Photographs From Dazzling Killmen's Face of Collapse

In celebrating the Special Edition re-release of Dazzling Killmen's 1994 recording, Face of Collapse, I wanted to show some of the photographs, used and unused, for the album. In 1993, I did the artwork and design for this release in LP, CS, and CD formats. This was the first music release I had worked on, and it was also the first time I experimented with photography, pattern making, graphic layout, woodcarving, and woodworking.

I took the photographs using a 35mm camera and developed the negatives at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with the help of my friend Anna Cimini. Anna was also the model for the face and hand photographs and I am happy to say we are still in touch.

This was an exciting project for me, and it is wonderful to see such great music get its due and continue to find new audiences. Thank you to the Dazzling Killmen, Mark Fischer, and Skin Graft Records for making this happen.

The original 35mm contact proof sheets for Dazzling Killmen's Face of Collapse. The first two strips show a clay head I sculpted. Strips 3-5 show Anna Cimini in different poses with varied lighting and exposures. Strips 6-9 show different experiments with Anna's hands.

The photograph selected for the cover of Face of Collapse. This was taken with a piece of plastic wrap over Anna's face. I really had no idea what kind of imagery I had until I entered the photo lab and began developing the negatives. This photograph spoke to me right away.

One of the notched pine frames I built, with a found medical instrument.

The photo used for the round record label. I believe these were dog bones I found in a woods in Wisconsin.

Alternate versions of Anna's hands. The first photo is an experiment with developing a hand on a crumpled piece of photo paper.

The front of the gatefold CD booklet for Dazzling Killmen's Face of Collapse.