If you follow the 50 Watts tumblr, you already know I'm obsessed with Stopping Off Place, the visual scrapbook of artist Michael Dumontier.
Based in Winnipeg, Michael daily features scans from his personal collection of books, records, and ephemera. He rescues stacks of discards from library sales and preserves the best parts for us. Because he's raising kids, many of the books are craft idea tomes, teaching guides, and vintage children's books. He also has an impressive collection of books on Inuit art and titles from Something Else Press. Remy Charlip is the blog's patron saint.
If you scroll too quickly you might find yourself confusing the masterpieces of ten-year-old Canadian girls with the work of Jean Dubuffet and Emmett Williams. It's impossible not to feel continually surprised.
Below are some of my favorite black-and-white images from the 587 posts Michael has done since January 2010. A follow-up post will be "in color."
Gaston Chaissac (France, 1910–64)
See the post on Stopping Off Place
From Iela Mari: The World Through a Lens
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Herbert Bayer, Diagram of extended vision in exhibition presentation, 1930
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From Fritz Der Wolkenfahrer (Fritz The Cloud Driver), Karl Behrens and Franz Kiesewetter
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The Wizard of Op by Ed Emberley, 1975
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From The Complete Book of Puppet Theatre by David Currell, 1974
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From Strip Tease Intégral de Ben (Rétrospective Ben [Vautier])
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"Golem in progress, 1972," from Niki de Saint Phalle by Pontus Hulten
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From La Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval: Quand le songe devient la réalité
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From The Amazing Yo-Yo, Ross R. Olney, photos by Chan Bush, 1980
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From Children's Drawings as Measures of Intellectual Maturity,
"The Requirements for Scoring the Draw-a-Woman Scale"
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From Cree: What They Do Book by Anne Anderson, 1970
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Lemming by Pudlo Pudlat (1916–92), a Cape Dorset artist
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Patent for Fredun Shapur's Playsack
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Comic by Michael Hurley
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From The Wishing Bone Cycle: Narrative Poems from the Swampy Cree Indians
gathered and translated by Howard A. Norman, 1976
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From Whittling and Woodcarving by E.J. Tangerman, 1936
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From Indian and Eskimo Art Of Canada
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From The Labyrinth by Saul Steinberg, 1960
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Linda by Frank Asch, 1969
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Michael's summary of the book: "A girl named Linda wakes up and goes for a morning stroll in her neighborhood. On her way, she encounters some locals, including a shirtless bearded man whom she calls 'Santa.'"
From Stalking the Wild Pendulum: On The Mechanics of Consciousness
by Itzhak Bentov, A Bantam New Age Book, 1977
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From the Clipper Art Book, Hignell Printing Limited, Winnipeg, no date
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Still from an Albert Cullum movie
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Previous Blog Envy on 50 Watts