Most likely to succeed -- turning old yearbook photos into collage art

Queen Anne High School Yearbook 1940
Last year I picked up an old high school yearbook at my local thrift store. Really old. I planned to use it for collage ephemera. But once I started flipping through it, I had second thoughts. Based on the handwritten notes covering the pages, I figured the yearbook's owner, Marjorie, had been a popular girl. Or at least "swell," the word almost every classmate had used to describe her.

My favorite part, besides the film noir feel, was what the graduating seniors listed as their life ambitions. I read each one, comparing the goal with the face of its aspirant. One very ambitious girl promised to be "the first woman U.S. president." No, it wasn't Hillary. But she did have an impressive career.

These ambitions inspired a new accordion book collage.
The senior portraits were just the right size for the book's small sections (2.5" x 4"). I chose 6 students, then paired each photo with a compelling ambition. The text itself was too small, so I transcribed it using my dad's old Smith-Corona typewriter (which is about as old as the yearbook).
Old yearbook photos as art
For backgrounds, I used security envelopes and copies of old newspapers.
Old yearbook photos as art
For a pop of color, I cut shapes out of paint chips. Washi tape pulls the different sections together.
Old yearbook photos as art
Here's what the small booklet looks like:
Old yearbook photos as art
I didn't want to spend much time on the back of the book. I grabbed my colored pencils to make simple colored blocks. 
accordion book
Using a retro alphabet stencil, I wrote "Primer." As in "primary colors" or "primary goal" or "school primer" or… who knows what else my subconscious had in mind.

So what do you think? Is it ok to cut apart a 74-year-old yearbook? 


Comments

  1. Oh I love it!! And yes, it's ok to cut it apart - someone tossed it so why not make use of it.

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    1. I wonder about why it got tossed…Did the owner die? Did it get overlooked when she downsized? I Googled her name but couldn't find her. (The yearbook is from Seattle.)

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  2. I'm almost as old as the yearbook so I probably wouldn't have cut it up but would have made photocopies. but saying that I do love the mini folded book!! I have a handful of these started with the idea of putting my kids baby pictures in them and one with all the pictures taken with Santa, my problem is I have great ideas and that's as far as they go.
    I would have loved looking throughout the yearbook.

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    1. Thanks for the feedback, Sueze. The reason I'm reluctant to use a photocopy is that the paper on the real yearbook is thick and glossy, so it works well in a collage. But I could try scanning the images and printing them out on thick photo paper.

      I have lots and lots of ideas that also never make it out into the real world. Still, it's fun just imagining things.

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  3. Claudia you keep surprising, in every and each collage work of yours, I loved this booklet and the idea behind it! :-)

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  4. I think this is BRILLIANT! Love the whole concept. And as far as cutting things out of the yearbook, I say, "yes!" Unless it belongs to someone you specifically know who wants to keep it intact, I think this is a great way to use it. Love the look of your blog, too.

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    1. Thanks, Kathleen! That's a good point -- I wouldn't cut up my own yearbooks or my dad's, but it seems ok with a stranger's.

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  5. The connection between the photos and the author's content was ingenious the added plus of making the backgrounds out of old security envelopes is essential to the black and white photos from a design perspective. Great job, your creativity with recycling is head and shoulders above other self styled recyclers. I am inspired by your work. Thank you.

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  6. VERY, VERY cool, Miss Claudia, thanks for sharing it with us.

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