Also related to this museum/weird stuff collection business. . . but much, much funnier, is this transcript from an old SNL sketch written by none other than Jack Handy. Again, the fact that I have seen this and enjoyed it is because of Jesse Thorn and his wonderful podcasts. :)
An Insane Idiot And His Collection Of Descending-Size Deer Heads
Showing posts with label Absurdity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Absurdity. Show all posts
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
"The Museum of Jurassic Technology"
At the end of our seminar class the other night, we watched a "cheesy" video (Ryan Griffis' description) about the Museum of Jurassic Technology in California.
The film we watched is called "Inhaling the Spore" and focuses on David Wilson, the museum creator, and the magic of his creation. I was thoroughly delighted, overjoyed, and enchanted by the whole film and the people in it, and frantically wrote notes in the dark as we watched.
I wrote:
This guy is the embodiment of it! So curious - accordion-playing on the street, such a wonderful, magical sort of man. Like a wizard.
Old museums are related to a "cabinet of curiosity" and made no distinctions between god-made or man-made, beauty or grotesque. Somehow they were just "out of the realm of ordinary experience."
(Example, the carved fruit stone who's caption card told of the myriad of impossibly complex animals carved into it. It "Plays with your credulity when it comes to those side captions" but there really IS one of those fruit stones to those exact specifications somewhere else.) Its amazing what you will believe because the side caption tells you to.
"We don't know exactly why they laugh, but we think its wonderful." David Wilson says
The book written about this museum is called "Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology" by Lawrence Weschler. And I very much want to read it.
The film we watched is called "Inhaling the Spore" and focuses on David Wilson, the museum creator, and the magic of his creation. I was thoroughly delighted, overjoyed, and enchanted by the whole film and the people in it, and frantically wrote notes in the dark as we watched.
I wrote:
This guy is the embodiment of it! So curious - accordion-playing on the street, such a wonderful, magical sort of man. Like a wizard.
Old museums are related to a "cabinet of curiosity" and made no distinctions between god-made or man-made, beauty or grotesque. Somehow they were just "out of the realm of ordinary experience."
(Example, the carved fruit stone who's caption card told of the myriad of impossibly complex animals carved into it. It "Plays with your credulity when it comes to those side captions" but there really IS one of those fruit stones to those exact specifications somewhere else.) Its amazing what you will believe because the side caption tells you to.
"We don't know exactly why they laugh, but we think its wonderful." David Wilson says
The book written about this museum is called "Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology" by Lawrence Weschler. And I very much want to read it.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Sincerity before I could articulate it. . .
I guess for me, this is the central conflict of my work and perhaps my own life - I am wedged squarely between two opposing ideas. That we should celebrate and be thankful for and enjoy the humor of the excesses and abundances and over-the-topness of our country, and meanwhile we should ashamed of it, disgusted by it.
On the one hand, I want to be serious about these issues, but on the other, I want to have a sense of humor. To laugh at something that is so blatantly too much . . . I mean, things that are grossly out of proportion are in and of themselves somewhat funy, aren't they? I really love that Jim Gaffigan joke about explaining dessert to someone in a starving country (actually mentioned in another posting). I think it his the nail on the head because there is something almost laughable about this fact when we put it into context. He navigates this line well because it is really a horrific thing and the guilt that would accompany actually explaining dessert to someone starving face to face is crushing, but it's told with a sense of humor, with an appreciation for what is unbeleivably funny about the situation. How does one do this visually?
On the one hand, I want to be serious about these issues, but on the other, I want to have a sense of humor. To laugh at something that is so blatantly too much . . . I mean, things that are grossly out of proportion are in and of themselves somewhat funy, aren't they? I really love that Jim Gaffigan joke about explaining dessert to someone in a starving country (actually mentioned in another posting). I think it his the nail on the head because there is something almost laughable about this fact when we put it into context. He navigates this line well because it is really a horrific thing and the guilt that would accompany actually explaining dessert to someone starving face to face is crushing, but it's told with a sense of humor, with an appreciation for what is unbeleivably funny about the situation. How does one do this visually?
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