Mysterious Heart

More Joyful Noise

Check out this tiny troupe. They're armed with drums, tambourines, triangles, cymbals and more. Try to imagine the aural assault when this crew got things going. And most of the kids look eager and excited.

The Radiant Child

Motionless Picture

Consider this thing: a photograph of a strip of motion picture film consisting of a sequence of frames showing only a motionless sign.


Gives a new meaning to film still.

Double Take

Wherein the photographer by means of magic captures the doppelgangers for two sitters.

Bed, Buried and Beyond

One of the things that sparked my interest in vernacular arts was my early exposure to decorated graves at an African American church in rural Georgia. Grave markers, from pyramids to mausoleums to uninscribed slabs of rock, have always provoked fascination with the limitless creativity exhibited in our last, permanent memorials. Have you ever seen the fantasy caskets from Ghana? It's a shame they're buried. All this was brought to mind by the snapshot shown here, which shows someone who chose to be buried in their bed. The inscription on the back identifies it as the grave of a Native American in Fort Washakie, Wyoming.

Orange Efficiency

This snapshot of a structure built in the shape of an orange was found without any information as to its location, who created it, or its purpose. I like the curved slot doorway and that the surface is pebbled just like orange rind. Ma and Pa are both smiling.