Upcoming Morbid Anatomy Presents Events: "Granny Dump Mountain" and "Buried Alive!" A Matchbox Theatre Exploring the 19th C Fear of Being Buried Alive

Coming up tomorrow night as part of Morbid Anatomy Presents at Observatory, we have the illustrated story of Justin Nobel's journey in search of the truth behind the Japanese concept of obasute-yama or Granny Dump Mountain. Coming up next week, we have the eagerly anticipated "Buried Alive," a miniature matchbox theatre performance (pictured above) which describes itself as a "frightfully funny exploration of our fear of being buried alive and of the curious phenomenon of 19th Century 'waiting mortuaries.'"

Full details follow for both events. Hope to see you at one of both!

The Search for Granny-Dump Mountain
Illustrated lecture by Journalist Justin Nobel
Date: Thursday, January 26th
Time: 8:00
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

When elders in rural Japan reached age 70--or so an ancient legend would have it--their sons would carry them to the top of a holy mountain and leave them to die of exposure and starvation. Granny-dump mountain, or obasute-yama, was seen as a way to trim the population and make way for the next generation in cold mountain villages where food was short and winter was long. It is referenced by the obscure eleventh century diarist Lady Sarashina, master haiku poet Matsuo Basho and a 1983 Palme d’Or winning film, yet most anthropologists doubt the practice ever actually existed.

Intrigued by this story, journalist Justin Nobel took to the road to see if he could get to the bottom of this enigmatic legend. His travels ultimately led him to a tiny town in northern Japan haunted by cannibalistic mountain men and shape shifting sprites. After scouring the countryside for clues he came to a shocking conclusion: the legend was very much alive, right in the heart of Tokyo.

Tonight join Morbid Anatomy and Justin Nobel to hear the story of his search for the elusive Granny-Dump Mountain.

Justin Nobel is a freelance journalist. His writing has appeared in TIME, Popular Mechanics, Audubon, Guernica and Meatpaper. His essay, The Last Inuit of Quebec, was recently included in Best American Travel Writing 2011 (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). He pens a blog called Digital Dying for the funeral information website funeralwise.com and another called the Absurd Adventurer where he sits for hours in one New York City spot. He lives in Blissville.

Image: A plaque commemorating Granny-dump Mountain in the northern Japan town of Tono. (Photo by Justin Nobel)

PERFORMANCE: Buried Alive! A Matchbox Theatre
A matchbox theatre performance by Deborah Kaufmann
Dates: Thursday, February 2nd AND Friday February 3rd
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $12
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
*** Audience limited to 25 people per show; first come, first served

“The way each box reveals its tiny inhabitants is entrancing and Deborah Kaufmann… is sweetly enchanting.” – The Village Voice

“Depicted with comic deadpan perversity… a wink and raised eyebrow of an entertainment.” – www.womanaroundtown.com

Buried Alive! a matchbox theatre, is a frightfully funny exploration of our fear of being buried alive and of the curious phenomenon of 19th Century “waiting mortuaries.” Based on historical and medical facts. Tiny, intimate and interactive, full of dreadful discoveries for an adult audience.

BURIED ALIVE! is performed on a tabletop and is constructed entirely in and of matchboxes. It takes advantage of the unique qualities of these tiny stages. Images and characters slide out, slide through, pop up, and drop out of the matchboxes. A merry eccentric matron is your guide. The Nineteenth Century is evoked, but BURIED ALIVE! is creatively anachronistic and plays with scale.

Buried Alive! was inspired by an article entitled, “Pediatric Brain Death,” found in a hospital resident on-call room, and by research into the myths, truths, history and ethics surrounding the true moment of biological death.

Conceived, constructed and performed by Deborah Kaufmann. Kaufmann has delighted audiences in Europe, Australia and across North America with original physical comedy. This year she celebrates 25 years with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care program, where she brings the joy of circus to hospitalized children, their families and caregivers. She has been called, “by no means merely cute ... a performer to be trusted, enjoyed and seen” ---nytheatre.com

To be alerted to future events, "like" Morbid Anatomy on Facebook by clicking here or sign up for the Observatory mailer by clicking here. You can find directions to Observatory here and more on all events here. You can find out more about these events by clicking here.

Image: Photo by Jim Moore, 2011

"Dormitorium: Film Decors by the Quay Brothers," Exhibition," Parsons, NYC

Last night I went to check out the wonderful "Dormitorium: Film Decors by the Quay Brothers" exhibition at Parsons, which features miniature sets, props, and characters constructed by the Quay Brothers' and used as source material for their unforgettable and highly influential stop-motion animated films. These "décors" (in the exhibition's parlance) are presented as static silent narrative worlds; it is as if you had peeked into each tiny space mid-shoot, characters and props all in their place, just waiting to be brought to life by the film-maker's art.

