BRITISH "GHOST TRAIN" FACADES FROM THE 1970s AND 80s

 

Dick Price photograph, Ramsgate Amusement Park, 1980

  Dick Scott-Stewart photograph, Ghost Train artwork, 1974

Thanks to my ongoing efforts to gain pleasure by looking at old dark ride facades, I recently discovered the National Fairground Archive of the University of Sheffield. Their collection of old carnival images is literally overwhelming. It's so overloaded with enjoyable images that I've actually found myself wishing that I could arrive at the end because it's just too much to take in. Though I have yet to explore the entirety of this mother lode of carnival eye candy, I'd like to go ahead and share some of my favorite dark ride photographs.  Please enjoy (in moderation)...

  Stephen Smith photograph, Kirkcaldy Links Market Fair, 1981

Jack Leeson photograph, Daventry Mop Fair, 1983

Jack Leeson photograph, Kettering Feast Fair, 1980

Jack Leeson photograph, Long Buckby Feast Fair, 1978

Jack Leeson photograph, Rugby Fair, 1986

Paul Angel photograph, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, 1980

Paul Angel photograph, Brussels Meli Park, 1977

Paul Angel photograph, Hereford Fair, 1983

Paul Angel photograph, Clacton Pier Amusement Park, 1980

Paul Angel photograph, Hull Fair, 1978

 Paul Angel photograph, Hull Fair, 1979

Paul Angel photograph, Derby Fair, 1979

Paul Angel photograph, Morecambe Pleasure Beach, 1980

 Paul Angel photograph, Lincoln Fair, 1985

Paul Angel photograph, Nantwich Fair, 1980

 Paul Angel photograph, Newcastle Town Moor Fair, 1989

Paul Angel photograph, Wednesbury Fair, 1975

Paul Angel photograph, Worcester Fair, 1980

 

Stephen Smith photograph, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, 1984

 

 Stephen Smith photograph, Newcastle Exhibition Park Fair, 1981

 Stephen Smith photograph, Newcastle Exhibition Park Fair, 1981

Stephen Smith photograph, unidentified Ghost Train, 1981

LINK: WALL MONSTERS KICKSTARTER

Here's a cool Kickstarter project that carries on the tradition of great Halloween wall decorations.

BAD ROBOT HALLOWEEN DECOR

Yet again, rather than writing a real blog post I'm treating the site like a virtual refrigerator door and sticking up my latest piece of artwork. This time the occasion is The Official Bad Robot Art Experience at LA's Gallery 1988 (Bad Robot being J.J. Abrams' production company which is behind stuff like Lost, Alias, Fringe, Cloverfield, Super 8, and the new Star films, both Trek and Wars.) This one fits in better than usual because it's inspired by spooky fun from the past.

During my childhood nothing marked the Halloween season like die-cut, cardstock decorations. At school they constantly tempted my eyes towards the bulletin board, and back home they hung on my living room walls, re-reminding me that it was October during each commercial break. These two were among my favorites...

One of the joys of being a visual artist is wondering what some non-existent thing might look like and then discovering the answer through your work. So as I reflected on the fact that Bad Robot has been slowly building a new generation of movie monsters, I wanted to know what they might look like as classroom-friendly illustrations, hanging in the newly stocked Halloween aisle against a glorious pegboard backdrop.

It made even more sense when I realized that these three monsters echo certain spooky perennials. Clover the Cloverfield monster has bat-like characteristics, Super 8's Cooper borrows from the spider family, and Smokey the smoke monster from Lost has a lot in common with a good ol' ghost. (Aside from Smokey, these names weren't used onscreen, but they are known among film crew and fans alike.)

There's something to be said for creating a one-of-a-kind piece of art without the aid of a computer, specifically things like: "Man, this is hard." and "That's not the way I wanted that to look." and "I've ruined it, where's the undo button?!" That's what inspired my foray into the overcrowded world of digital prints, but boy, oh boy, was it nice to have such control, and yes, that sweet undo button.

I did make it a point to do much of the work away from the computer so I drew the decorations with pencil and ink and scanned them in. I wanted the line quality to have a human touch. When I closely inspected real vintage Halloween directions I was surprised to see how imperfect the line work is.

Anyway, should you wish to purchase one of these prints (it's a signed edition of 40) you can get it here on the gallery's web site.

And if you'd like to see all the art from the show then click on this.


Close inspection of my faux-packaging indicates they originated from The National Typewriter Company. That's the "secret" location of the Bad Robot headquarters seen here...

This is actually just a segue to make it known that my first book is displayed in their trophy room! Think of all the secret plot points it has heard.

J.J. Abrams is a huge fan of the beloved S.S. Adams Prank and Magic company as indicated in the photo below by the tower rack of products seen on the far right (featuring the packaging I designed!)

 

He even had the artwork from Adams' patented "Mystic Smoke" from fingertips trick enlarged and applied to this editing suite.

