As I walked up to the brown, wooden door of the Exquisite Corps Office, I saw three stickers which were shaped much like bumper stickers on a car. One of the stickers said “don’t let others choose what you read.” The other sticker towards the bottom of the door said “Got a submission? Welcome to the underground.” Before I even entered the door, I had a weird vibe about this place. Taking a step inside, the first thing I noticed happened to be many issues. On one bookshelf, they were neatly organized by date of issue. On the other bookshelf, they were just thrown into piles in any order. The bookshelf didn’t look like total chaos though. In fact, the only reason I knew they weren’t in order of issue date was because of the color of the paper. In between many white issues lie a few issues that have a yellow tint to them. As I walk up to them, I can see that the older issues have cardboard around the covers of them. Were they more significant or important than the other issues? Enough about the issues. As I continue to observe the room, I see many ancient items, some of which include old computer monitors, a broken typewriter, a piano keyboard with missing keys, and a really old stapler. I automatically assumed the stapler had to be that big in order to reach across the magazine and staple it together in the center. The old, sofa that looked incredibly uncomfortable to sit on and the toy coffin with a skeleton coming out of it made me feel awkward in there. Skeletons were everywhere on the walls and on top of file cabinets. There were lots of empty frames behind the desk and a rubber band ball that lay on the corner with half of the rubber bands popped off. Oddly enough, there were pictures on the wall without frames around them. Why not put the empty frames to use? On the ground behind the desk is a box that says publishing services. This must be where all the magic happens. Coincidentally there is a box of Smirnoff right next to it. I would need a few drinks too if I had to work in this place.
In the basement of Allen Hall stands a dark brown door with a tacky white curtain covering the window that is placed in the center. Two stickers catch my eye. One is located on under the window that advocates anti-censorship. The other was on the doorknob that said Welcome to the Underground. Little did I realise that the message on the door would lead us into a place that seemed like something out of a Dali painting. the office had a musty smell with a humid feel to it. immediatly i couldn't help but noticed the thousands upon thousands of literary issues that took up three connected shelves to my right and a lonely shelf to my left. the literary issues to my left where neatly stacked and looked as if the material inside was just as underground and submersive as the office which they reside in. on the other shelf was a different story. literary magazines littered the shelves, as if they were crammed into there without much thought. Some were older with brown covering the pages, along with dust. There were some stacks, held up by a single piece of cardboard. I didn't understand why certain groups had them while others remained hanging over the side of the shelf. there were novels of poetry on the shelves closest to the the work desk that taught about chinese poetry and military vehicles. there were few instances of artwork one of which was an abstract piece that contained green, blue, and brown colors in swirled chaos. to the bottom of that was a painting of several men of which i could not determine as to who they were. several of the works were unframed which crossed my mind as odd since there were so many frames that could have done the job. dark humor came out from other works as well such as a woman showing off her thong on a bike, an upside down map of the world, and a man being pecked by vultures. the thing that startled me the most were the bullskulls that littered the room. even the clock, which did not work, was a bullskull that had custom made wording around it that read Exquisite Corps the name of the liteary magazine that was kept alive in these walls. the only modern thing that was in the office was a Dell computer as well as a printer. the lonely typewriter that sat beside the desk made me think that he was not willing to change to the modern real world. such was the case to find in the underground
As I walked up to the old wooden door of the Exquisite Corpse office, my body overcame a feeling of shock. As we stopped in front of the door, I unexpectedly stared with confusion. I would have never guessed the Exquisite Corpse office to be located in the basement of Allen Hall just down the hall from English class. At first I even though Tyler was joking when we stopped at what I thought was just another classroom. I pass that door nearly ten times a week, and never realized its significance. As I took a closer look at the unique stickers randomly placed on the door, I could only imagine what would be inside. As I first entered the office, the wall of old issues quickly grabbed my attention. These issues were arranged with just a slight bit of organization. Some stacks more neatly on the shelves then others, but not at all what you would consider a disaster. This small room, filled with places to sit, had an old sunken in couch that looked to be taken right off the set of “That 70’s show”. This brightly colored grungy couch sat in front of the wall of old issues clearly looking to have gotten quite a lot of use in the past few years. There were also many other chairs in the room, all of which looked as if they had been randomly bought at garage sales throughout the years. This randomly put together room actually seamed to be a comfortable place to work. The dark walls and comfy couch provided a relaxing atmosphere. The sculls which seamed to cover the walls and desktops in every corner of the room did make me feel a little awkward. You could inquire that these sculls were in relation to the company name, Exquisite Corpse. The office had a ‘dorm room’ type feel. The missing ceiling tiles and dusty desktops showed they did not get the chance to keep the place looking new. There were also a stack of large old books, possibly dictionaries or encyclopedias, providing support for a desk missing a few legs. In one corner of the room lie an old keyboard, computer monitor, and printer just collecting dust. Unframed, abstract art and more random stickers covered the ugly pinkish beige walls. This randomly put together room surprisingly seamed to be very laid back, nothing of what I expected the Exquisite Corpse office to be.
Before I walked into the small dingy Exquisite Corpse Office which can be found in the basement of Allen Hall, I noticed the different stickers that covered the door. DeWitt Brinson’s name has been written backwards on the door since he moved into the office. When I decided to walk in, I first noticed that there were exquisite corpse essays that covered the bookshelves that had been lined up against the walls. Many things in the room seemed random and out of place. Skulls, posters, and different unframed artwork covered the walls of the office, which gives everyone who walks in a sense of death. Like the room itself, the contents of the office are very old. The floor and ceiling are both missing tiles. Old computer monitors, cassette tapes, frequently used furniture, and even a typewriter are scattered throughout the room. The office is poorly lit by three florescent lights, and no light from outside enters the somewhat creepy office. The noisy water fountain right outside of the door gave the room a strange feeling as well. The walls are painted in an ugly burgundy color and the trim in black. It seems as though the office has been used as a storage room since boxes and random items have been thrown into the small room. The fact that the trash-can had been completely empty, and a duster and broom were placed in the corner of the room seemed strange to me since the room feels like a little cleaning and organizing could be done.
