Thursday, September 21, 2006

A Page Right Out Of Anne's Very First Blog



Back before I was a full-time ha ha maker and a part-time blogger, I was an only child with a lot of time on my hands and a scrapbook. Scrapbooks being the 70's version of the web log and all, combined with the fact that my mother is a culture-phile (Is that a word? It is now, bitches!) and the close proximity of our house to the city of Boston, my parents and I frequently made trips into town to visit museums and see shows. In other words: I had a lot to scrapbook about.

In the late seventies my sister was born, saving me from a potential future of Only Child Syndrome, a syndrome which affects some--and not all, I realize--only children, rendering them odd for life. So, the scrapbook eventually took a back seat to the arrival of my little sis, but thankfully I got to experience the independence and creativity of an only child, and we get to enjoy this little gem.

This particular page is from a trip to see a 1975 Christmastime performance of The Nutcracker Ballet in Boston. Good thing I scrapbooked about it; no doubt my Dad was snoring in his seat and would be useless in terms of a review. Check out the detail on the man tits on the Sugar Plum Fairy in the center! And how about those broads? And could those be hula hoops made out of candy canes? They must have really been something! Can't you just hear the music and feel the energy from the illustration? And how about the full house? Not a chair to spare! From the perspective of the drawing, it looks like the Altmans got themselves some crappy seats. What's that drawn in black just under the edge of the stage--a man beating other men with nunchucks? Hell, no, that's the orchestra pit, goddammit! No detail was left out by me. The other page which you can't see here most likely contained ticket stubs and other valuable information for the reader.

If you enjoy this new series "A Page Right Out of Anne's Very First Blog" as much as my sister and I do, please let us know, and I'll make sure to post more. Soon this scrapbook will be in a presidential library--though I don't have any future plans in politics other than voting--I don't know how or when, but it'll be there.

9 comments:

Teri said...

I'll buy this piece of art for $1 million......

how about sending this to the Whitney museum or the Metropolitan museum. the presidental museum sucks, or so I think. but maybe it's because they don't have Altman Art yet.

Mel said...

Wow I can FEEL the nutcracker, its like I was there! Awesome :)

anne altman said...

i recommend everyone clicks on the photo for maximum viewing of the orchestra pit.

Unknown said...

Your such a friggin trip. I bow to your greatness Anne.

Dale said...

Quit cracking nuts and breaking balls Anne. We need more of your art. Anne Artman.

anne altman said...

thanks!

i noticed something after looking at this piece again. you'll see that "nut" was written originally in red ink, with the "cracker" written in at a later time with black ink when the orchestra pit was illustrated. i can assure you that the only reason "nut" was left unfinished is because at 6 i was unsure how to spell "cracker" and didn't want to put it in permanent pen.

god knows i didn't want to go down in history in the scrapbook as being a bad speller. i do the same shit to this very day.

Dale said...

I think that second c may have been added later. Just saying.

Bumpkyn said...

I think your skills know no limits!! You want my job? I think you will rock at it!

Who knew your doodles (I mean masterpieces) as a small child would rise to such great heights--the white house isn't good enough for such beauty, let's aim for Le Louvre!!

newbluebaby said...

Check out the audience. Skinny people in the front, fatties in the back. Oh the Christmas joy.