsider art. No fee to visit the gallery. No appointment necessary. Just check internet for hours.
DeleteMany links at the Intuit website
Deletepatricia landon I.U.O.M.A. here....thanks for the enlightenment!
DeleteSo fascinating and a great piece of Mail art, expecially with this insider knowledge!
ReplyDelete