“The Exquisite Corps,” a very strange name for an online magazine. Before entering the office a person can derive an idea of the magazine and people who write in the magazine. The door contains three stickers each stating something different. A large bumper sticker placed directly in the middle of the door reads “CENSORSHIP Don’t let others choose what you can read.” Another sticker can be found on the base of the door knob, “Welcome to the underground.” And, at the very bottom of the door one can find a print out stating the requirements of all submissions to the magazine. The door includes a glass window, covered by print outs of the magazine cover.
If a person with any type of OCD were to walk into this room they would surely experience a melt down of great proportions. Papers fill the bookshelves in a disorderly fashion. The old issues are stacked high, and packed into any open space possible. In front of one of the bookcases sits a “germafobe’s” worst nightmare, an old beat up couch. The faded orange and brown couch almost eats a person alive when they bravely choose to sit down.
Like the door, the walls of the office are plastered with stickers, print-outs, and artwork some covering the chipping paint from the walls. One especially caught my eye, “WARNING spraying for sewer lizards to commence tonight.” A painting was tacked onto the wall not far from this print-out. Oddly, any artwork on the walls remained unframed, but half a dozen empty frames lay propped up against the wall. Above these empty frames, an up side down map clings to the wall.
Skulls and skeletons decorate the room, some in a more humorous way. A tiny skeleton hangs from an electrical pipe. He wears a dirty children’s sock for a beanie and a sign reading, “Poet.”
On the ceiling tiles have vanished leaving behind empty squares and the spots of glue meant to hold them there. Also, if one looks close enough they may notice a small bar code sticker stuck to the ceiling, for safe keeping.
An old keyboard lies against one wall. The keyboard can no longer be used; five of the keys are crudely broken in half. Near this keyboard sits a broom. The broom does not seem to be used by the looks of the stained yellow, once white, tile floor. However, the dust and dirt which covers the bristles would say other wise.
Surprisingly, the inside of the door only contains one accessory, the print-outs of the magazine cover, on the window. The window can not be used to see through. This door cuts off the office from the outside world of logic, which the office so joyfully lacks.
Ngoc Huynh “We’re going to visit the Exquisite Corps office.” Tyler said. What in the world can Exquisite Corps be? I thought it was going to be a museum type office with real corps behind glass, or some type of exhibit of skeletons of animals and humans. I was completely off. Turns out, the exquisite Corps office is Dewitt’s writing office located in the basement (room number 26) of Allen Hall. Before entering the office, the old dark wooden door caught my attention. Stickers attempted to cover large cracks and scratches towards the bottom half of the door. I noticed a large rectangular bumper sticker that read “ Don’t let others choose what you can read.” A tiny sticker on the door knob read “Welcome to the Underground.” The top half of the door was glass that was a little bit see through. The reflection of dim lighting allowed me to make out a tiled poster of what I thought was a nude woman laying on her side. To the left of the door, hangs a laminated sign with DeWitt’s name printed backwards and not capitalized correctly. The mistake is corrected with a snake like symbol and three lines to capitalize the W in his last name. When I entered the “office”, the air thickened, the smell reminded me of a library or Home Depot. My eyes automatically noticed the entire right wall of papers, stacks of articles, piles of newspaper, and boxes of letters. They were all sort of chaotically organized. I sunk into the small, ancient tan-orange sofa while glancing at the room in curiosity. In the corner of the room scattered old dusty computer monitors, ancient printers, cardboard boxes, and a keyboard with missing discolored keys. This cluttered room barely gave any space to walk. The dusty dark wooden furniture consisted of two spacious desks, and old, cracked wooden chair, and a thick pale blue rolling computer chair. On the desks contained a black flat screen Dell computer, a large black printer, a permanent marker, a large silver stapler, and many more miscellaneous items. The depressing chipped colored walls along with the many skull and skeleton decorations gave off a creepy vibe. Some main wall decorations consisted of a bone clock with Exquisite Corps written in a font that one may mistaken for roman numerals. Another main wall attraction was a blown up poster of the nude woman with a skeletal face laying on her side and an abstract painting that could be anything you want it to be. To the left of the large paining hung a mini poster of a girl showing her undergarments on a bike that read, “Lekker Doen (“Let’s get dangerous”). Towards the back of the office, showed an “amazing view” of a rusty, stained concrete wall blocking any sunlight from entering the room. The dim lighting fixtures blocked many missing stained tiles from the ceiling, where may have caused leaks to tarnish the tiled floor. The Exquisite Corps office is not what you would expect, but it does say a lot about DeWitt’s style and personality.
In the basement of Allen Hall, where there are mostly classrooms, there is one door which you have probably never been behind. It is an old wooden door with a large window in the middle, which is covered up by something on the other side. There is a sticker right below that on the door that looks like a car bumpersticker. It favored anti-censorship, and stated "Don't let others chose what you can read." Above the brass, early 1900's door knob was a tiny sticker that said, "Welcome to the Underground." Little did I know what was behind that door.
As I walked in the room I got almost a creapy feeling. It was very musty, with faded burgandy walls, and a slightly larger room than a jail cell. Bookshelves line the walls and house old issues of the "Exquisite Corpse." On the bookshelf to my left all of the magazines are organized with date stickers underneath, but to my right the magazines seem out of order. There were some stacks that look as if they have yellowed over time and are mixed in with stacks that look only about a year old. Also, there was cardboard underneath some of the stacks, while the without are falling over the edge of the bookshelf.
The room was decorated with skulls and skeletons. There is a broken skull, that was turned into a clock, hanging on the wall. Althoug, it doesn't work because it doesn't have any batteries. The walls were full of weird pictures that were hanging without frames, one of which was a world map upside down. I found that odd due to the pile of empty frames hidden behind a desk.
The furniture in the room looked as old as the room itself. There were three desks and a few chairs, on of which was broken. It looked like left over furniture that the university didn't want to throw away. In front of one of the bookshelves there was a couch that is so worn in you sink into it when you sit down.
The whole room was dirty. The white speckled floors had black all over them. There were tiles missing from the ceiling. A yellow duster lies on one of the bookshelves, but not much cleaning takes place. Also, there were ants all over one of the desks.
The room looked more like it was supposed to house junk, rather than to be an office. There were old computers and a printer piled up in the corner of the room and a keyboard with missing keys. In another corner, there was a typewritter sitting on top of an old metal stool. More paintings and a mardi gras mask were placed by the window, which had a view of a cement wall. On one of the desks there were office supplies, which seemed normal, except for the old rubberband ball with broken rubberbands. All in all, I'm not sure how much of anything gets done at this online magazine.
