Scrapbook Purses. La Sussurrata Workshop proposes a new kind of scrapbooking—instead of gluing down things in an album, why not use a cardboard purse?

"Second Story Sunlight", 1960, painting by Edward Hopper "If you could say it in words there would be no reason to paint." Edward Hopper "More of me comes out when I improvise". Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper Purse. The New Yorker Edward Hopper was born at then end of the 19th century. He was tall and silent and painted solitude. American solitude. The figures living inside his paintings rarely seem to inter-relate with the world around them. You know, self-contained. Hopper’s wife, Jo Nivison, said that the lighthouses Hopper painted were self-portraits. Hopper said he liked to paint sunlight on the side of houses. And the only model he ever used was his wife. Mrs. Hopper, whose father was from Texas, also painted but began spending more time behind the canvas than in front of it. She even posed as the burlesque queen in “Girlie Show” when she was almost 60 years old. Mr. & Mrs. Hopper married when both were 41 years old and Jo was still a virgin. They lived liked hermits on the top floor of a walkup with 74 steps. Not having a refrigerator, most of their meals came out of tin cans….even their food was lonely. Inter-relating sometimes means just sharing the same silence. Folie à deux.

Edward Hopper links: Edward Hopper---more Hopper---Man and muse ---Only the lonely---Edward Hopper: Man of Mysteries---"girle show"--- Edward Hopper Scrapbook---

Mimmo Rotella. Mimmo Rotella was a painter who got tired of painting. After being an artist-in-residence in Kansas City, he moved to Rome. His studio was not far from Piazza del Popolo, an area frequented by other artists such as Schifano, Dorazio and Sanfilippo. Looking for inspiration, Rotella enjoyed walking around Rome wearing bizarre clothing and striking strange poses thus provoking people to stare at him. In 1953, he had A Zen Illumination and began tearing pieces of publicity posters off the city walls and then gluing them onto canvas. Rotella called this new work “décollage.” He particularly enjoyed ripping Cinecittà movie posters but eventually burned himself out on this and moved to Paris where he joined the group Nouveau Réalisme. At the age of 72, Rotella married the 27 year old Russian economist, Inna Agrounova, with whom he had a daughter, Asya. Rotella considered himself a psychogeographist. Psychogeography, as defined by Guy Debord, is "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals." In other words, it is the study of how the environment around you influences your thoughts.

Mimmo Rotella Scrapbook Purse Mimmo Rotella links here.

Scrapbooks have been around for at least 150 years. Since photographs were not available at the time, people would collect paper ephemera such as postcards, newspaper clippings, images from magazines or calling cards. Some people collected quotes, like my great aunt Ollie. She would write down sayings she enjoyed then send them to friends and family.

Scrapbooking has always been mainly a female activity as women are, generally, the family’s historian. Autobiographical in nature, scrapbooks try to provide tangible proof of a lived experience. Mothers often make Keepsake Scrapbooks for their children integrating lockets of hairs, pressed flowers, ribbons from clothing, fotos, etc. Scrapbooking was a favourite Victorian pastime and scrapbooks were often left them out on the parlour table.

scrapbooking links:Scrapbooking---History of Scrapbooking---DIARIES, SCRAPBOOKS, AND OTHER AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL EFFORTS---Scrapbooks and Albums, Theories and Practice bibliography---- Mark Twain was a lifelong creator and keeper of scrapbooks---- Combining pictures, words, and a wealth of personal ephemera, scrapbook makers preserve on the pages of their books a moment, a day, or a lifetime.----Victorian Scrapbooking---foto of a Victorian scrapbook--THE VISUAL ART OF WILLIAM BURROUGHS---more Wm Burroughs--The Daily Scrapbook----Collectible Scrapbooks----The Frederick C. Blanchard Scrapbook Project---The Lewis Carroll Scrapbook ---

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