YOUR AUCTION PREVIEW: 4/20
On April 28th, Housing Works Bookstore in NYC is hosting a Regretsy book signing and live auction . Housing Works is a nonprofit bookstore and cafe, where all proceeds benefit homeless people living with HIV/AIDS.
I’ve been collecting your donated arts and crafts, and have put together 10 lots to auction off. I’ll be featuring one per day until April 28th. All proceeds will go directly to Housing Works.
If you see something here you want, come down to Housing Works and place a bid during the auction. The event starts at 7:00 PM, and all the details can be found here.
Thanks to Time Out New York for featuring the Regretsy Housing Works auction today!
CLOWN FAMILY
by Mari Lowery Photography
ARTIST’S STATEMENT: “I shot this in October of last year, but the auction piece was completed yesterday. It’s a portrait of my friend and her daughter in Prospect Park. The title is “Clown Family” and framed it’s slightly under 17 inches square, framed and already wired to hang. All archival materials were used. This is a custom piece created for the auction, because I have never sold this particular photo before, and don’t sell prints of it in my Etsy shop.”
Scary ass clown portrait
By Mari Lowery Photography
Etsy Store: Frankenkitty
Value: $200
SWEET DREAMS, FUCKERS
April 20, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Scarry ass?? You are not kidding!!!!
April 20, 2010 at 4:37 pm
That’s so wonderfully twisted, looks like Francis Dollarhyde with lil’ Bozo.
April 20, 2010 at 4:37 pm
This must be Ronald McDonald’s “other” family.
April 20, 2010 at 4:38 pm
What if I donate some money so as never to have that picture anywhere near me or ever have to see it again? I’d be good with that.
*Shudder*
April 20, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Oh hell, that’s scary shit. If your kids are not afraid of clowns, buy this and they will be
April 20, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Never so much in my life does the Simpsons quote: “Can’t sleep, clown’ll eat me” make more sense.
*rocks back and forth in corner, sobbing quietly*
(I can hear the child clown whispering: “its deliciously creepy!”)
April 20, 2010 at 4:43 pm
It makes me think of Diane Arbus! I like her a lot!
April 20, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Frankenkitty – I hope that my nightmares are never as freaky as your reality.
April 20, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Christ on a bike that’s creepy! Will now have to drink entire pot of coffee to stay awake and not dream!
Patty was thinking same thing someone must have turned those clowns swtich to “evil” too!
April 20, 2010 at 4:45 pm
WTf, doesn’t everybody elses family look like that?
April 20, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Frakenkitty- it’s very disturbing and I love it!!!! Never mind that I won’t be able to get to sleep tonight!!
April 20, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I didn’t know that Carrot Top was a clown.
April 20, 2010 at 4:47 pm
As much as clowns completely and utterly creep me the hell out, this goes beyond that to a seriously disturbing level of mesmerization…I can’t stop looking and yes, I will have nightmares.
April 20, 2010 at 4:48 pm
I’ve long been mystified by the charm of clowns, but I like this as much as any piece featuring them that I’ve ever encountered.
April 20, 2010 at 4:53 pm
I am going to bid on that one!
April 20, 2010 at 4:54 pm
And WOW about the Time Out Magazine article ……
April 20, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Oh the thumbs down patrol is right, clown dad is better looking than Carrot Top.
April 20, 2010 at 5:04 pm
I feel fortunate I’m not trapped with them in that frame.
On the subject of clowns, I’ll tell a little story…
A few years back, waiting to use an ATM, I felt a cold itch on the back of my neck. Turning around, I see a clown, its big feet planted on the concrete behind me, sporting stubble and a surly slouch. I conclude my ATM business quickly, nervous to have my back turned to a clown for any length of time…
April 20, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Then, after shopping, I encounter the clown again. This time, he’s balling his eyes out to a police officer who ticketed his Clown Van in a handicap zone. Apparently, this clown was not handicapped.
April 20, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Technically, I believe that’s the Toxic Avenger. Other than that I have nothing to add…it’s just perfectly…AWESOME!!!
April 20, 2010 at 5:08 pm
“We all float down here…”
April 20, 2010 at 5:09 pm
i love!
April 20, 2010 at 5:11 pm
So poignant.
So heartwarming.
So magnetic.
It has a certain Texas Chainsaw Massacre-esque je ne sais quoi.
April 20, 2010 at 5:14 pm
This is perfect for 4:20!
