Monthly Archives: April 2019

RIP Bruce Bickford (1947 – 2019)

Bruce Bickford was an American animator, who worked primarily in clay animation. From 1974 to 1980, he collaborated with Frank Zappa.

Bickford’s animation was featured extensively in the Frank Zappa videos Baby Snakes and The Dub Room Special.

Zappa also released a video titled The Amazing Mr. Bickford, which was entirely composed of Bickford animations set to a soundtrack of Zappa’s orchestral music.

RIP Dave Samuels (1948 – 2019)

Dave Samuels was an American percussionist known for his work with the jazz fusion group Spyro Gyra.

His composition “New Math” (1988) was included on Joe Claussell’s compilation Music… A Reason To Celebrate (2001).

He is one of those unsung heroes like Daniel Ponce, another percussionist who died in 2013 but whose death only came to my attention this February.[1]

RIP Bibi Andersson (1935 – 2019)

Bibi Andersson was a Swedish actress known for films such as The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957) and Persona (1966).

Trailer for Persona


Trailer for The Seventh Seal


Trailer for Wild Strawberries


Excerpt from The Dick Cavett Show (1971) with Ingmar Bergman and Bibi Andersson

Dick Cavett: “It’s always said that Ingmar Berman [sitting next to her] understands women. Would you say that’s true?”

Bibi Andersson [hesitating, then nodding]: “Eeehh yes.”

Dance scene and funny mirrors scene in Flickorna (1968), set to an unidentified tune.

Grotesques in Antwerp

The Antwerp Plantin-Moretus Museum currently hosts Grotesques. A fascinating fantasy world.

Highlights include four of the Pourtraicture ingenieuse de plusieurs façon de Masques by Cornelis Floris de Vriendt and two prints of caricatures by Philippe de Soye and Hans Liefrinck I after Leonardo da Vinci.

Some photographic impressions can be found below.

See also: Flemish fantastique and grotesque