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Grace Jones

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And, now from the archives of Life Magazine, a funky flashback to the 1950s Flying Saucer Conventions.

These B&W photos document the convention, from the quirky attendees and their campsites, the UFO memorabilia, the bustling scene that once surrounded this now lonesome boulder and best of all, a look inside the secret home that once lay beneath the giant rock.

So, how did a man come to live under a rock in the California desert?

In the 1930s, an eccentric German immigrant called Frank Critzer, dug out a subterranean home under the giant rock. He lived there alone, isolated from society with nothing but a radio antenna on top of the rock to stay connected to the outside world.

In 1942, the police came to investigate rumors that he was a Nazi spy and Frank died from a self-detonated dynamite explosion in his own bunker. They thought that��he was a spy because of his radio antenna. But, he was just a radio enthusiast who wanted to be left alone.

After his death, Frank’s only friend, a former aircraft inspector named George Van Tassel, became the giant rock’s new tenant in 1947. 

In addition to being an aviator, he also liked to dabble in the telepathic channeling of alien life.

In a few years, George went from living a simple life with his family in the rooms Frank Critzer had dug out under the Giant Rock, to building his own restaurant on the site, a small airstrip, and an extra-terrestrial research center.

The UFO center would play host to his annual Giant Rock Spacecraft Convention, attracting more than 11,000 people at its peak.

Tassel’s onsite research center, nicknamed “the Integratron“, was believed by many to have some pretty special powers– 

Including ‘anti-gravitational and time traveling capabilities provided by extra-terrestrial life on Venus.’

For nearly 20 years it became the dream pilgrimage of every UFO nut enthusiast in America.

Let’s take a look at the UFO style of the day, beginning with the wonderful hats.

And the flying saucer accessories. 

What the hell is that?

It was also something the whole family could enjoy.

The dome-shaped ‘Integratron Center’ still stands near the giant rock, and after  Tassel’s death in 1978 there were plans to turn it into a disco.

Instead, the new owners turned it into an off-beat tourist attraction offering “sound baths,” claiming it to be “the only all-wood, acoustically perfect sound chamber in the U.S.”

It was built from instructions from Mars. I don’t know, except for the bus, clothes, & lack of hats, the people are pretty much the same.

As for the rock, in the year 2000 it fractured in two when a large piece broke off, revealing its white interior granite. Sadly, it’s covered in graffiti. 

https://mojaveproject.org/dispatches-item/giant-rock-space-people-and-the-integratron/     //  messynessychic.com   //  life magazine

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An Inuit otter amulet. Engraved and pigmented ivory, c.1870-1880.

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Guy Bourdin, 1974

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Mirror Palais in "Moonrise"

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Merry Alpern, Dirty Windows, 1995

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JAMES ABBOTT MCNEILL WHISTLER

Nocturne: Blue and Silver – Chelsea.

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We’re back…

…and we plan to be around much, much more often.

Newly released photographs taken at Pamela’s shop Themis. 

Top image edited by us for clarity.

Please be patient with us over the next several days as we try to answer as many questions as possible.

We have lots to report to you guys, but the biggest thing right now is that we will be flying to Los Angeles later this month to conduct interviews, purchase materials, and tour Jim and Pam’s universe to expand our work on the book project.

Thank you for your patience and for sticking around! We love you!

Rae and Alix.

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Anthony Bourdain gives his personal hangover recovery method (2016)

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Anders Petersen | Christian Caujolle, Andre Frere editions

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Christophe Jacrot

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A group of spivs with time on their hands play dice for money in a London wasteland area, 1954 - by Bert Hardy (1913 - 1995), English

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The Atelier Couture

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i don’t want to work i want to sit topless in the sunshine eating fresh fruit and reading with the loml