More photos of the place can be seen on this site.  It's all so cool and yet somehow agonizing. A tiny piece of me is there, and yet I am not.

BOOK STUFF

If you like reading blog posts of a guy boasting about who's done what with his work then this will be a major treat for you!

The painting above is by a British artist named Stuart Semple who immortalized the cover of Mail-Order Mysteries, which I designed, as part of his Daily Doodle series wherein he draws something each day and puts it up on ebay. The piece inspired by my cover fetched about ninety dollars. I can get ninety bucks too, I just have to sell like, um, around.. ninety...books.  I'm actually super jazzed by this. I've been thinking a lot about "remix culture" lately (to which I am a big contributor) and I love seeing my own work in the mix.
______

Also, if you look closely at this photo you'll see an arrow (Photoshopped, not real!!)...

It's pointing to a Mail-Order Mysteries cameo on AMC's Comic Book Men, Season 1, episode 3. (My friend Kevin (not Smith) sent me this screen grab. I saw the episode and completely missed it!) I'm honored that it's among Kevin Smith's Secret Stash, and we didn't even have to pay for product placement. If you ever visit their store please buy the book while doing something extremely entertaining.

PAINTING OF M. GORDON NOVELTY BY ADOLF

In April of 2001 I spent about twenty unforgettable minutes in the endangered M. Gordon Novelty shop of New York City. (I wrote an account of my visit here.) I have often cursed my camera-less self for failing to document my experience that day, especially after I learned that the shop closed its doors one year later.

Thankfully a Barcelona artist known as ADOLF visited M. Gordon the very year that I did, and he brought along his camera. Furthermore, he translated his photograph into the wonderful oil painting shown above.  His piece offers answers to my questions concerning the window dressing and the faded decor, which has freed me to stop chastising my own memory for its failures. While the web offers numerous photos of the storefront in its defunct state, ADOLF's work serves as practically the only record of the place as it appeared when it still had a pulse.

Here are a couple detail shots... 

As a bonus gift for your eyes, here are a couple of their wholesale catalog covers...

MY SELF PORTRAIT FOR GALLERY 1988'S TRIBUTE TO SNL

Gallery 1988 is currently featuring their third comedy-based art show, "Is This Thing On #2 Too." This year's event features a Saturday Night Live theme (which was kept secret until opening night.)

My piece retells a moment from my childhood living room. That's me behind the couch where my dad relaxes amid the deepest hours of the weekend. Naturally, SNL's content compounded with its you-better-be-in-bed time slot made it unequivocally forbidden, which necessitated tactics like the one seen above.

This moment marked my introduction to the world of late night sketch comedy, and Mr. Bill was my unfortunate, clay usher. Just the sight of the cartoon-ish character was enough to demand my attention, but the brutal nature of his segments intrigued me. Though I was well versed in comic violence, Mr. Bill's existence seemed hellish compared to say, Tom and Jerry's because he was utterly defenseless in the face of his tormentor, Sluggo. But most disturbing was the giant godlike hands which offered no protection, rather they sided with his enemy to further torture him.

My art is typically a pop-cultural tribute, and meant to get a smile (this piece included), but covering something with personal meaning this time felt surprisingly good. It's especially dear to me because my son modeled as young me, so in an odd way I get to see him with his grandpa, whom he never got to meet.


All of the show's artwork is available for viewing and purchasing here (although, my piece has already sold, woo hoo!)

BEAUTIFUL 1974 JOHNSON SMITH CATALOG COVER

Via ebay. Someone bought it for fifty-six bucks.

MAIL ORDER MYSTERY: 88 POSTERS FOR 65 CENTS

I just spotted this ad in a horror comic from the 1970s, and as it turns out, the product already resides in my own collection of stuff. This would have been an easy entry in Mail-Order Mysteries, but oh, well. So here goes...

What We Imagined: The ad itself challenges us to imagine owning a set of 88 full color posters, however the next sentence clearly reveals the "miniature reproduction" detail.

What They Sent: A satisfying stack of very cool "mini posters" with adhesive backs and black light responsive ink. Offering the surplus of display decals as a stand-alone product was an ingenious idea. Kids without the funding or the wall space could still enjoy psychedelia at it's finest.

Customer Satisfaction: Day-Glowing.

(How did I get these? I ordered them years ago from a catalog called Don and Chris' Old Stuff which is now a web site. Although they only have one design left.)

RETURN OF BATTLE MOUNTAIN

I'm happy to report that yet another round of classic TimMee toys has been recently reissued using the original molds, including their prehistoric, yet timeless set of 48 Cavemen...

 

The armored military scout vehicle (for use with their set of Army Men)...

and yes, Battle Mountain!

I'm particularly excited about the mountain because as a dad I've noticed that toy environments are not all that common these days, while action figures and vehicles remain abundant. My childhood Star Wars guys had the Death Star to hang their hats in, my MASK figures had Boulder Hill, my GoBots had their respective good and evil command centers, and my Secret Wars figures had a Tower of Doom. But my son and I often end up resorting to toy blocks and cardboard boxes when in need of a hideout. Imagination shimagination, we finally have a proper domicile!

