Collectors of Oddities: Short Films by Ronni Thomas

Yesterday evening, for the price of just $5, I was able to join in on a Zoom meeting hosted by The Morbid Anatomy Library. First of all, if you're not signed up for notifications about events from The Morbid Anatomy Library you're missing out on some great scholarly lectures about the oddest, coolest, macabre things in our world. The museum closed over a year ago (I was able to visit once), but the library has relocated to the Green-Wood Cemetery's Fort Hamilton Gatehouse in Brooklyn, NY. You can't visit at the moment because of the pandemic, so they've moved their lectures online which works great for those of us not close enough to visit. The library also has an online shop and classes.

Yesterday's event was with filmmaker, Ronni Thomas. You can read about him on his website The Midnight Archive. Thomas is a passionate, artistic, punk, kid (I call him a kid- not because of his age, but because of his childlike enthusiasm) who said that he enjoys making films about collectors because it allows him to collect people in a way. A collaboration with Morbid Anatomy Library founder Joanna Ebenstein led to The Midnight Archive Film Series which includes a short film called Walter Potter: The Man Who Married Kittens that was the feature of last evening's presentation. Potter was a 19th-century taxidermist that created intricate tableaus of anthropomorphized, stuffed animals. One of his best know scenes is the Kitten Wedding.

Walter Potter's Kitten Wedding (photo from Joanna Eberstein, NY Times article)

During the hour and a half presentation where we watch six short films, Thomas talked about his films and answered questions. Collector Brandon Hodge from the short film "Ghosts & Gadgets" was in the Zoom audience and agreed to answer questions about his collection as well. 

The films we watched during the presentation- that you can watch for free!- are as follows:

• Clockwork Monsters: Shows the work of artist Thomas Kuntz who creates amazing automatons 
• Walter Potter: The Man Who Married Kittens
• Phantasmagories: Dark Side of the Light, Mervyn Heard talks about the Phantasmagoria shows of the 18th century that used lantern slides to scare the audience
• Wax, an interview with wax sculptor Sigrid Sarda
• Occult Collector, Calvin von Crush talks about his collection of haunted and cursed items
• Ghosts & Gadgets: Making Contact with the Departed, Brandon Hodge talks about his collection of Spiritualist and occult "technology"

You can watch these short films (all under 15 minutes) and more on Vimeo. Ronni Thomas's website The Midnight Archive has lots more links to short films that I want to check out. I love Thomas's style that gives you just enough information to want to learn more. The presentation was great and I can't wait to attend another Morbid Anatomy Library event!