Item #CL186-55 Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss
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Correspondence From Carol Jerrems To Peter Leiss

c1973-1975. Consisting of four letters, all hand-written in ink, one letter with two vintage silver gelatin contact prints attached, each letter dated and some annotated or stamped with an address, 33 x 20.3cm (paper, approx. each); 2.6 x 3.8cm (photographs). Old folds, some slight tears.

Provenance: Peter Leiss

These letters cover the period of Jerrems’ life in which she was working on the publication A Book About Australian Women (1974), teaching photography and filmmaking, and making a short film about the Sharpie subculture in Melbourne. (Sharpies were members of suburban youth gangs in Australia, most significantly from the 1960s and 1970s. Sharpies, who stood out with their short hair, were known for being violent, although they followed a moral code. The name comes from their focus on looking and dressing “sharp.” Ref: Wiki.)

Amid Jerrems’ ponderings of subjects for her to photograph—her yoga practice; her lovers [Ambrose Campbell and Esben Storm]; finding a balance between teaching and photography; and her admiration of Ansel Adams—lie some heavy confessions: a rape after attending a performance, and an attempted rape by a renowned blues singer. Of both of these experiences she reflects “Terror, but submission; an unpleasant but valuable experience.” Her curiosity and drive, however, would not be diminished: “I hope one day to still be freaky and getting hung-up over people and disappointed and jealous but have the strength from freedom and knowledge and self-confidence to be able to handle it. Living is an adventure.”

While Leiss attended the Prahran School of Art & Design in 1970-1971, he met Carol Jerrems at a filmmaking course run by Paul Cox. Leiss later travelled abroad, but kept in touch with Jerrems over the years through letters. It was not until 1976 that they met up again. The photographs attached to one letter show Mark Lean (a Sharpie who appeared in Jerrems’ Vale Street) with Sharpie friends; and “Mark Lean with Flappers,” which is illustrated in King, Up Close: Carol Jerrems, 2010, p51.

A detailed list is available upon request.

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Item #CL186-55

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