Friday, October 2, 2009

Goat's Head Soup . . .

While visiting Haiti in 1997, as mentioned in a few previous posts, I photographed this worked iron goat, which was a piece in the personal collection of haitian folk art belonging to Rudi Stern. After the returning from the trip, I put together a hand-bound collection of photos done in Haiti, of which only two copies were produced. The caption I wrote under this photo was : "Land Scape Goat". And it was incredibly heavy . . .
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This second piece was shot in a haitian cemetery, where some real live goats were frolicking about. . . kids will be kids . . .
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23 comments:

James said...

Now I'm going to have "Angie" and "Heartbreaker, with your 44" stuck in my head. :) It's always a pleasure to see your pictures.

Elizabeth Mahlou said...

Like the pics!

William Evertson said...

Love those cemetery goats!

Steve said...

I can't help but be struck by the double appendage emerging from the undercarriage of the unreal goat... it looks like some kind of medieval torture device...!

CiCi said...

Good one. Kids will be kids. We had a couple goats when I was a kid. I drank goats milk.

Harry 'aka' Mojo said...

Just to let you know the Watercats in Ireland LOVE GOATS and if you would like to send them a few they would love you even more.. :-)
They like the baby ones the best!
You are BRILLIANT LAD!
Cheers!
Mojo

French Fancy... said...

You often see goats in the Breton gardens - to save people having to mow the lawn - but I guess you knew that already - You Frenchiephile you )

J said...

I have to say I too noticed the...appendage of the metal goat. Hmm... The cemetary goats are most adorable, I'm starting to wonder if a pair of goats wouldn't be the perfect addition to our suburban garden..

Catherine said...

oooh! like the sculpture and the goat graveyard...especially in monochrome..

Owen said...

Hi James, you get the early bird award for this one, saw where you'd dropped by just after this was posted... I enjoyed seeing your shots from Valley Forge, have you been to Brandywine Battlefield anytime recently ? I'd like to go back to both of those places... and if you were inspired to get out your old Rolling Stones albums... they're always fun...

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Elizabeth, glad you enjoyed ! Many thanks...

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Hey Bill, could have been another page in the Book About Death...

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Steve, for some odd reason I was thinking you might rise to the occasion, errrr, perhaps not the best expression, no more like, that you would get to the point, a rather sharp looking point at that... I agree, I wouldn't want that feller to get a crush on me and start getting affectionate !

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Hi TechnoB ! Lucky you... and did you have to milk the goats in order to have a glass of milk ? So many of us, me included, are so thoroughly removed from animals like that, as they are the domain of farms and farmers, and not of town dwellers who work in companies... and who blog in the wee hours of the morning when we should be out milking the goats...

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Harry, I think you're right, I've had the impression that there are plenty of animals around the Watercats wonderful abode...

Owen said...

Bonjour FF, indeed, there are alot of goats and sheep and chickens and whatnot running about the yards in Brittany, insurance against harder times perhaps, and very efficent at keeping the grass short, one just has to mind where one places one's feet in the garden...
;-D

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Ah J, you and Bill... noticed... well, what's stopping you, I'm sure a goat kid can't be too terribly expensive... but then what do I know, have never tried to buy one... not sure our cats would appreciate such head butting company...

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Hi Catherine, glad you liked them, having company that mows the lawn and gives you milk to make cheese with can't be all bad...

Lille Diane said...

I love it when kids are just doing what comes naturally....like being kids. I actually talked about goats on a recent post, too. Then a friend of mine has a blog called Nanny Goats in Panties...a humorous blog of course. No goat porn. lol Missed you my dear friend. I just finished moving into a new home so as I get more settled I be over more to see you. Hugs, Owen!

Owen said...

Hey Lille Diane !!! Am very happy to see you ! So moving house kept you away from blogging for a while ? Tsk tsk tsk, nothing should be allowed to keep anyone away from blogging... well, I know, I'm a dreamer... I've been having trouble to keeping up and getting out around the blogosphere... September at work ate me half alive, and October isn't looking any better... but hey, we do what we can, ey? Will have to see if I can track down your Nanny Goats in Panties ! That does sound like fun !?! Well, perhaps for the more animally inclined among us... In fact, from the looks of things, I think the billy goat in the sculpture of the first photo here may already have found the nanny goats in panties site !
:-D
Lille, I hope you are well and your new house is wonderful for you, and that past ghosts may slowly fade farther and farther into the past, leaving you a shining, luminous present to enjoy life in... and I hope moving house and blogging aren't preventing you from playing a bit of guitar too...

Owen said...

PS to Lille D., just went and looked at Nanny Goats in Panties, which can be found here :

http://www.nannygoatsinpanties.com/

What a blog ! She looks like she's having a great time. And for a nanny goat, she sure has a sharp tongue and quick wit... not sure I'd want to butt heads with her...
:-D

Batteson.Ind said...

I have a special place for goats in my heart. They were some of my best friends growing up. We had a very fine puck goat for a while, called Mr Wogan.. he was completely wild, smelt like a musty old man had massive curly horns, a long beard and a huge head of black curly hair.. I loved him! :-)

Margaret Pangert said...

Unusual subject for a sculpture, clearly endearing to the sculptor. and the kids? Cute, Owen! What is the wreath of iron-looking leaves above?

Nanny Goats In Panties said...

Yeah, I'd like to know what that iron butterfly is doing hanging off that goat too. Love the goat pictures! And if it's OK with you, I'd like to "borrow" them for my Goat Thing of the Day (with credit back to you, of course!)

- Margaret

Owen said...

Dear Margaret NGIP, it would be the greatest of honors if you wished to use my goat photos for your Thing of the Day, really, I'm blushing with pleasure...

Interesting that you see a butterfly there, I wonder what Freud would say ??? I saw it more as a medieval device designed to defeat the defenses of nanny goats in chastity belts... Don't know what Freud would say about that either, guess it's a moot point, as he is no longer with us...

Owen said...

Hi Vicky, that Mr Wogan sounds like quite a character ! How lucky you were to have some fun animals like that around... sounds like a good subject for a song... something like this, modeled after Jerry Jeff Walker's famous tune... :

I knew a goat, Bill Wogan, and he'd dance for you,
In worn out hooves,
His curly horns and ragged beard, and musty smell,
And I loved him too
He jumped so high, he jumped so high,
Then he lightly, lightly touched down...
Mr Bill Wogan, Mr Bill Wogan,
Won't you prance....

:-D

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Hi Margaret (Pangert)... I noticed in alot of cemeteries in Haiti that there were cut metal decorations like these, usually composed of very simple hearts, stars, or leaves... they were part of the funerary art there...

Janie said...

The cemetery goats are quite cute, and not at all put off my tombstones and the possibility of ghostly visitations. I can just see tha little one frolicking over the dearly beloved inscriptions.

Batteson.Ind said...

lol.. sounds like a hit! :-)

The Sagittarian said...

Great photos, I really must get out more! Great news our home PC is fixed..I can now stalk you at the weekends as well! :-)

Roxana said...

i love the first picture very much, intriguing composition, the goat between the enigmatic white bottle and that plant...