Greetings from Colma

Greetings from Colma

Studio Arts

"Since 1902 it has been illegal to bury or cremate bodies in San Francisco. This is done in flourishing Colma, situated strategically just south of the city limits. Sandwiched between immaculately landscaped cemeteries are flower shops and headstone suppliers necessary to complete the economic community of the dead, a peculiar amalgam of life, death, ethnicity, religion, consumerism, and tourism thanks to the gods of zoning. This set of over forty postcards features photographs of the mortuaries, florists, and monument retailers. The postcards pose as mementos for tourists as well as sales pitches for future visitors and residents. The places are real. Thompson’s presentation allows and even calls for both critique and celebration. Satire? Documentation? Yes. Yes. Lex Thompson: “Three quarters of Colma's inhabitants are decomposing. The majority of them are housed in a series of establishments stretched along El Camino Real….The deceased come to stay, but the living visit. And it is not just relatives who come to the next world. The cemeteries have tourist appeal. Groups travel to see this city of tombs for the novelty of the area and for the famous San Franciscans who reside there. Gothic teens with morbid fixations join history buffs and the idly curious in their fascination with this assemblage of remembrances of life and death….In order to synthesize and commemorate this unique blend of remembrance, tourism, and resort atmosphere, it is appropriate that the city of Colma have a series of postcards from its attractions. The set of over forty postcards…features photographs of the mortuaries, florists, and monument retailers. They are mementos for tourists as well as sales pitches for future visitors and residents….Greetings from Colma takes its language directly from the city's resort like façade. By mimicking already present elements of the landscape, and associating them with the consanguine form of the postcard, the cards muster a good-humored, loving, and respectful critique of both Colma and the postcard format. They harness the touristic, cultural, and commercial dynamics of these cemeteries, capturing the curiosity of this second San Francisco….It takes the physical place as it is presented, and emphasizes the aspects that make the city simultaneously so bizarre and so grand."" http://www.vampandtramp.com/finepress/t/lex-thompson.html Postcards are compiled in boxed sets numbering 150. The first 23 sets of the edition are contained in a deluxe box. The remaining sets are in handmade boxes of heavy red stock with blind-embossed title. Cards were printed on a four-color press by Nomad printers of San Francisco. Thirty-six postcards, plus one colophon card. Postcards picture cemeteries that have been moved south to Colma from San Francisco, as well as local head-stone suppliers and flower shops."

Thompson, Lex

Nomad Printing

2004

"Scope, Physical Description, and Images from Vamp and Tramp http://www.vampandtramp.com/finepress/t/lex-thompson.html"

"4 x 6,"" 34 postcards in red paper wrap case with slip-in tab closure. Printed on a four color press by Nomad Printing. Standard in red paper wrappers. Deluxe edition, in blue cloth covered box with map of Colma lining interior. http://www.vampandtramp.com/finepress/t/lex-thompson.html#sthash.LpcgRlkE.dpuf Denison's copy is no. 56 of 150."

English

35108006992630

DEN Spec Coll NE539.T52 .A6 2004