The greatest strength of Battle Mountain is its versatility.  Over the years it's been incorporated into numerous playsets, from dinosaurs to military to jungle...

Now that it's mine, the mountain shall serve countless new purposes...

 

Galaxy Laser Team battleground (which were also reissued.)

 M.U.S.C.L.E Men Haven

Skeleton's Delight

 Terrifying monster cave

 The Land of Jeff Goldblum

The mountain and the rest are all available on Amazon.

PAPER AND I

One of the great pleasures of my life is watching old educational films. Recently, I curated a list of films for Reminisce magazine that I consider to be many of the quintessential titles from the Classroom genre. Though it's not one of the commonly noted ones, I made sure to include my personal favorite educational flick, a splendid featurette called Paper and I.

Here's my description:
"In this surreal pick from the Texas Forest Service, a brown paper sack comes to life and indoctrinates a young boy in the origins and value of paper. Watching the boy perplex his parents as he grows obsessed with the bag’s message is more entertaining than it should be. The film turns prophetic when it depicts a world without paper, where newspapers and books are a thing of the past."

The anthropomorphic mascot is such a common trope, but Paper and I takes it to a new plateau as the boy's relationship with the bag (which only he can hear) turns fanatical. The sack is quite literally a martyr for the paper industry. He describes the hellish process of being reduced to chips and getting cooked in the paper mill. Eventually he pleads with Billy to end his life, thus the climactic scene where father, mother and sack are gathered around Billy's bed, enthusiastically encouraging him to over-inflate and destroy his otherworldly friend.

The film has always been suspiciously missing from archive.org and Youtube, but as I researched my project I was thrilled to discover that it has been uploaded to the Texas Archive of the Moving Image! I urge you to experience it right away!...



Incidentally, I once used this film as the basis for a corporate skit of sorts. There was a period during my time as a greeting card designer when I was regularly called upon to provide humorous interludes for meetings, retreats, conferences and the like. Having created dozens of presentations year after year, I eventually decided that I wanted to produce just one with my own entertainment in mind.

One morning I stood before the company's artists, writers, marketers and managers and asked everyone to pay close attention to a film I'd found, with the pretense that it was somehow relevant to our business. Once I pressed "play" they understood the ruse right away, and after a few initial chuckles the crowd continued to politely watch.

As the captive audience gazed at the screen, I stepped back and gleefully watched their faces as I took inventory of that moment in time. I pridefully dwelled on the fact that I had orchestrated a scenario in which my colleagues, my boss, and my boss's boss all sat together in a darkened room on a Monday morning viewing an obscure, fifty-year-old depiction of a paper sack with a face.

Then, as the lights went up and the half-hearted clapping died, I announced that I had a special guest— paper sack himself!  I revealed a brown bag that I had painted to match the star of the film (see photo below), and the crowed seemed to warm up, sensing a punchline to the whole bit. I thanked the bag for coming and asked him a simple question. All eyes looked to the sack, but he wasn't talking. I tried to convince him to speak, but he remained quiet. Unbeknownst to the group, this was my intention. After a few more fruitless pleas followed by uncomfortable silence, I apologized for the confusion, and concluded my presentation.

As the room mustered another round of reluctant applause I left the stage, stepped out of the building, and walked to my car. Once safely inside, I burst into a frenzy of laughter.  The sack grinned from the passenger seat, reaffirming my success.
 

ANOTHER LOOK AT PHANTASMAGORIA

The Phantasmagoria is a defunct dark ride that spooked its way into my psyche when I was a boy, and consequently, it's been the subject of many posts on this ol' blog. My latest excuse to write about it is a beautiful image that I stumbled upon on ebay, a rare photo of the Phantaz as it appeared in its heyday.  Every fixture on the facade is intact and the paint shows no signs of weathering which leads me to believe the ride was freshly constructed. It's the largest, full color picture of the attraction that I've seen online. We are also treated to a glimpse of the giant slide and the arcade that sandwiched the spook house, creating an irresistible trio of fun.

The image is one of many prints that seller chutes5632 offers which are produced from vintage slides. Bidding starts at $6, and he relists his items once the auction is complete. (When the auction is active you can easily find it by searching: Phantasmagoria, Tulsa.) He is serving mankind very well.

CAPTAIN CORNELIUS CARTOON'S CARTOON LAGOON

I think a lot of you will enjoy Captain Corneilus Cartoon's Cartoon Lagoon, a show in which cool looking puppets riff on cool old cartoons.  I really like the aesthetic they've struck, from the puppet design to the logo, and I'm for any excuse to watch more obscure cartoons. It just came out on DVD, and is available on Amazon.
You can check out the trailer by looking literally less than an inch below this sentence...


Captain Cornelius Cartoon's Cartoon Lagoon 2012 NYTVF trailer from Cartoon Lagoon Studios on Vimeo.