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Photo's from the Library of Congress part I: The Lomax Collection

The Lomax Collection:
Asheville Music Festival, Louisiana Plantation, Fiddling Bill Hensley Music Festivals, Camp Hospital and African Americans.

1934-ca. 1950. Snapshots documenting sound recording expeditions carried out by John Avery Lomax, Alan Lomax, and Ruby Terrill Lomax for the Archive of American Folk Song, including African American and Latino musicians, singers, and dancers, primarily in the southern United States and the Bahamas




































The collection includes 400 snapshot photographs made in the course of sound recording expeditions carried out by John Avery Lomax, Alan Lomax, and Ruby Terrill Lomax, between 1934 and ca. 1950 for the Archive of American Folk-Song. The photographs, which were transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division from the Archive of American Folk-Song in 1950, depict African American, Mexican American, and white musicians, singers and dancers, primarily in the southern United States (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia) and the Bahamas (Nassau, Andros Island, and Cat Island). In addition to posed portraits, the images show musicians performing in various settings: at home, in concert, and while performing prison labor outdoors. Views of children engaged in singing games, scenes of daily life, and some landscape views are also included. Folklorist Zora Neale Hurston, who assisted the Lomaxes on expeditions to Georgia and Florida, has been identified in a few photographs.


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I spent some time searching through the Library of Congresses HUGE database of images, a portion of which are in the public domain. There is some really amazing stuff there, in many very extensive collections. This is part one of a series of images I found (continue to find) there, which stood out to me. As a footnote I would point to the possible curatorial aspects of such endeavor as pursued in any manner.

Things That Do Not Freeze

• Oceans
• Vodka
• Cake icings made with egg whites
• Gasoline
• Maple Syrup
• Fog
• Baking Soda
• Helium
• Penguin Feet

No Escape

Sun came up. It was a nice day spent putting the cold into various jars and sacks for storage. I could make a million dollars. A million fucking dollars. Why, you ask? Well, I invented symmetry. Yep, came up with that one. Putting things next to each other in an equal way- now there's a million dollar idea. Making things symmetrical. Sun went down. It was a pleasant evening spent packing the day up in between my teeth, leaning back in a chair, chain smoking cigarettes, chugging down coffee, and talking to Bryan about how fucking rich we are going to be. "Million fucking dollars." We invented that idea and then we decided to give it to the world for free, just because. Not a million dollar idea, so we decided to scrap the whole project and start over.

The Heat Will Come

It's a cold one and the car got towed. One-hundred seventy-four dollars and ninety-six cents. Snow that crushes and slops at once. This is the only town in the state that has every kind of winter in one day, every day, for the whole month. This is the only state that has every kind of city, two hours apart, in the whole country. This is the only country. There's just one big country on the whole planet now because of the plates. They moved so far apart that they went the other way around and made just one country. There was a huge earthquake and lots of people died and so even though there's only one country there is a lot of space. This state is on the outside so it had only taken some water damage on the coast, and for the most part it's a lot like it used to be. Cold. All those plate tectonics and the weather hasn't changed a bit. People still have dreams and listen to music and get their car's towed for one-seventy-four, ninety-six. Everybody knows it's pretty fucked up, but they're waiting for the heat.

Where it would have gone

The first time I went to visit Bryan in New York I had to pay to cross the bridge twice. I drove through the tunnel, the big one that’s maybe underwater. This was the first time I went to visit Bryan in New York. I saw some girls on Fifth Ave. who had heels that were so high they made their knees lock and their butts stick out. I had to pay twice to cross the bridge. I did not get lost, it’s just that the exit on the bridge is the first exit. I needed to go 20 ft., but made a mistake, so I had to go back and forth, and pay to cross the bridge twice. I left in the evening, so it was late when I got there. I did not make the mistake on the bridge the second time I went to New York to visit Bryan, I did not have to go back and forth, and pay to cross it twice. I smiled at the man in the tollbooth. He knew that I would only be paying to cross the bridge once this time. He was happy for me because this time, unlike the first, I would not be paying him twice. The second time I crossed the bridge on my way to visit Bryan in New York I only paid the toll once and smiled at the man in the toll booth and wanted to tell him that I was glad to not be going back and forth, and paying the toll twice. He already knew so I just said, “thanks.” No reply. It was New York and people were busy not paying to cross the bridge twice.

OPL and Tabblo

I recently wrote about HP's Tabblo Print Toolkit, which I utilize on this site, for RIT's Open Publishing Lab.

Read the article here.