a collection of "hidden"mothers

Thanks to the folks over at The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things I came across an amazing set of vintage photographs of hidden mothers in these portraits of their children. Back when photos took a while to expose and children had to sit still for a good chunk of time, mothers would "hide" (they're clearly there...) in order to hold their kids still for long enough. I find these photos beautiful, haunting, funny, endearing and just plain adorable. And while not exactly about collections, this flickr collection is pretty amazing.

    

Behind the scenes

These are a couple of photographs I wanted to share from various museum archives. They were part of a show called Camera Obscured in 1997 curated by Vid Ingelevics and they can be seen here on this website. I love them because even though I study museums and galleries and the roles that run such institutions, I rarely actually think about the people who created the ‘environments’ in galleries, or the beginnings of museums. They are lovely photographs of lovely museum collections.

Visitors walking through dirt fields towards newly constructed Field Museum of Natural History, Grant Park, Chicago, 1921. Photographer: Charles Carpenter.

Photographers at work in the 'operating room' in the High Attic, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1924. Photographer: not recorded.

Dr. James L. Clark and unidentified technician with lion group in preparation, Akeley African Hall, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1934. Photograph: Julius Kirschner.

Working on Flying Bird Group, Sanford Hall, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1947. Photographer: Alex J. Rota.

Billo and Bella, museum guard dogs, with their trainer, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 1941. Photographer: not recorded

- casey

Jeff Wall: Invisible Man

For those of you who are not familiar with Jeff Wall, or the photograph Invisible Man in particular, I thought I would share it with you.
The set reminds me of Dr. Hicks museum of incandescent lighting which kasey blogged about back in november '07.

The photograph is based on Ralph Ellison's 1952 novel Invisible Man which focuses on a black man who falls into a forgotten cellar in New York during a street riot, and decides to stay living there. The photograph illustrates the introduction of the novel describing the basement home which is described as being 'furnished and even cluttered with his possessions, some purchased, some found, some fabricated, a few saved from before he went underground.' -Ellis

It is also written that the protagonist's ceiling is covered with 1,369 illegally connected light bulbs. 'Perhaps you'll think strange that an invisible man should need light, desire light, love light. But maybe it exactly because I am invisible. Light confirms my reality, gives birth to my form … Without light I am not only invisible, but formless as well; and to be unaware of one's form is to live a death.' - Ellis

The notion of an invisible man needing light has many connections to the general work of Wall as well. In his photographic practice his prints are displayed as light boxes, lighting characters from behind to give them form and visibility in a way to bring them into the light in society. 

After "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison, the Prologue 1999–2000

Transparency in lightbox 1740 x 2505 mm 

Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation, on permanent loan to the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel

Cinematographic photograph

© The artist

Detail

For more information visit the Tate Modern website  or The Masticator Blog.

-layne