Being led out of the class room in the basement of Allen hall I heard an annoying humming sound from the water fountain. We are led to a old worn brown door. I thought I had looked at the janitors closet. I then noticed this is a very strange place due to all the stickers. One at the bottom door requesting for submissions for the Exquisite Corps, while the other one under the doorknob saying, "Welcome to the underground.
As we were led through the door the very cramped looking space turned out to be a semi large room. The lighting was very dim and the view outside was not the greatest. In fact there was no view just a 2 inch view to a cement wall. I then moved to a couch which nearly engulfed me as I sat in the couch. The couch had a checkered pattern of yellow and toffee color. I considered the couch the most comfortable couch ever. I then get a real glimpse of the room as I think, "Man that's a crap load of writing as I looked at the shelves which were stuffed to the teeth with writings submitted from others.
Looking at the wall I laughed as I though,"Man they are dedicated to this sense of Corpse." There were a smorgusborg of skulls. There were cow skulls, human skulls, skulls that were made into clocks, etc. The room was a horrible setting of new and antique things. On one side you had an old chair which seemed to be ripped form the colonial times and then a simple computer chair sitting next to it. A printer the size of a tv next to a new style monitor.
The tiles varied in colors, some looked smoker yellow, while others were bleach white. As I glimpsed at the desk I thought man these are some strange people seeing a stapler that could be considered a blunt weapon and an old filing system. As I left the room I felt like i left the cramped humid space into a nice and cool open area.
Mike Hayden Office As I walked towards the door of the exquisite corpse my eye became fixed on the treated glass of the window. Behind the window there were posters of what seemed to be like naked ladies but I wasn’t too sure, my eyes could have been playing tricks on me. Once we stepped inside I was surprised to see that there were pictures of naked ladies on the wall, sort of. The poster was actually a woman’s body with a skull face that was an advertisement for the Exquisite Corpse. After that strange sighting I began to have many more. Skeletons and skulls popped out at me all over the room. Skull clocks, skull posters, skull pictures, skeletons cut-outs, skeletons on desks, everywhere in every corner there were either skulls or skeletons. At first the skulls and skeletons were a little eerie but as time went on they became more interesting then awkward. The room was tiny and set up in a disorganized but organized manor. Stacks of paper completely took up the wall, and although they were all over the place and not in proper storage containers they still gave off a professional look, they all had at least been stacked neatly. Also there was a couple of file cabinets either saying that once there may have been attempt to file the stacks of paper that may have failed horribly or just maybe they were crammed with way more important stuff. Also a broom and a duster laid randomly in the room. The occupants must be pretty clean and tidy, because nothing in the room was to dirty. Another aspect that brought life to the room was the art of the room. Posters from the room’s magazine, the exquisite corpse, lay all over of the wall and give constant reminders what the room is for. Also there were paintings on the wall without picture frames but I’m pretty sure I found those frames behind one of the desks. An old fashioned type writer with a locket and an invitation to the 25th anniversary of the exquisite corpse had been placed on top of an old stool. Stickers that boo censorship can be found in the room along with some posters that I think were in German. This room would maybe make people leave and think whoever works in there is weird or maybe just has something wrong with him, which for all I know he may. However when I left this room I had many questions that I wanted to ask the owner, many of them just, why?
The Exquisite Corpse is found in the dark basement of Allen Hall. On the wooden door before entering, there are three stickers which state welcome to the underground, no censorship, and electronic submission. Upon walking in the room the first thing that catches your eye is mauve color, which makes the room dark and gloomy. There is an overwhelming amount of papers in cubbies on the walls. On one side of the room the papers are sorted by the dates of the issue, but to the opposite wall they appear to be randomly stuffed in there. Some are supported by cardboard to keep the papers from messing up, but some are just hanging over the sides. When taking a look around the room there are skulls everywhere. They even had a skull made that said Exquisite Corpse. Many random pictures hung on the walls of the room but none had picture frames. The frames seemed to be piled on the other side of the room in a corner. There was dust on everything, yet there was a broom and dustpan sitting against the wall ready to be used. There was paint chipped off the walls and missing tiles from the ceiling. Everything seemed to be unorganized and messy even though it was an office for an online magazine, which has to be highly organized.
Bianca Day Tyler Smith English 1001 The Exquisite Corpse Office The door looked old and eerie with random stickers in three odd places. Walking into the office I reminisced of the sticker that said “Welcome to the Underground.” The Exquisite Corpse office, in the basement of Allen Hall, had missing tiles, an old retro sofa, and many other random objects. Walking in I noticed there were organized paper issues to the left and rather unorganized issues to the right. Straight ahead, a window to an unpleasant view of nothing. I came across an older office chair that I sat in to observe this strange place. I noticed even more detail of how the organized paper issues looked older and well kept. Skulls and skeletons were hanging everywhere for different use. One made into a still clock and another hanging humorously at the top-left corner of the window. A poster advertising a novel and a weird poster with the saying “Warning: Spaying for fewer lizards to commence tonight. Take appropriate precautions.” Bizarre. Under this very odd poster, an old typewriter stayed with a picture of three old men in their bathing trunks. The walls are painted an unsightly color with random paintings hung. I then caught to my eye that there are no frames for these pictures except one picture that leans against the wall on a table. I get an overwhelming feeling of confusion in this place. When I turn in the spinning chair to look around I see someone’s desk. A stapler older than my grandmother, some papers filed in the corner, a blue vase and white coffee cop holding nothing but dust. Behind the old wooden desk were a few frames and Smirnoff bottles? This made me feel uneasy, but when I looked up to see an upside-down map, I just could not believe the feeling this room has given me. A collection of old Webster dictionaries, cassette tapes, jazz and blues book occupied the shelf next to the old wooden desk. Behind some of the cassettes looked like a huge unused Rolodex. No explanation for anything, why there were skulls and skeletons everywhere, tiles missing, and paint chips from the walls.
