Sunday, July 29, 2007

Ralph Eugene Meatyard

Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Romance (N.) from Ambrose Bierce #3 (1962)

This is one of the best photos ever taken. The pyramid of numbers, the children as a panoply of ghouls, so horrible yet so majestic. They are like Tibetan gods on levels of clouds. I think Meatyard is tapping into The Divine in this photo, its like what David Milch says about the odd language and pacing of his brilliant but much maligned John From Cincinnati - " if God were trying to reach out to us, and if he felt a certain urgency about it: That’s what it’s about.” I think Joel-Peter Witkin is on the right track, trying to discover the universe in his highly orchestrated perversities, but he is a mere set designer compared Meatyard's command of the forces of dark and light in the universe.

Plus, for a moment, consider a life and self-image bearing the name of Ralph Eugene Meatyard.

1 comment:

  1. Gene Meatyard's day job was an optomitrist. He made my glasses when I was a kid.

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