22 Ukrainian Easter eggs
Harry said the designs as found on the eggs were extremely ancient, predating Easter rites by many millennia. Elements of many of the designs can be found in wall paintings of cave complexes such as at Lascaux (a book in the stack directly under the basket of eggs). Other elements of the designs are seen in phosphenes naturally occuring in the eye. In other words these patterns have been with us since the beginning of time. Harry often spoke about the Ukrainian eggs and said that he amassed one of the largest collections in the world. I never saw but a handful- he unpacked a few on the spring equinox to show me in 1982. He said that part of his collection had been stolen when he lived in the Chelsea Hotel. Decorations notwithstanding, the egg itself is probably the most ancient symbol of the cosmos. And central to the HS belief system.
Harry was a proponent of the Enochian system which includes rites of protection guarding the four directions. He dazzled me one day demonstrating the hand manipulated animation built into his Enochian tablets. I run hot and cold over whether or not he has constructed here the Four Watchtowers standing guard over the magic circle (the basket) containing the 22 (cosmic) eggs. But the fact that there are 22 eggs certainly sings. Those familiar with the major arcana of the Tarot and the paths of the Tree of Life (Kabbalah) will see the significance. Furthermore, when I last visited him in the week prior, I do not recall seeing this arrangement. In fact after an evening of him opening books to select passages, and handing them to me to read he proclaimed with a sweep of his arm around the room, "This is all myth." I have contemplated that turn of phrase for years, as when he first uttered it I was greatly disappointed to the point of let down over the idea that there was no ultimate knowledge... However gradually I started to see the sense of it. For Harry every individual's behavior, belongings, and belief system was the sum total of their personal myth. (In any case it started to make sense when I applied the categories of Creation and Origin Myths as well as The Stith-Thompson Motif Index to the entire subject matter of the books in Harry's collection.)
Milk cartons and water bottles boxed and sitting on the bed. Catalogue from the Egyptian Museum Cairo. A Field Guide of Wild Edible Plants of New England
Right side: Blood stained mattress and pillow, amid a general disarray that I just did not associate with Harry- and a mess that was not there the last time I was in this room. When Harry lived in the hotel Breslin everything was always neat and in perfect order, and when I stepped into the room this view of the bed brought the reality crashing home that the Realized Man had been removed from the world.
Amid the books on art and anthropology et al, note the volume of Beatrix Potter. Harry was a big fan of her books and her humanity. Upper right on bed are cases full of audio cassettes- recordings he made on the Lower East Side, Brooklyn, Bronx, and Boulder Co. (1987-1991) as well as misc. recordings of performances of musician friends and associates.
Going through the 13 photographs taken I have been able to identify 145 book titles. I have estimated that at the time of his death there were about 1500 (+/-) books in the room, which I have reason to believe ended up at the Anthology Film Archives with the rest of his books (In 1984-85 when I assisted him in packing his books at the Hotel Breslin for shipping to the Anthology he said the collection numbered over 6000)
Bed stand with personal stuff and ashtray balanced on the brink. Note the roll of reinforced packing tape- elsewhere I have pages of notes on the HS system of packing. Packing up those books with him was to witness an unbelieveabe exercise in the tedium of perfection. I won't go into it here but to say he fit and re-fit the books in the boxes until they were keyed and packed like a puzzle. The goal, not only to make maximum use of the space, but the books had to precisely fill the box from bottom to top to support all corners for maximum strength in order to survive long term stacking. At the time he told me he believed it would be many years before the boxes would be unpacked.
Books, several identifiable by title- close up views available in another gallery
Taiwanese Feng Shui tape measure (Top shelf next to dog) French fortune telling cards (bottom middle). I only recently scanned the 35mm negs., (Jan. 2018) having only viewed them on 3 x 5 prints some 27 years ago, in effect this is the first time I have seen the photographs in any detail. It came as a very pleasant surprise, and honor to see the Feng Shui Tape measure sitting on the shelf, an item I gave Harry in 1984 on my return from living in Taiwan for 9 months. (I bought two at the time and kept the one pictured below.)
Very likely keep for the icon. The Left Facing Swastika (of Bon and Buddhist traditions) is a symbol found throughout the ancient world. The oldest known swastika from the paleolithic, was found in Mezine, Ukraine, and is dated at 15,000 year old (and is left facing). The Icon ties in neatly with the 'Ancient Survivals' & 'Ancient Universals' themes exemplified by the Ukrainian Eggs, String Figures, Hobo signs, Seminole Textiles & Tarot Cards so prominent in the HS collection.
Chinese characters on tape read: Lucky Brand (large characters): 10 Feet... 14 Traditional Units; Three function Measuring Tool. (# functions are: Feet/Inches; Traditional Measure Units, and- I think- Feng Shui Units.)
Bill Breeze looking as forlorn and sad as I, and Harry's other friends felt on the news of his death.
A week before Harry died, he showed me this styrofoam packing frame (top left), marveling over it, he called it "An extraordinarily beautiful object." I get it now (in my shop I have a number of such 'eye of the beholder objects'), but at the time while he saw the shape, all I could see was a piece of styrofoam trash.
Room 328 Wall map with 3 large flies: Top left, fly #1 resting in the polar region studying Eastern Siberia. Fly #2 surveying the Kashgar Region of Tibet. Fly #3 scrutinizing the Lauge Kock Kyst Nature Preserve in Greenland.
Self Portrait with Books: not-a-one would I have considered reading, let alone purchasing, before I met HS.
(Image taken upon return from HS Dead Room.)