As we stood outside the door, which stood out the most from the other doors in the basement of Allen hall. The door had three stickers that said many different things, one under the door knob said “welcome to the underground.” The other two said “Don’t let others choose what you read,” and “Got an exquisite corpse submission?” When I entered the room, I felt a weird vibe that I have not felt from any other room. I took a seat on the golden couch, and I sank down deep, it felt uncomfortable. As I looked around I noticed many different and odd things such as the upside down map, and especially the painting on the wall. The painting on the wall seemed to picture some naked lady, which resembled the posted plastered all over the door. The image on the door showed a lady with a skull lying naked on the couch, which seemed odd. A clock also hung on the wall, well except the clock did not have numbers, but the word exquisite instead, which had no battery. An old type writer stood on the stand with a picture of 3 old men that looked like they just came from the spa. As I looked at the ceiling, I noticed multiple missing tiles, and that just add to the unique room. They were also ants on the desk, and there were copies of previous issues everywhere stack by stack. As I left the room, I felt like i had a new idea of what the exquisite corpse symbolized.
Passing by the Exquisite Corpse in the hallway, you probably would not think there was anything out the ordinary on the other side of the door. After you walk inside though, the dozens of skulls scattered throughout the room quickly changes your opinion. Bones are everywhere, a cow-skull clock hangs on one wall, and a “punching-skeleton” toy hang on another. Everything in the room seems old, some things like the typewriter may have been on purpose, but other things like the couch and desks were just “old”. Most of the things seemed to be broken aswell, a pencil sharpener and keyboard were missing parts, and the old computer monitors huddled in one corner suggested something must have been wrong. Ants crawled over the floor in single-file lines, spanning the width of the room just like the extension cords and surge –protectors. There were empty frames in one corner of the room collecting dust while a handful of posters pinned to the walls were not framed at all. Most of which were at least slightly disturbing. Some were advertisements for the Exquisite corpse, and pictured a nude woman with a skull in place of her head. There was a picture on the typewriter, of three old men, all of which were topless and had grey hair. The view from the only window in the room was a concrete wall only a few feet away. Overall the room gave off a disturbing vibe, death seemed to be everywhere.
As I turned the corner, almost to my destination, I come into view of a brigh blue building which has a sign that reads Northlake Dentist Associates. I walk up to the office building that looks more like a house than a business and open the glass door. I stepped into the waiting room where I was immediately greeted by a women dressed in blue scrums that sat behind the office desk. "Hello, how are you doing today?" she said as i walked up to the office window.
"Great, I'm here to shadow Dr. Allison today."
"Oh yes! You can come right on back. He is out at the moment on a run with friends that he runs with everyday. He should be back soon, but he said that you can start by just viewing other dentists who are working today."
I was then escourted through a door which let to the back where there are offices that line the hallways. The main hallway leads to a big room that is divided into "dentist cubicals" by old, rustic, wooden doors that are hung up by wires. I look around and notice that everyone in the room looks genuinlly happy to be there, which was a bit of a shock due to the fact that most people would much rather be doing anything else besides having to get their teeth cleaned.
I also notice picture frames that where about 30'' by 20'' that are hung throughout the room which are filled with pictures of a dentist who is very built, bald head, dressed in all army clothes with a mask that cover his mouth, and dentist toold on his hand working on a patients in what it looks like a jungle. The destist in those pictures are Dr. Allison; the man who I would be shadowing today.
Just upon entering into the office of “The Exquisite Corps” I analyzed to brown, run down door of the office. Half of the door is window that is being covered by white posters so no one can see inside of the office. My curiosity enhances with thoughts of what could be inside. On the dirty unkempt door there was a sticker that said, “Welcome to the Underground.” Laughing to myself after reading the sticker the teacher finally opens the door to the mysterious office.
As I sat down on the old, dust, 80’s designed couch, I glanced around the room. A poster of a women lying on her side, naked with different female body parts distorted and placing not in there respected location. I felt very disturbed after analyzing the poster of the women. Glancing around the room I see something very unusual and unique hanging on the wall. I spotted a skull of an animal which got turned into a clock which does not work because it is not a battery operated machine. Overlooking all the magazine issues that were tacked from the ground the ceiling on shelves in the office. The issues took over most of the office, leaving a little bit of space to place things. Disturbed by all of the skeleton heads on a small, dirty, used, run downed table, I look on the office desk to see owner decorated the desk. You can tell a lot about someone from the way they decorate and organized their desk. He had a scary statue of a skeleton coming out of a casket. Not impressed of what I saw, I decide to scope out the office to find more interesting objects. As I was looking directly down, underneath his desk, I found I large box of bottles of Vodka. Discovered all of these Vodka bottles make me wonder if he is a party alcohol lover. Leaving the desk I see an old typewriter collecting dust on top of a rusty, green, metal stole. The typewriter seems untouched and unused. To conclude the room, the paintings on the walls are very abstract, colorful and unframed. The different color of paint mix together to make the painting very colorful and different.
The Corpse Office I approached the strange dark brown door with a naked bone lady on front with curiosity. I could tell just by the front door with DeWitt’s name switched around and the sign with censorship crossed out that this room was going to be… interesting. Well, of course any room that has the name “Exquisite Corpse Office”, would provoke thoughts of something of a abnormality, but this room was very crazy. As I opened the door, the first thing that I noticed was that there was a plethora of skulls scattered across the office. There was a often reoccurrence of the naked bone lady poster all throughout the office as well. The room was painted a dark purplish color. I looked to my right and I was met by shelves on top of shelves filled with papers that stretched all the way down the wall until they were ended by a desk. The room seemed like a very well put together, but yet partially unorganized work of art, and expression. There were two paintings hanging on the right side, about 5 feet into the room above a table. There was a picture or a dead guy being eaten by two voltures also on that wall. Poetry Books, and dictionaries new, and old lay on a shelf right infront of the desk at the back of the room. There were new and old things displaced through out the room. For example there was a new computer, but there was an old type writer right next to it. There was also a rolodex in the shelf along with the poetry books and dictionaries. In front of the shelves full of papers laid a couch that seemed like maybe 1000 asses had made contact with its surface over its life time. The floor was dirty, there was a funny smell throughout the room, and there was a annoying buzzing sound that rang non-stop. Behind the desk at the back of the room was a poster of a Map. The map was upside down, but the letters were right side up. There was a non functional skull clock that read letters instead of numbers on it. The room had a “dead” vibe, which I’m 100% positive that’s what who ever made it was going for hint the name “Exquisite corpse office.”
17 comments:
Emily Julian
Exquisite Corps Office
As I walked up to the brown, wooden door of the Exquisite Corps Office, I saw three stickers which were shaped much like bumper stickers on a car. One of the stickers said “don’t let others choose what you read.” The other sticker towards the bottom of the door said “Got a submission? Welcome to the underground.” Before I even entered the door, I had a weird vibe about this place.
