A Quick Word About ATCs

I was gently reminded this evening that I'd neglected to explain what on Urth ATCs are. Oops! ATCs are artist trading cards. They're small, original artworks that are made to be given away or traded. Based on popular mass produced trading cards, ATCs always measure 3.5 x 2.5 inches. They're a fun way for artists to swap and collect each other's artwork.

Although the original intention was that artists would meet in person to trade ATCs, many on-line art communities hold frequent ATC swaps. Often there is a theme, such as the dark Valentine inspired "tainted love" ATC swap I recently participated in.

Art in Your Pocket: ATCs
Artist Trading Cards

Tainted Love: A Series of ATCs

1. Baubo Takes Love by the Horns
2. Baubo and Cycladic Head Find Love in a Feather Bed
3. Baubo Cruises the Love Boat
4. Sympathetic Magic 1
5. Sympathetic Magic 2


Technical notes:
One of the art groups I play in decided to do a special Dark Valentine ATC swap. I had some ideas that revolved around Hollywood sex sirens, but they all seemed a bit flat. I was going through a box of photos I'd taken years ago for a project I haven't really gotten to yet: Baubo's Safari. I thought some of them would be perfect for this swap, so I pulled out a few of them and set them on my coffee table to contemplate. I figured that if I looked at them long enough, inspiration would hit. And it did.

I sanded and scratched up the surfaces. For the one 35mm photo, I was able to entirely sand away extraneous bits I didn't want included. Polaroid film isn't as easily manipulated, but I found that if I sanded off the binding tape around the edges, I could remove the film from the emulsion layer. I really like the way these turned out. (If you try this at home, I'd suggest wearing gloves and a face mask and dispose of the emulsion layer very carefully! It contains some pretty toxic chemicals that you don't want to breathe or worse, have your pets chew on or eat.)

The photo layer of a Polaroid is a thin piece of plastic, so it presents a challenge when trying to adhere it to something else. I'd decided to use an old deck of Harly Davidson playing cards as my ATC base. The cards are highly plasticized, and even though I'd sanded them thoroughly, I didn't think I could get a good bond between the card and the film. I decided to use a mechanical fastener--eyelets--instead.

Baubo:
So, who is Baubo and why did I choose her to represent tainted love? Baubo is a goddess of womanly humor and knowledge; of obscene laughter and bawdy jokes; of the belly and the vulva.

Baubo played an important part in the story of Demeter and Persephone. When Demeter--goddess of ripe grain; of fruition and harvest--lost her daughter to Hades, she wandered the earth in deep mourning. Demeter took an oath that the earth would remain barren until Persephone was returned to her. The crops died and the earth turned barren. It was as if ceaseless winter had fallen on the land.

In deep despair, Demeter travels to Eleusis, where she retires from the world. Baubo meets her there and intercedes, telling bawdy jokes and then, the unthinkable: Baubo flashes Demeter. By lifting up her skirts and showing her belly and vulva to Demeter, Baubo shocks Demeter and causes her to laugh. Demeter regains hope and decides to carry on her search for her daughter. In the meantime, she reclaims her duties in making the crops and vegetation grow. Abundance returned to the earth.

Sympathetic Magic:
These two images should be self-explanatory. They are funerary urns from the Bura People of Lake Chad, Niger. They're shaped like huge penises (3-4' tall) and are covered with scarification patterns.