Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
This haunting mixed media assemblage transforms an authentic Victorian-era cabinet card into a meditation on memory, identity, and the fragmentary nature of history. The central figure—a well-dressed gentleman photographed circa 1890s—stands forever frozen in formal pose, yet his visage has been artfully obscured and replaced with vibrant, dreamlike imagery.
Composition & Materials: The piece is built upon layers of carefully selected vintage ephemera: comic book panels featuring a contemplative figure in red, fragments of antique road maps marking forgotten routes, Victorian sheet music whose notes have long since faded from memory, and sepia-toned portrait photographs of other souls from the same era. Brilliant strokes of hot pink and purple acrylic paint cascade across the composition like thoughts bleeding through time.
The Central Mystery: Where the gentleman's face should be, colorful paint and layered fragments create a visual void—suggesting that while the photograph preserves the physical form, the person himself has dissolved into abstraction. Who was he? What were his dreams, his regrets, his daily concerns? The surrounding ephemera offers clues to a life we can only imagine.
Artistic Technique: The vintage cabinet card has been preserved under a protective layer, then surrounded by carefully arranged vintage papers—comic panels, maps, music notation, and photographs—creating a frame within a frame. The neon paint accents bring contemporary energy to the antique materials, bridging past and present in a single composition.
Conceptual Themes:
The impossibility of truly knowing historical figures
Memory as a collage of fragments
The tension between preservation and transformation
Identity obscured and reconstructed through objects and ephemera
Display Notes: This piece invites contemplation and conversation. The juxtaposition of Victorian formality with vibrant contemporary color creates visual tension that draws viewers in for closer examination. Perfect for collectors of Victorian photography, surreal assemblage art, or those fascinated by the intersection of past and present.
Materials: Authentic Victorian cabinet card photograph (circa 1890s-1900s), vintage comic book panels, antique road maps, Victorian sheet music, period portrait photographs, acrylic paint, archival mounting
Condition: Vintage materials show authentic age-appropriate wear, adding to the piece's historical character
Style: Surrealist collage, Victorian ephemera assemblage, mixed media portraiture, contemporary remix of antique photography make me smile. The vintage with the unexpected.
This haunting mixed media assemblage transforms an authentic Victorian-era cabinet card into a meditation on memory, identity, and the fragmentary nature of history. The central figure—a well-dressed gentleman photographed circa 1890s—stands forever frozen in formal pose, yet his visage has been artfully obscured and replaced with vibrant, dreamlike imagery.
Composition & Materials: The piece is built upon layers of carefully selected vintage ephemera: comic book panels featuring a contemplative figure in red, fragments of antique road maps marking forgotten routes, Victorian sheet music whose notes have long since faded from memory, and sepia-toned portrait photographs of other souls from the same era. Brilliant strokes of hot pink and purple acrylic paint cascade across the composition like thoughts bleeding through time.
The Central Mystery: Where the gentleman's face should be, colorful paint and layered fragments create a visual void—suggesting that while the photograph preserves the physical form, the person himself has dissolved into abstraction. Who was he? What were his dreams, his regrets, his daily concerns? The surrounding ephemera offers clues to a life we can only imagine.
Artistic Technique: The vintage cabinet card has been preserved under a protective layer, then surrounded by carefully arranged vintage papers—comic panels, maps, music notation, and photographs—creating a frame within a frame. The neon paint accents bring contemporary energy to the antique materials, bridging past and present in a single composition.
Conceptual Themes:
The impossibility of truly knowing historical figures
Memory as a collage of fragments
The tension between preservation and transformation
Identity obscured and reconstructed through objects and ephemera
Display Notes: This piece invites contemplation and conversation. The juxtaposition of Victorian formality with vibrant contemporary color creates visual tension that draws viewers in for closer examination. Perfect for collectors of Victorian photography, surreal assemblage art, or those fascinated by the intersection of past and present.
Materials: Authentic Victorian cabinet card photograph (circa 1890s-1900s), vintage comic book panels, antique road maps, Victorian sheet music, period portrait photographs, acrylic paint, archival mounting
Condition: Vintage materials show authentic age-appropriate wear, adding to the piece's historical character
Style: Surrealist collage, Victorian ephemera assemblage, mixed media portraiture, contemporary remix of antique photography make me smile. The vintage with the unexpected.