Taking a step inside, the first thing I noticed happened to be many issues. On one bookshelf, they were neatly organized by date of issue. On the other bookshelf, they were just thrown into piles in any order. The bookshelf didn’t look like total chaos though. In fact, the only reason I knew they weren’t in order of issue date was because of the color of the paper. In between many white issues lie a few issues that have a yellow tint to them. As I walk up to them, I can see that the older issues have cardboard around the covers of them. Were they more significant or important than the other issues?
Enough about the issues. As I continue to observe the room, I see many ancient items, some of which include old computer monitors, a broken typewriter, a piano keyboard with missing keys, and a really old stapler. I automatically assumed the stapler had to be that big in order to reach across the magazine and staple it together in the center.
The old, sofa that looked incredibly uncomfortable to sit on and the toy coffin with a skeleton coming out of it made me feel awkward in there. Skeletons were everywhere on the walls and on top of file cabinets. There were lots of empty frames behind the desk and a rubber band ball that lay on the corner with half of the rubber bands popped off. Oddly enough, there were pictures on the wall without frames around them. Why not put the empty frames to use?
On the ground behind the desk is a box that says publishing services. This must be where all the magic happens. Coincidentally there is a box of Smirnoff right next to it. I would need a few drinks too if I had to work in this place.
Peter Frost
In the basement of Allen Hall stands a dark brown door with a tacky white curtain covering the window that is placed in the center. Two stickers catch my eye. One is located on under the window that advocates anti-censorship. The other was on the doorknob that said Welcome to the Underground. Little did I realise that the message on the door would lead us into a place that seemed like something out of a Dali painting. the office had a musty smell with a humid feel to it. immediatly i couldn't help but noticed the thousands upon thousands of literary issues that took up three connected shelves to my right and a lonely shelf to my left. the literary issues to my left where neatly stacked and looked as if the material inside was just as underground and submersive as the office which they reside in. on the other shelf was a different story. literary magazines littered the shelves, as if they were crammed into there without much thought. Some were older with brown covering the pages, along with dust. There were some stacks, held up by a single piece of cardboard. I didn't understand why certain groups had them while others remained hanging over the side of the shelf. there were novels of poetry on the shelves closest to the the work desk that taught about chinese poetry and military vehicles.
there were few instances of artwork one of which was an abstract piece that contained green, blue, and brown colors in swirled chaos. to the bottom of that was a painting of several men of which i could not determine as to who they were. several of the works were unframed which crossed my mind as odd since there were so many frames that could have done the job. dark humor came out from other works as well such as a woman showing off her thong on a bike, an upside down map of the world, and a man being pecked by vultures.
the thing that startled me the most were the bullskulls that littered the room. even the clock, which did not work, was a bullskull that had custom made wording around it that read Exquisite Corps the name of the liteary magazine that was kept alive in these walls.
the only modern thing that was in the office was a Dell computer as well as a printer. the lonely typewriter that sat beside the desk made me think that he was not willing to change to the modern real world. such was the case to find in the underground
As I walked up to the old wooden door of the Exquisite Corpse office, my body overcame a feeling of shock. As we stopped in front of the door, I unexpectedly stared with confusion. I would have never guessed the Exquisite Corpse office to be located in the basement of Allen Hall just down the hall from English class. At first I even though Tyler was joking when we stopped at what I thought was just another classroom. I pass that door nearly ten times a week, and never realized its significance. As I took a closer look at the unique stickers randomly placed on the door, I could only imagine what would be inside.
As I first entered the office, the wall of old issues quickly grabbed my attention. These issues were arranged with just a slight bit of organization. Some stacks more neatly on the shelves then others, but not at all what you would consider a disaster. This small room, filled with places to sit, had an old sunken in couch that looked to be taken right off the set of “That 70’s show”. This brightly colored grungy couch sat in front of the wall of old issues clearly looking to have gotten quite a lot of use in the past few years. There were also many other chairs in the room, all of which looked as if they had been randomly bought at garage sales throughout the years.
This randomly put together room actually seamed to be a comfortable place to work. The dark walls and comfy couch provided a relaxing atmosphere. The sculls which seamed to cover the walls and desktops in every corner of the room did make me feel a little awkward. You could inquire that these sculls were in relation to the company name, Exquisite Corpse.
The office had a ‘dorm room’ type feel. The missing ceiling tiles and dusty desktops showed they did not get the chance to keep the place looking new. There were also a stack of large old books, possibly dictionaries or encyclopedias, providing support for a desk missing a few legs. In one corner of the room lie an old keyboard, computer monitor, and printer just collecting dust. Unframed, abstract art and more random stickers covered the ugly pinkish beige walls. This randomly put together room surprisingly seamed to be very laid back, nothing of what I expected the Exquisite Corpse office to be.
Khalil Hamed
Exquisite Corpse Office
Before I walked into the small dingy Exquisite Corpse Office which can be found in the basement of Allen Hall, I noticed the different stickers that covered the door. DeWitt Brinson’s name has been written backwards on the door since he moved into the office.
When I decided to walk in, I first noticed that there were exquisite corpse essays that covered the bookshelves that had been lined up against the walls. Many things in the room seemed random and out of place. Skulls, posters, and different unframed artwork covered the walls of the office, which gives everyone who walks in a sense of death. Like the room itself, the contents of the office are very old. The floor and ceiling are both missing tiles. Old computer monitors, cassette tapes, frequently used furniture, and even a typewriter are scattered throughout the room. The office is poorly lit by three florescent lights, and no light from outside enters the somewhat creepy office. The noisy water fountain right outside of the door gave the room a strange feeling as well.
The walls are painted in an ugly burgundy color and the trim in black. It seems as though the office has been used as a storage room since boxes and random items have been thrown into the small room. The fact that the trash-can had been completely empty, and a duster and broom were placed in the corner of the room seemed strange to me since the room feels like a little cleaning and organizing could be done.
Kirsten McDowell
The Exquisite Corps Office
“The Exquisite Corps,” a very strange name for an online magazine. Before entering the office a person can derive an idea of the magazine and people who write in the magazine. The door contains three stickers each stating something different. A large bumper sticker placed directly in the middle of the door reads “CENSORSHIP Don’t let others choose what you can read.” Another sticker can be found on the base of the door knob, “Welcome to the underground.” And, at the very bottom of the door one can find a print out stating the requirements of all submissions to the magazine. The door includes a glass window, covered by print outs of the magazine cover.