April 20, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Kudos to her for donating something. She’s cool for that!
April 20, 2010 at 5:18 pm
@19 ISUS
It’s “bawling” bwahahahaha
You can just imagine what I was thinking about “balling” and “police officer”.
April 20, 2010 at 5:20 pm
@iunifera
thanks…I always get ticketed for spelling.
April 20, 2010 at 5:22 pm
good lord, that’s creepy!
yay for frankenkitty
also, i was one of the unfortunate (i hope) few that had a friggin’ CIRCUS bedroom as a child. i shit you not. ugly paintings of sad-eyed hobo clowns and all…
luckily, having been tortured at such a young age, scary movies, dolls, clowns and the like don’t bother me anymore…
i hope the winning bidder will let us “view it in a room” after their purchase!
April 20, 2010 at 5:23 pm
For real Raz? That explains your excellent sense of humor.
April 20, 2010 at 5:27 pm
I looked through her whole shop and I really love it!
It’s awesome when talent, snark, and charity can be combined!
April 20, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Suda- yup! those same parents of mine made me watch old “Twilight Zones” growing up (peeped through the cracks of my hands), as well as a bunch of horror flicks, and now i have a real fondness for all of that stuff. it definitely DOES explain a lot…LOL
April 20, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Seeing that picture + cold medicine = one heckofa night in store for me! Glory, I hope someone buys that for a ton of money.
April 20, 2010 at 5:30 pm
All this picture needs is a shovel.
April 20, 2010 at 5:40 pm
This reminds me…. Just saw a news article about how you can rent a clown to stalk your friend for a week…….after the week is over the clown explains what is going on. I am soo going to do that to my BF next year. How funny is that?
April 20, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Raz # 31-I’m such a fan of Twilight Zone that I made a pilgrimage to Binghampton New York to salute Rod Serling. But I’ve never been much on clowns.
However, I’ve long loved your shop Mari , and your image ‘Detour’ is a personal favorite. Awesomesauce contribution to the auction.
April 20, 2010 at 6:02 pm
I’ve always adored clowns. I know a lot of people are afraid of them, but I think they make excellent photo material. I’m excited to have one of my pieces included in the auction, and this came to mind as one of my more WTF ones.
Sweet dreams, fuckers!
April 20, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Sudabaki, you really didn’t know Carrot Top was a clown? Really? He’s a ‘roided up ass clown now, but still a clown.
Also, I can’t stop looking at the mama clown’s face, and what the everloving fuck are those things coming out of her/its head?!?
April 20, 2010 at 6:32 pm
I absolutely love it! It’s creepy in a brilliant way!
April 20, 2010 at 6:38 pm
effin clowns.
i mean.. it’s great and scary and objectively a FANTASTIC photograph.
but.. effin clowns.
April 20, 2010 at 6:42 pm
#34 raven : I’m glad I’m not your friend. I’d be curled up in my closet crying for the entire week.
April 20, 2010 at 7:28 pm
#37 knitvincible: those are clown brains. enjoy!
April 20, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Value: $200?
As appraised by whom, the psychotherapist who will have to treat my children in years to come?
*shudder*
April 20, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Leftfoot, you hit the nail on the head…effin’ clowns indeed.
April 20, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Raz, my mom let me watch the ant movie, “Them”, back in the 70′s. Then she would chase me around the table making the shrieking noise, her hands imitating the ants’ pinchers opening and closing on both sides of her face.
Good times.
Who the fuck needs clowns?
April 20, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Beautifully bizarre! Love it!
April 20, 2010 at 8:33 pm
Skully, your #51 is way too funny!
April 20, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Oops, how did that happen?
April 20, 2010 at 9:03 pm
I used to BE a clown and this still freaks me the hell out.
April 20, 2010 at 9:11 pm
#37 knitvincible: Eep, I really had no idea. I guess I should have known from looking at him.
April 20, 2010 at 9:26 pm
I love it, too. I wish i could afford it.
April 20, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Rebekah: I know you were making a joke, but the price is based on what the materials cost me and what i would charge for a framed piece of this size. I chose that one specifically for the auction because it’s strange.
hautemom: There’s no guarantee that anyone will bid on it at all, and the bids will start much lower, so if you want it, bid what you can afford.
April 20, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Aaaaaa!
April 20, 2010 at 10:25 pm
#51 Frankenkitty : It’s really a wonderful piece. I just wish I wasn’t mortified of clowns. The colors are so surreal which only creeps me out even more – which is a compliment. It’s a gorgeous piece – touching and dark at the same time.
