Postcard collages

For some time a while back I created a series of wry collages on academic (mostly linguistic) subjects, according to a strict formula: the background had to be a postcard I had gotten in the mail; I supplied a caption, covering up an existing one where necessary; and I then embellished the composition with stickers from a sticker-a-day assortment for primary school teachers (supplied by Elizabeth Daingerfield Zwicky), occasionally supplemented by other images.

A framed sampling of these academic “postcard collages” is on display at the Stanford Humanities Center.

Now Ned Deily has scanned an assortment of these and figured out how to make them viewable on-line. There are 39 of them, plus one from another postcard series, in the album here.

Single-click on one of the thumbnail images to get a larger image. Then click on the arrows to move around the display.

10 Responses to “Postcard collages”

  1. The Ridger Says:

    Very nice, thanks for sharing (though I have to wonder who sent you some of those!)

  2. arnoldzwicky Says:

    To The Ridger: Most of the original cards were from Edward Gorey, Glen Baxter, or the Weird Science series (all of which have bizarre aspects). The constraints of the art form prevented me from using many cards I had on my own (rather than getting through the mail), for instance those with Charles Addams cartoons.

  3. irrationalpoint Says:

    Enjoyed those. Thanks for posting them.

  4. mollymooly Says:

    The linguistic wit was titterogenous, but my personal laughometer gave the prize to the Dean.

  5. arnoldzwicky Says:

    To mollymooly: The dean is in fact the effigy of Edward, the Black Prince, in Canterbury Cathedral. The sentiment is mine, of course.

  6. Academic collages « Arnold Zwicky's Blog Says:

    […] By arnoldzwicky Two more academic collages, rich in penguins. Unlike the collages I posted about a while back, which are postcard-sized, these started life as more complex 8.5″x11″ […]

  7. But is it art? « Arnold Zwicky's Blog Says:

    […] with modest additions to found images — for example the “postcard collages” here. Many of my collages are more complex than that — for instance the two academic collages here […]

  8. 2010 in review « Arnold Zwicky's Blog Says:

    […] Postcard collages April 2010 7 comments Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Monkeys, Servants and Blog Readers […]

  9. Repurposing beef « Arnold Zwicky's Blog Says:

    […] And now I talk about repurposing postcards — altering and amending cards people have sent me to turn them into new cards (to send to still other people). Some G-rated samples on academic themes linked to here. […]

  10. LOLcats and captions « Arnold Zwicky's Blog Says:

    […] G-rated academic collages: 4/14/10: Postcard collages (link) 6/19/19: Academic collages […]

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