If a person with any type of OCD were to walk into this room they would surely experience a melt down of great proportions. Papers fill the bookshelves in a disorderly fashion. The old issues are stacked high, and packed into any open space possible. In front of one of the bookcases sits a “germafobe’s” worst nightmare, an old beat up couch. The faded orange and brown couch almost eats a person alive when they bravely choose to sit down.
Like the door, the walls of the office are plastered with stickers, print-outs, and artwork some covering the chipping paint from the walls. One especially caught my eye, “WARNING spraying for sewer lizards to commence tonight.” A painting was tacked onto the wall not far from this print-out. Oddly, any artwork on the walls remained unframed, but half a dozen empty frames lay propped up against the wall. Above these empty frames, an up side down map clings to the wall.
Skulls and skeletons decorate the room, some in a more humorous way. A tiny skeleton hangs from an electrical pipe. He wears a dirty children’s sock for a beanie and a sign reading, “Poet.”
On the ceiling tiles have vanished leaving behind empty squares and the spots of glue meant to hold them there. Also, if one looks close enough they may notice a small bar code sticker stuck to the ceiling, for safe keeping.
An old keyboard lies against one wall. The keyboard can no longer be used; five of the keys are crudely broken in half. Near this keyboard sits a broom. The broom does not seem to be used by the looks of the stained yellow, once white, tile floor. However, the dust and dirt which covers the bristles would say other wise.
Surprisingly, the inside of the door only contains one accessory, the print-outs of the magazine cover, on the window. The window can not be used to see through. This door cuts off the office from the outside world of logic, which the office so joyfully lacks.
Ngoc Huynh
“We’re going to visit the Exquisite Corps office.” Tyler said. What in the world can Exquisite Corps be? I thought it was going to be a museum type office with real corps behind glass, or some type of exhibit of skeletons of animals and humans. I was completely off. Turns out, the exquisite Corps office is Dewitt’s writing office located in the basement (room number 26) of Allen Hall.
Before entering the office, the old dark wooden door caught my attention. Stickers attempted to cover large cracks and scratches towards the bottom half of the door. I noticed a large rectangular bumper sticker that read “ Don’t let others choose what you can read.” A tiny sticker on the door knob read “Welcome to the Underground.” The top half of the door was glass that was a little bit see through. The reflection of dim lighting allowed me to make out a tiled poster of what I thought was a nude woman laying on her side. To the left of the door, hangs a laminated sign with DeWitt’s name printed backwards and not capitalized correctly. The mistake is corrected with a snake like symbol and three lines to capitalize the W in his last name.
When I entered the “office”, the air thickened, the smell reminded me of a library or Home Depot. My eyes automatically noticed the entire right wall of papers, stacks of articles, piles of newspaper, and boxes of letters. They were all sort of chaotically organized. I sunk into the small, ancient tan-orange sofa while glancing at the room in curiosity. In the corner of the room scattered old dusty computer monitors, ancient printers, cardboard boxes, and a keyboard with missing discolored keys. This cluttered room barely gave any space to walk. The dusty dark wooden furniture consisted of two spacious desks, and old, cracked wooden chair, and a thick pale blue rolling computer chair. On the desks contained a black flat screen Dell computer, a large black printer, a permanent marker, a large silver stapler, and many more miscellaneous items. The depressing chipped colored walls along with the many skull and skeleton decorations gave off a creepy vibe. Some main wall decorations consisted of a bone clock with Exquisite Corps written in a font that one may mistaken for roman numerals. Another main wall attraction was a blown up poster of the nude woman with a skeletal face laying on her side and an abstract painting that could be anything you want it to be. To the left of the large paining hung a mini poster of a girl showing her undergarments on a bike that read, “Lekker Doen (“Let’s get dangerous”).
Towards the back of the office, showed an “amazing view” of a rusty, stained concrete wall blocking any sunlight from entering the room. The dim lighting fixtures blocked many missing stained tiles from the ceiling, where may have caused leaks to tarnish the tiled floor. The Exquisite Corps office is not what you would expect, but it does say a lot about DeWitt’s style and personality.
Claire Dore
Exquisite Corpse Office
In the basement of Allen Hall, where there are mostly classrooms, there is one door which you have probably never been behind. It is an old wooden door with a large window in the middle, which is covered up by something on the other side. There is a sticker right below that on the door that looks like a car bumpersticker. It favored anti-censorship, and stated "Don't let others chose what you can read." Above the brass, early 1900's door knob was a tiny sticker that said, "Welcome to the Underground." Little did I know what was behind that door.
As I walked in the room I got almost a creapy feeling. It was very musty, with faded burgandy walls, and a slightly larger room than a jail cell. Bookshelves line the walls and house old issues of the "Exquisite Corpse." On the bookshelf to my left all of the magazines are organized with date stickers underneath, but to my right the magazines seem out of order. There were some stacks that look as if they have yellowed over time and are mixed in with stacks that look only about a year old. Also, there was cardboard underneath some of the stacks, while the without are falling over the edge of the bookshelf.
The room was decorated with skulls and skeletons. There is a broken skull, that was turned into a clock, hanging on the wall. Althoug, it doesn't work because it doesn't have any batteries. The walls were full of weird pictures that were hanging without frames, one of which was a world map upside down. I found that odd due to the pile of empty frames hidden behind a desk.
The furniture in the room looked as old as the room itself. There were three desks and a few chairs, on of which was broken. It looked like left over furniture that the university didn't want to throw away. In front of one of the bookshelves there was a couch that is so worn in you sink into it when you sit down.
The whole room was dirty. The white speckled floors had black all over them. There were tiles missing from the ceiling. A yellow duster lies on one of the bookshelves, but not much cleaning takes place. Also, there were ants all over one of the desks.
The room looked more like it was supposed to house junk, rather than to be an office. There were old computers and a printer piled up in the corner of the room and a keyboard with missing keys. In another corner, there was a typewritter sitting on top of an old metal stool. More paintings and a mardi gras mask were placed by the window, which had a view of a cement wall. On one of the desks there were office supplies, which seemed normal, except for the old rubberband ball with broken rubberbands. All in all, I'm not sure how much of anything gets done at this online magazine.
