I'd like to explain a few things about the online version of the "Exquisite Corpse Missalette." First of all, if you don't already know what an "exquisite corpse" is, allow me to illuminate. It was originally a Surrealist (as in the art movement) parlor game of sorts in which one artist would start drawing a picture or writing a phrase or story of some kind on a piece of paper. He or she would then fold the paper to conceal most of the phrase or picture he or she just wrote or drew and then would pass the paper on to the next player for that person to add on to what had already been drawn or written. The paper could be passed on to a limited number of people or everyone present. And the end result would look similar to what you see at the left.
As a matter of fact, on many of the pieces created for the "Exquisite Corpse Missalette" that I scanned in, you can still see the creases where the paper was folded. I decided to leave these in instead of "photoshop-ing" them out because I thought it was neat to see where one artist ended drawing and where the other began. Of course not all of the drawings were done in this manner. Some were done entirely by one person. And some of the pieces were collages in which one person started and another, or others, finished. We didn't stick strictly to the rules of the exquisite corpse, if there are any, but in the spirit of the Cubby Missalette, we decided anything goes.
As explained by Ben Tinker and Liz Costello in the editors' intro, most of these pieces were put together in one day by a group of people who attended a soiree at Ben and Liz's. It was great fun and goes to show how much art can be created by anyone, all under the guise of a party.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the online version of the "Exquisite Corpse Missalette." It includes much of which was in the print version, plus a whole lot more. And perhaps you'll be inspired to host your own exquisite corpse party!
Brian Weaver
<---editors' intro
exquisite corpse home page