Halloween 1980-Kenneth Anger's Polaroid Picture of his “Red Room”
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Association Item: Connects three public personalities, Kenneth Anger, Zeena Schreck, and (by default) her father, Anton LaVey, referencing the connection between Anger's “Red Room” and the “Red Room” of the infamous Black House where Kenneth lived part-time in the '70s and again in the '90s.
Sent to his goddaughter, Zeena, in 1980 as a Halloween greeting, the Polaroid picture shows how the avant-garde film director Kenneth Anger's writing desk looked in that year. The desk also doubled as a ritual altar, as the need arose. Anger regarded any creative act—writing, photography, filmmaking, painting, or music composition—as a magical working with an intended outcome, and as such, he rotated items on his desk according to different projects or magical needs.
The bottom portion of the Polaroid has a sticker affixed by Anger, his distinctive handwriting upon which he wrote, 'MY “RED ROOM” - HALLOWEEN 1980.' The quotes around “Red Room” emphasize that it's in contrast to the other “Red Room” in the Black House, as if to say, “Here's MY Red Room.”
Shown in the photo:
- Two skull candles in the centre, forefront, partially burned and dripping wax, evidence that Anger had just completed a specific magical working and that the photo was the “seal.” He would later describe to Zeena that he chose who to send photos he took to based on what type of ritual he was doing.
- An address book/day planner on the left side.
- An art deco lamp with a black dog motif.
- A small framed picture.
- A small urn used for a small amount of cremated remains, as what would be for an animal.
- An art deco candy dish with a red circular motif.
- A framed black and white still photo of silent film actress Clara Bow from the silent film. “Hula,” hand-tinted by Anger with red only red ink.
- A devil motif pen/pencil holder.
- A book of shadows: a combination ritual workbook and journal.
- The entire walls and desk Anger personally painted with a thick, glossy, blood-red-coloured paint.
Dimensions: 4.2 x 3.5 inches (107mm x 88mm) and an image area of about 3.1 x 3.1 inches (79mm x 79mm).