Cabin fever Friday at the Southern Folklife Collection

 Paul Clayton and others, playing a folk game or making a diorama, or something on a floor 20239_pf0058_01_0044_Ron Cohen Colleciton_Southern Folklife Collection _UNC Chapel Hill20239_pf0064_05_0006_20239_pf0058_01_0039_Ron Cohen Colleciton_Southern Folklife Collection _UNC Chapel HillIt’s not Boston, but here in North Carolina we’ve had an unexpected, late winter, one-two punch the past couple of weeks with ice and snow. The amount of school and work that has been cancelled has certainly fueled some cabin fever creativity in our own households, but not sure if anyone has gone so far as Paul Clayton, Bob Brill, Dave van Ronk, Lee Hoffman, and their friends did at this party in New York circa 1959. We’re really not sure what’s going in these images–a game, a collaborative sculpture, a ceremonial practice, building a diorama? Let us know if you have any ideas. All images in this post were photographed by Ray Sullivan, a partner in Photo-Sound Associates along with photographer Aaron Rennert and sound-recordist Joel Katz, a team dedicated to documenting the folk scene in New York City in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Over 4000 images from the Photo-Sound Associates have been digitized and can be viewed through Ron Cohen Collection (20239) finding aid via the Southern Folklife Collection.
Lee Hoffman_20239_pf0058_01_0039_Ron Cohen Colleciton_Southern Folklife Collection _UNC Chapel HillNo matter what’s going on, it looks pretty fun. And Bob Brill is providing musical accompaniment on the kazumpet while Dave van Ronk and Paul Clayton harmonize accompaniment. We hope you had at least as much fun during your last “weather event.” Looking forward to Spring!Paul Clayton watching Bob Brill play kazumpet_20239_pf0058_01_0029_Ron Cohen Collection_Southern FOlklife Collection_UNC Chapel HillDave Van Ronk and Paul Clayton_20239_pf0058_01_0038_Ron Cohen Collection_Southern Folklife Collection_UNC Chapel Hill