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Accidental Mysteries, 10.28.12
Change happens. It’s been happening for millions of years, and it’s happening now. Sometimes things are altered intentionally and sometimes without notice or warning. Today, I share with you a few things that have been altered or changed by man from the original form. I have avoided the changes that occur from nature and focus on the ways people alter themselves, the earth, or objects.
1937 Buffalo Nickel altered into face of skull; these are commonly called “Hobo Nickels.”
Altered American currency by James Charles.
Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 2008. Chromogenic print, 63 3/4 – 57 1/4 in. (161.9 – 145.4 cm). Edition no. 5/6. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee and the Photography Committee 2009.46
Altered book by Su Blackwell.
Scrimshaw from 1858 commemorating the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable.
Carved peach pit by R.J. Earlean. The pit of a peach is carved with a portrait of John F. Kennedy wearing a veterans hat. Above his head is inscribed “President John F. Kennedy of United States.” To the left is carved an eagle sitting on a shield, and below that is a figure of St. Christopher. The veins of the peach pit have been delicately carved in a foliate pattern.
Painted anonymous photograph, c. 1945
Altered Paint-by-Number paintings; "Sphinx" 1991, "Sandwich" series, Found paint by number painting/construction 16 x 20 x 1
Altered human skeleton by Francois Robert, “Stop the Violence” series.
Altered everyday machines by artist David Fox.
Hammered and Chased Aluminum Hard Hat for an Ironworker, Local 720, Alberta, Canada.
This cistern was found on a farm in Idaho. As the subject of years of target practice, this amazing object has the most delicate lace-like character masking the origins of an aggressive obsession. c. 1950s; 36 inches x 26 inches.
Series of molded paper plates of pulp paper decoupaged with male imagery, photocopied and manipulated through use of the Xerox machine.
An exceptional example of luggage in the age of travel, c. 1915 - 1930.
Lee Godie (1908 - 1994), a homeless woman in Chicago, used the photo booth to make self-portraits, which she often altered with pen and paint.
More than 2 million tiny glass beads and nearly 35 pounds of fabric, paint, yarn and resin adorn this Volkswagen Beetle, called "Vochol."
Custom hot rods represent one of the most common alterations of an existing object.
Hideous fat car.
Artist Dalton Ghetti alters pencil leads into the most amazing things.
Kalgoorlie Super Pit is a gigantic pockmark in Western Australia and is now the continent’s largest open cut gold mine at 3.5 km long, 1.5 km wide and 360 m deep.
Defaced album cover, Sound of Music soundtrack.
Defaced album cover, Les Paul and Mary Ford.
Texas artist Debra Broz uses her skills at ceramic repair to recreate new, peculiar creatures from dime store ceramic animals. What she does is create the unexpected, a DNA gone wild kind of alteration.
1937 Buffalo Nickel altered into face of skull; these are commonly called “Hobo Nickels.”
Altered American currency by James Charles.
Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 2008. Chromogenic print, 63 3/4 – 57 1/4 in. (161.9 – 145.4 cm). Edition no. 5/6. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee and the Photography Committee 2009.46
Altered book by Su Blackwell.
Scrimshaw from 1858 commemorating the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable.
Carved peach pit by R.J. Earlean. The pit of a peach is carved with a portrait of John F. Kennedy wearing a veterans hat. Above his head is inscribed “President John F. Kennedy of United States.” To the left is carved an eagle sitting on a shield, and below that is a figure of St. Christopher. The veins of the peach pit have been delicately carved in a foliate pattern.
Painted anonymous photograph, c. 1945
Altered Paint-by-Number paintings; "Sphinx" 1991, "Sandwich" series, Found paint by number painting/construction 16 x 20 x 1
Altered human skeleton by Francois Robert, “Stop the Violence” series.
Altered everyday machines by artist David Fox.
Hammered and Chased Aluminum Hard Hat for an Ironworker, Local 720, Alberta, Canada.
This cistern was found on a farm in Idaho. As the subject of years of target practice, this amazing object has the most delicate lace-like character masking the origins of an aggressive obsession. c. 1950s; 36 inches x 26 inches.
Series of molded paper plates of pulp paper decoupaged with male imagery, photocopied and manipulated through use of the Xerox machine.
An exceptional example of luggage in the age of travel, c. 1915 - 1930.
Lee Godie (1908 - 1994), a homeless woman in Chicago, used the photo booth to make self-portraits, which she often altered with pen and paint.
More than 2 million tiny glass beads and nearly 35 pounds of fabric, paint, yarn and resin adorn this Volkswagen Beetle, called "Vochol."
Custom hot rods represent one of the most common alterations of an existing object.
Hideous fat car.
Artist Dalton Ghetti alters pencil leads into the most amazing things.
Kalgoorlie Super Pit is a gigantic pockmark in Western Australia and is now the continent’s largest open cut gold mine at 3.5 km long, 1.5 km wide and 360 m deep.
Defaced album cover, Sound of Music soundtrack.
Defaced album cover, Les Paul and Mary Ford.
Texas artist Debra Broz uses her skills at ceramic repair to recreate new, peculiar creatures from dime store ceramic animals. What she does is create the unexpected, a DNA gone wild kind of alteration.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Foster and his wife, Teenuh, have been longtime collectors of self-taught art and vernacular photography. Their collection of anonymous, found snapshots has toured the country for five years and has been featured in Harper’s, Newsweek Online and others.Featured Writer Pages & Archive >>
DESIGN OBSERVER JOBS
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04.28.13: The Inkblot and Popular Culture
04.21.13: The Deep Roots of Modernism
04.14.13: The Imagination of Playgrounds
04.07.13: A Collection for the Ages
03.31.13: Drawn to Currency
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