Being led out of the class room in the basement of Allen hall I heard an annoying humming sound from the water fountain. We are led to a old worn brown door. I thought I had looked at the janitors closet. I then noticed this is a very strange place due to all the stickers. One at the bottom door requesting for submissions for the Exquisite Corps, while the other one under the doorknob saying, "Welcome to the underground.
As we were led through the door the very cramped looking space turned out to be a semi large room. The lighting was very dim and the view outside was not the greatest. In fact there was no view just a 2 inch view to a cement wall. I then moved to a couch which nearly engulfed me as I sat in the couch. The couch had a checkered pattern of yellow and toffee color. I considered the couch the most comfortable couch ever. I then get a real glimpse of the room as I think, "Man that's a crap load of writing as I looked at the shelves which were stuffed to the teeth with writings submitted from others.
Looking at the wall I laughed as I though,"Man they are dedicated to this sense of Corpse." There were a smorgusborg of skulls. There were cow skulls, human skulls, skulls that were made into clocks, etc. The room was a horrible setting of new and antique things. On one side you had an old chair which seemed to be ripped form the colonial times and then a simple computer chair sitting next to it. A printer the size of a tv next to a new style monitor.
The tiles varied in colors, some looked smoker yellow, while others were bleach white. As I glimpsed at the desk I thought man these are some strange people seeing a stapler that could be considered a blunt weapon and an old filing system. As I left the room I felt like i left the cramped humid space into a nice and cool open area.
Mike Hayden
Office
As I walked towards the door of the exquisite corpse my eye became fixed on the treated glass of the window. Behind the window there were posters of what seemed to be like naked ladies but I wasn’t too sure, my eyes could have been playing tricks on me. Once we stepped inside I was surprised to see that there were pictures of naked ladies on the wall, sort of. The poster was actually a woman’s body with a skull face that was an advertisement for the Exquisite Corpse. After that strange sighting I began to have many more. Skeletons and skulls popped out at me all over the room. Skull clocks, skull posters, skull pictures, skeletons cut-outs, skeletons on desks, everywhere in every corner there were either skulls or skeletons. At first the skulls and skeletons were a little eerie but as time went on they became more interesting then awkward.
The room was tiny and set up in a disorganized but organized manor. Stacks of paper completely took up the wall, and although they were all over the place and not in proper storage containers they still gave off a professional look, they all had at least been stacked neatly. Also there was a couple of file cabinets either saying that once there may have been attempt to file the stacks of paper that may have failed horribly or just maybe they were crammed with way more important stuff. Also a broom and a duster laid randomly in the room. The occupants must be pretty clean and tidy, because nothing in the room was to dirty.
Another aspect that brought life to the room was the art of the room. Posters from the room’s magazine, the exquisite corpse, lay all over of the wall and give constant reminders what the room is for. Also there were paintings on the wall without picture frames but I’m pretty sure I found those frames behind one of the desks. An old fashioned type writer with a locket and an invitation to the 25th anniversary of the exquisite corpse had been placed on top of an old stool. Stickers that boo censorship can be found in the room along with some posters that I think were in German.
This room would maybe make people leave and think whoever works in there is weird or maybe just has something wrong with him, which for all I know he may. However when I left this room I had many questions that I wanted to ask the owner, many of them just, why?
Hannah Cavalier
The Exquisite Corpse is found in the dark basement of Allen Hall. On the wooden door before entering, there are three stickers which state welcome to the underground, no censorship, and electronic submission. Upon walking in the room the first thing that catches your eye is mauve color, which makes the room dark and gloomy. There is an overwhelming amount of papers in cubbies on the walls. On one side of the room the papers are sorted by the dates of the issue, but to the opposite wall they appear to be randomly stuffed in there. Some are supported by cardboard to keep the papers from messing up, but some are just hanging over the sides.
When taking a look around the room there are skulls everywhere. They even had a skull made that said Exquisite Corpse. Many random pictures hung on the walls of the room but none had picture frames. The frames seemed to be piled on the other side of the room in a corner. There was dust on everything, yet there was a broom and dustpan sitting against the wall ready to be used. There was paint chipped off the walls and missing tiles from the ceiling. Everything seemed to be unorganized and messy even though it was an office for an online magazine, which has to be highly organized.
Bianca Day
Tyler Smith
English 1001
The Exquisite Corpse Office
The door looked old and eerie with random stickers in three odd places. Walking into the office I reminisced of the sticker that said “Welcome to the Underground.” The Exquisite Corpse office, in the basement of Allen Hall, had missing tiles, an old retro sofa, and many other random objects. Walking in I noticed there were organized paper issues to the left and rather unorganized issues to the right. Straight ahead, a window to an unpleasant view of nothing. I came across an older office chair that I sat in to observe this strange place.
I noticed even more detail of how the organized paper issues looked older and well kept. Skulls and skeletons were hanging everywhere for different use. One made into a still clock and another hanging humorously at the top-left corner of the window. A poster advertising a novel and a weird poster with the saying “Warning: Spaying for fewer lizards to commence tonight. Take appropriate precautions.” Bizarre. Under this very odd poster, an old typewriter stayed with a picture of three old men in their bathing trunks. The walls are painted an unsightly color with random paintings hung. I then caught to my eye that there are no frames for these pictures except one picture that leans against the wall on a table. I get an overwhelming feeling of confusion in this place.
When I turn in the spinning chair to look around I see someone’s desk. A stapler older than my grandmother, some papers filed in the corner, a blue vase and white coffee cop holding nothing but dust. Behind the old wooden desk were a few frames and Smirnoff bottles? This made me feel uneasy, but when I looked up to see an upside-down map, I just could not believe the feeling this room has given me. A collection of old Webster dictionaries, cassette tapes, jazz and blues book occupied the shelf next to the old wooden desk. Behind some of the cassettes looked like a huge unused Rolodex. No explanation for anything, why there were skulls and skeletons everywhere, tiles missing, and paint chips from the walls.
