July 2014
Now friends. These are really important photographs for me.
As Minor White’s artist book The Temptation of St. Anthony is Mirrors (1948) is a visual love poem to Tom Murphy, so my artist book The Songs of Eternity (1994) is a visual love poem to my then long-time partner Paul. Both are exceedingly rare books: there are two copies of White’s book and there is one copy of mine.
And yes, the prints are even more beautiful in the flesh (so to speak).
Marcus
I am scanning my negatives made during the years 1991-1997 to preserve them in the form of an online archive as a process of active memory, so that the images are not lost forever. These photographs were images of my life and imagination at the time of their making, the ideas I was thinking about and the people and things that surrounded me.
All images © Marcus Bunyan. Please click the photographs for a larger version of the image. Please remember these are just straight scans of the prints, all full frame, no cropping !
Photographs are available from this series for purchase. As a guide, a vintage 8″ x 10″ silver gelatin print costs $700 plus tracked and insured shipping. For more information please see my store web page.
*PLEASE NOTE THIS POSTING CONTAINS ART PHOTOGRAPHS OF MALE NUDITY – IF YOU DO NOT LIKE PLEASE DO NOT LOOK, FAIR WARNING HAS BEEN GIVEN*
The Songs of Eternity
Images and poetry by M. Bunyan 1994
I stood at the edge of the precipice / and peered in as William Blake would say
The timepiece of eternity / swung hands through all the hours
so how naive I’ve been / not to see its powers
Did I deceive / or was I led
What a rude awakening / throughout my head
Many fabulous things were said /
many a doubt was in silence bled …
Nothing is certainty but the change – I was must be strong to attain
Depth, spirit, integrity and the rest
This affirmation I will confirm – not in conformity but in my own special way
Not this way nor that but my own path / that one day will whisper gently in my ear
Be strong, for we have much to say / when the sea becomes the sky.
Strong in your arms I become your scent
Lying in my bed the sheets of flowers enfold me
Trusting in my heart I know
Today Yesterday Tomorrow
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Shroud
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
The Songs of Eternity
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Paul, shadows
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
I stood at the edge of the precipice / and peered in as William Blake would say
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Eternal timepiece
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
The timepiece of eternity / swung hands through all the hours
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Paul, head covered
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
so how naive I’ve been / not to see its powers
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Pendent #1
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
Did I deceive / or was I led
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Untitled
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
What a rude awakening / throughout my head
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Untitled
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
Many fabulous things were said /
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Suspension #1
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
many a doubt was in silence bled …
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Chrysalis
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
Nothing is certainty but the change – I was must be strong to attain
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Décolleté
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
Depth, spirit, integrity and the rest
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Paul, doorway (for Georgia O’Keeffe)
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
This affirmation I will confirm – not in conformity but in my own special way
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Pendent #2
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
Not this way nor that but my own path / that one day will whisper gently in my ear
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Shadow, wreath
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
Be strong, for we have much to say / when the sea becomes the sky.
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Madonna, male
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
Strong in your arms I become your scent
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Suspension #2
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
Lying in my bed the sheets of flowers enfold me
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Paul, wreath and hands
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
Trusting in my heart I know
Marcus Bunyan (Australian, b. 1958)
Untitled
1994
From the series The Songs of Eternity
Silver gelatin photograph
Today Yesterday Tomorrow
Art Blart 