Sam’s repeating Purgatory, enacting a self-assassination in American silver
Repeating his regression, photography collector to curator (debonair style cast)
Purgatory regression as he confronts personas, morphs 1970s to 1980s
Enacting photography he examines dark contrast: art, his sexuality, death
A collector confronts dark ecstasy, voyeuristic demi-gods creating visages
Self to personas contrast: voyeuristic beau-monde, pornographic trends override
Assassination curator morphs art, demi-monde, drug culture, Mapplethorpe lovers
In debonair 1970s his gods: pornographic culture, cigarettes, photographs, positing
American style to sexuality, creating trends, Mapplethorpe photographs exuding possession
Silver cast 1980s, death visages override lovers, positing possession matters
Notes:
This is a 10X10 matrix (after Lewis Carroll) inspired by the Form for All challenge at dVerse. The connecting point happened during the documentary film Black White + Gray when it is mentioned that Sam Wagstaff collected photographs taken by Lewis Carroll.
Samuel Jones Wagstaff Jr. (4 November 1921 – 14 January 1987) was an American art curator and collector as well as the artistic mentor and benefactor of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (who was also his lifetime companion) and poet-punk rocker Patti Smith. Wagstaff was known in part for his support of Minimalism, Pop Art, Conceptual Art and Earthworks, but his aesthetic acceptance and support of photography presaged the acceptance of the medium as a fine art. After selling his collection of photographs in the 1980s he, surprisingly, began collecting American silver. Wagstaff died of pneumonia arising from AIDS at his home in Manhattan on January 14, 1987, two years before Mapplethorpe. – Wikipedia
what did lewis carroll take photos of?
the photo of them together looks like they are facing the world together.
black death is an overwhelming feeling.
collecting seems a strange thing to do
Caroll was a photographer for some 20 years, he did portraiture and still life. Wagstaff and Mapplethorpe were certainly a team that took on the art world together (appropriate for another square poem). Yes, several people close to Sam said possession was very important to him. I think all collectors have a psychological need for it.
You did a great job with this form, and with your words. Over the winter I read Patti Smith’s Just Kids… such a fascinating, and ultimately sad, story. I didn’t realize thay Carroll was a photographer, more fascination!
I haven’t seen that book, I’ll have to check it out. Didn’t really know Patti until the documentary – Mapplethorpe, however, I’ve been familiar with for a long time.
*that* sigh…
It’s morning :).
Very cool! 😀
You’ve shown it works really well for a bio too.
Thanks! I thought playing with identity, as Sam did, would allow the repetitions to work for the poem and not against it.
omg…you just took it to another level…dang 10 x 10…killing me…and def a bit different from your other…but you are really good at this…def makes for a nice bio as well…a collector confronts dark exstacy…some truth in that….nice…
I don’t think this is a form I’ll play with often as I, like Sam Peralta, had to use an excel spreadsheet 🙂 and I usually avoid writing on the computer. Thank you for your kind indulgence, coming back for a second dose. I felt I had to live up to what I wanted to accomplish yesterday but couldn’t.
clear and interesting, forming a real story with the form itself. I love this one, Anna.
Thank you Jane, I thought it would make the form challenge more exciting :D!
Collectors becomes obsessed with object of their collection..
sometimes it is gross.. !!!
True that Jyoti :), nice to see you!
Really nice 10 x 10, very ambitious, I love that. Excellent read and the biographical info is very informative, never heard the names, except for Patti Smith, but very interesting, will have to mark down on my list of eventual research topics. Thanks
Thanks Fred, I do love a good challenge. It was awesome of Sam Peralta to dish up this one!
Oh wow – you are quite remarkable! I really am not adequate to comment further on the subject matter but kudos for the square poetry.
Thank you kindly for reading the second one and sorry about your teeth :).
Wow! You’ve really raised the bar on this one! A 10×10 Carroll square, commentary on photography, Carroll & Wagstaff (and I couldn’t help thinking, what a ‘coincidence’ his name was Sam! 😉 – all in your inimitable style.
Yes, no relation 🙂 but I thought you might take notice. Thank you very much for the challenge and your feedback on a second piece, it means a lot to me.