As we stood outside the door, which stood out the most from the other doors in the basement of Allen hall. The door had three stickers that said many different things, one under the door knob said “welcome to the underground.” The other two said “Don’t let others choose what you read,” and “Got an exquisite corpse submission?” When I entered the room, I felt a weird vibe that I have not felt from any other room. I took a seat on the golden couch, and I sank down deep, it felt uncomfortable. As I looked around I noticed many different and odd things such as the upside down map, and especially the painting on the wall. The painting on the wall seemed to picture some naked lady, which resembled the posted plastered all over the door. The image on the door showed a lady with a skull lying naked on the couch, which seemed odd. A clock also hung on the wall, well except the clock did not have numbers, but the word exquisite instead, which had no battery. An old type writer stood on the stand with a picture of 3 old men that looked like they just came from the spa. As I looked at the ceiling, I noticed multiple missing tiles, and that just add to the unique room. They were also ants on the desk, and there were copies of previous issues everywhere stack by stack. As I left the room, I felt like i had a new idea of what the exquisite corpse symbolized.
Passing by the Exquisite Corpse in the hallway, you probably would not think there was anything out the ordinary on the other side of the door. After you walk inside though, the dozens of skulls scattered throughout the room quickly changes your opinion. Bones are everywhere, a cow-skull clock hangs on one wall, and a “punching-skeleton” toy hang on another. Everything in the room seems old, some things like the typewriter may have been on purpose, but other things like the couch and desks were just “old”. Most of the things seemed to be broken aswell, a pencil sharpener and keyboard were missing parts, and the old computer monitors huddled in one corner suggested something must have been wrong. Ants crawled over the floor in single-file lines, spanning the width of the room just like the extension cords and surge –protectors. There were empty frames in one corner of the room collecting dust while a handful of posters pinned to the walls were not framed at all. Most of which were at least slightly disturbing. Some were advertisements for the Exquisite corpse, and pictured a nude woman with a skull in place of her head. There was a picture on the typewriter, of three old men, all of which were topless and had grey hair. The view from the only window in the room was a concrete wall only a few feet away. Overall the room gave off a disturbing vibe, death seemed to be everywhere.
As I turned the corner, almost to my destination, I come into view of a brigh blue building which has a sign that reads Northlake Dentist Associates. I walk up to the office building that looks more like a house than a business and open the glass door. I stepped into the waiting room where I was immediately greeted by a women dressed in blue scrums that sat behind the office desk. "Hello, how are you doing today?" she said as i walked up to the office window.
"Great, I'm here to shadow Dr. Allison today."
"Oh yes! You can come right on back. He is out at the moment on a run with friends that he runs with everyday. He should be back soon, but he said that you can start by just viewing other dentists who are working today."
I was then escourted through a door which let to the back where there are offices that line the hallways. The main hallway leads to a big room that is divided into "dentist cubicals" by old, rustic, wooden doors that are hung up by wires. I look around and notice that everyone in the room looks genuinlly happy to be there, which was a bit of a shock due to the fact that most people would much rather be doing anything else besides having to get their teeth cleaned.
I also notice picture frames that where about 30'' by 20'' that are hung throughout the room which are filled with pictures of a dentist who is very built, bald head, dressed in all army clothes with a mask that cover his mouth, and dentist toold on his hand working on a patients in what it looks like a jungle.
The destist in those pictures are Dr. Allison; the man who I would be shadowing today.
Just upon entering into the office of “The Exquisite Corps” I analyzed to brown, run down door of the office. Half of the door is window that is being covered by white posters so no one can see inside of the office. My curiosity enhances with thoughts of what could be inside. On the dirty unkempt door there was a sticker that said, “Welcome to the Underground.” Laughing to myself after reading the sticker the teacher finally opens the door to the mysterious office.
As I sat down on the old, dust, 80’s designed couch, I glanced around the room. A poster of a women lying on her side, naked with different female body parts distorted and placing not in there respected location. I felt very disturbed after analyzing the poster of the women. Glancing around the room I see something very unusual and unique hanging on the wall. I spotted a skull of an animal which got turned into a clock which does not work because it is not a battery operated machine. Overlooking all the magazine issues that were tacked from the ground the ceiling on shelves in the office. The issues took over most of the office, leaving a little bit of space to place things. Disturbed by all of the skeleton heads
on a small, dirty, used, run downed table, I look on the office desk to see owner decorated the desk. You can tell a lot about someone from the way they decorate and organized their desk. He had a scary statue of a skeleton coming out of a casket. Not impressed of what I saw, I decide to scope out the office to find more interesting objects. As I was looking directly down, underneath his desk, I found I large box of bottles of Vodka. Discovered all of these Vodka bottles make me wonder if he is a party alcohol lover. Leaving the desk I see an old typewriter collecting dust on top of a rusty, green, metal stole. The typewriter seems untouched and unused.
To conclude the room, the paintings on the walls are very abstract, colorful and unframed. The different color of paint mix together to make the painting very colorful and different.
Tyler!
I accidently pasted both of mine in the other blog and I just noticed!
SORRRY!!!!
The Corpse Office
I approached the strange dark brown door with a naked bone lady on front with curiosity. I could tell just by the front door with DeWitt’s name switched around and the sign with censorship crossed out that this room was going to be… interesting. Well, of course any room that has the name “Exquisite Corpse Office”, would provoke thoughts of something of a abnormality, but this room was very crazy. As I opened the door, the first thing that I noticed was that there was a plethora of skulls scattered across the office. There was a often reoccurrence of the naked bone lady poster all throughout the office as well. The room was painted a dark purplish color. I looked to my right and I was met by shelves on top of shelves filled with papers that stretched all the way down the wall until they were ended by a desk. The room seemed like a very well put together, but yet partially unorganized work of art, and expression. There were two paintings hanging on the right side, about 5 feet into the room above a table. There was a picture or a dead guy being eaten by two voltures also on that wall. Poetry Books, and dictionaries new, and old lay on a shelf right infront of the desk at the back of the room. There were new and old things displaced through out the room. For example there was a new computer, but there was an old type writer right next to it. There was also a rolodex in the shelf along with the poetry books and dictionaries. In front of the shelves full of papers laid a couch that seemed like maybe 1000 asses had made contact with its surface over its life time. The floor was dirty, there was a funny smell throughout the room, and there was a annoying buzzing sound that rang non-stop. Behind the desk at the back of the room was a poster of a Map. The map was upside down, but the letters were right side up. There was a non functional skull clock that read letters instead of numbers on it. The room had a “dead” vibe, which I’m 100% positive that’s what who ever made it was going for hint the name “Exquisite corpse office.”
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