"Dormitorium" is much more than just a collection of props and artifacts; instead, the "décors" you see on view here are something of a revelation, leading one to a greater understanding and appreciation of the Quay Brother's artistry. Having the luxury of time to study these décors in their static state allows the viewer to see things impossible to grasp amidst the thrust and drive of the films; namely, the obsessive and beautiful detail in the source materials. The more one looks, the more one comes to realize that this attention to detail and minutia is what gives the Quay's work so much of its character and mise en scène--at least as much as their lurchy, atmospheric, uncanny stop-motion animation technique. Details such as exquisite and varied typography and calligraphy, a judicious application of dust and grime, the seductively hand-made feel of the materials, and wall hangings, hidden figures, archaic signage and other easy-to-miss details adorning the spaces; of these elements is the Quay's compelling and absorbing universe composed.

In a nice installation decision, also on view in the exhibition are the films themselves, allowing the viewer to go from the décors to the films and back again, encouraging insights into the ways in which the Brothers expertly use cinematic techniques, selective and shifting focus, and obscured views to bring their static miniature worlds to vivid and uncanny life, imbuing them with a sense of depth and abundance of space so at odds with scale and scope of the sets.

More about the exhibition, from Parson's website:

"Dormitorium" explores the macabre fantasy world of twin brothers Stephen and Timothy Quay through the highly detailed miniature sets of their influential stop-motion animations. "Dormitorium", which originated at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, represents the first time the décors of the London-based Quays have been exhibited in N. America. The Brothers have built a cult following with their dark, moody films, which are heavily influenced by Eastern European film, literature, and music and often feature disassembled dolls and no spoken dialogue. The exhibition combines rarely seen, collaboratively designed miniature décors from some of their most prominent works, as well as continuous screenings of excerpts from several of the films.

The exhibition will be on view until Sunday, October 4th, 2009 at Parson School of Design's Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery; you can find out more by clicking here. I highly highly recommend you pay it a visit, whether you are already a Quay Brothers fan or not!

All photos* are mine, taken at the exhibition; you can see more by clicking here. You can view some of the Quay Brothers' films on You Tube by clicking here; better yet, buy yourself the film collection "Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay Brothers" and watch the entire 2-DVD collection in fine quality at home; click here to purchase from the Morbid Anatomy Bookstore (all proceeds benefit the Morbid Anatomy Library).

*Images: Top 2 images from set for Bruno Schulz's Street of Crocodiles; Next 2 images from set for The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer, bottom image from set for The Calligrapher.

Musée Mécanique, San Francisco

Just last night, two friends (and collaborators) were asking me where they should go on their upcoming trip to San Francisco, where I grew up. Without even thinking I responded only this: Musée Mécanique. Which is not to say that San Francisco is not filled with lovely and amazing things, not to mention food! But still, to me, Musée Mécanique a standout; It is by the most interesting, idiosyncratic, and magical place I know in the entire Bay Area. 

The Musée Mécanique is a museum that houses scores of mechanical toys ranging from Victorian penny arcade toys to automata to early 20th Century fortune tellers to pioneering forays into animation to 1980s video games, all collected by San Francisco resident Edward Zelinski. Within these walls you can see: an opium den's inhabitants luxuriating in their lair, a drunkard's delirium tremens-inspired dreams, both a French and an English execution scene (!!!), a sultan's harem, dancing monkeys, the famous "Laughing Sal," and an epic, ambitious 1930s fairgrounds scene rich in colloquial detail complete with freak show and a angry caged gorilla (see above). And all this to the creepy sounds of tinny carnival music fading in and out from the activated amusements surrounding you. 

If you ever find yourself in San Francisco, I simply cannot recommend this museum highly enough. Admission is free, but bring a bag of coins so you can plop them in watch each mechanical wonder lurch and illuminate into uncanny life. It is difficult not to be a bit mesmerized by these fascinating artifacts residing on the hazy border of the mechanized and the home-spun, artisinal craft and technology, the quaint and the macabre, as salacious and gruesome, in their way, as the products of contemporary technology, yet with an unexpected and seductive charm. 

All the images you see above are of the attractions of the Musée Mécanique, which I have been photographing over the course of many years and with many cameras; the gif animations are provided to demonstrate movement (though they are moving a bit more frenetically than the originals!). These selections do not nearly do justice to the Musée's vast collection; click here to see more images. To visit the Musée Mécanique website, click here. For video of some of the attractions, click here. Better yet, go visit the Musée Mécanique in person! Now, I admit that the museum--which used to reside in a dark, furtive room on a cliff overlooking the ruins of the amazing 19th Century pleasure emporium The Sutro Baths*--has lost a bit of its charm since its recent relocation to bright, sanitized, crawling-with-tourists Fisherman's Wharf, but it is still truly awe-inspiring if a tad less magical. At least it has more visitors now, and is no longer in danger of closing.

* If you are interested in the Sutro Baths, I invite you to stop by the Morbid Anatomy Library to see my book of historical images.

Mark Powell, 20th Century

I just stumbled upon the miniature, anatomically-inspired dioramas of Melbourne based artist Mark Powell. His work really reminds me of anatomical waxworker Gaentano Guilio Zumbo's miniature waxwork fantasias on decay, death and disease (see Curious Expeditions for more on that.)

You can visit Powell's website here, and see more of his work on his Flickr page.

Via Art Diabolique.