United States, (1955-1985)
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Donald Hall with apple in his mouth #1
- 1974, gelatin silver print photograph
- 7.5 x 7.5 in. (19.1 x 19 cm.)
- Private collection
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Donald Hall with apple in his mouth #2
- 1974, gelatin silver print photograph
- 7.5 x 7.5 in. (19.1 x 19 cm.)
- Private collection
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At table with pig
- 1974, gelatin silver print photograph
- 7.5 x 7.5 in. (19.1 x 19 cm.)
- Private collection
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Pig with apple in its mouth
- 1974, gelatin silver print photograph
- 7.5 x 7.5 in. (19.1 x 19 cm.)
- Private collection
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Eaten pig
- 1974, gelatin silver print photograph
- 7.5 x 7.5 in. (19.1 x 19 cm.)
- Private collection
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Decimated pig
- 1974, gelatin silver print photograph
- 7.5 x 7.5 in. (19.1 x 19 cm.)
- Private collection
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Stephen holding the pig
- 1974, gelatin silver print photograph
- 7.5 x 7.5 in. (19.1 x 19 cm.)
- Private collection
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The pig in the refrigerator
- 1974, gelatin silver print photograph
- 7.5 x 7.5 in. (19.1 x 19 cm.)
- Private collection
Editor’s Note:
These photographs by Blos record some of the events of an extraordinary dinner party hosted by UM students Blos and Ric Burns in 1974. Carnivorous guests in attendance included poet and UM instructor, Donald Hall; poet and UM graduate Jane Kenyon, also by then Hall’s wife; the artist and UM graduate Sarah Innes who would later marry Blos; and an array of other poets and artists.
The morning after the feast, Donald Hall said “I ran to my workroom and began to scribble pig lines of poetry.” The result was his poem, “Eating the Pig” which is available in the Best Loved Poetry section of the Porkopolis Library.
About the Artist:
Stephen Blos, United States, (1955-1985), was a photographer. He graduated from the University of Michigan and went on to study photography at Hampshire College.
Blos move to NYC in 1979. He made his living as a photographer, and as a printer for other photographers such as Helen Levitt and Bruce Gilden, among others.
Blos was the son of the the children’s author, Joan W. Blos. He married fellow UM graduate, pig feaster and professional artist Sarah Innes. Blos died in 1985 when he was thirty years old leaving hundreds of negatives. [DES-02/19]
Additional information:
- Eating the Pig – a video hosted by Sarah Innes from Creative Voice, Ann Arbor district Library 12/15/16
- For more complete information about this 1974 Ann Arbor dinner party that inspired the poem check out Eating the Pig: A Dinner Party in Poetry, Photography & Painting from the Ann Arbor District Library
From the Porkopolis Archive:
- Donald Hall – “Eating the Pig”
- A dinner drawing by Sarah Innes
This exhibit was enlarged upon also installed at University of Michigan Hatcher graduate library August -October 2018
Thank you, Sarah, for the update and for your visit to Porkopolis.