April 20, 2010 at 10:32 pm
Frankenkitty, I am sure it will seem like a fair price to anyone who is not utterly freaked out by clowns. I can’t even look at it, I have to scroll down super fast to avoid them.
The framing IS really nice though! Can I bid on it seperately?
April 20, 2010 at 10:36 pm
I will bid on it only on the condition that if I win, YOU keep the photo.
April 21, 2010 at 12:44 am
will bidding be available online? i live in seattle.
April 21, 2010 at 5:41 am
I see Sloth from the Goonies in Ma Clown.
I must go now and look away. Clowns are in my top three phobias (with sharks and centipedes) and I may have to self medicate early if I keep staring at this picture.
Nice work Frankenkitty- clowns just give me serious willies.
April 21, 2010 at 5:55 am
Frankenkitty, you are a talented photographer!!! I love this for its creepy darkness that somehow is wrapped with humor. I think it’s an amazing photo! Good job!
April 21, 2010 at 7:19 am
when i was little, my grandmother was a clown and i would go with her to parties, also dressed as a clown, and help her paint kids’ faces and do games. so i never really understood the clown fear. til now.
i LOVE this picture in all its creepiness. it freaks the sh*t out of me and brings back fond childhood memories all at once. i’m bummed i don’t live close enough to bid on it.
April 21, 2010 at 7:40 am
If I were rich, I’d go there just to buy this. My mom LOVES clowns (she’s been on a clown kick for a few years now), and I keep telling her how creepy they are and I keep trying to find worse and worse ones to give each year, and she loves them all (and even has a “clown room” in her house. I tell her it reminds me of a horror movie when I visit… *shudders* Can’t sleep, clowns will eat me, indeed!
April 21, 2010 at 8:01 am
HOLY CRAP.
I have to admit it — I jumped in my seat and let out a very undignified squeak of fear. That’s horror-film material right there.
April 21, 2010 at 8:12 am
Isn’t it rich?
Are we a pair?
Me here at last on the ground,
You in mid-air.
Send in the clowns.
*Today’s lyrics did not need modification, only sung in a creepy evil voice.
“They all float down here.”
April 21, 2010 at 8:26 am
I shall have nightmares for weeks. Thankfully, it’s for a good cause.
(Clowns. Why’d it have to be clowns?)
April 21, 2010 at 9:07 am
Frankenkitty, OMG CLOWN BRAINS OMG!!!
I’m really glad I checked out your shop though, you have some really awesome stuff!
April 21, 2010 at 9:23 am
Since we’re sharing clown stories, I have a weird childhood memory of standing next to a clown at the urinals in a Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour bathroom in the ’70′s. I’ve always wondered if his dick was decorated to look like a squirting flower.
Then there’s this: http://www.freeshit-saltgrit.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/clown_porn.jpg
April 21, 2010 at 9:57 am
Oh that just gives me the creeps! My brother would love it!
April 21, 2010 at 10:34 am
Knbitvincible was right. I risked having to look at the clowns again and went to your store. Your work is stunning! Love love love Checks and Stripes.
Am making out my list.
April 21, 2010 at 10:51 am
@Skully-
Holy shit. I had no idea Farrell’s was a chain (we had one here in Pa. back in the ’70′s). Many, many memories of this place (and thank you for figuring out where my fear of clowns can be traced to).
April 21, 2010 at 11:22 am
Wilma, yeah we had Farrell’s in Southern CA, the last one closed about 15-20 years ago. Man, I could sure use a Pig’s Trough or a Zoo right now.
April 21, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Aww HELL NAW!
We also had a Farrell’s in Orlando FL where I grew up. And. It. Was. Awesome.
I’m still going to have fucking nightmares though, only now I’ll be running through gobs of ice cream to get away from these horrifying hell-clowns.
April 21, 2010 at 1:59 pm
@#69 Skully:
Fudgeanna!!!
April 21, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Ronald Mcdonald meets Pennywise meets Deliverance…
April 22, 2010 at 10:07 am
I reeally adore my Frankenkitty prints that I proudly hang in my studio… but I might have to burn them on principle after seeing this picture. Cantsleepclownwilleatme.
April 23, 2010 at 5:58 pm
I like her stuff actually.
April 26, 2010 at 8:27 am
She has a lot of great prints. This one is also great, but in a way that freaks me the fuck out.