Pour yourself something: Tea, coffee, an energy drink or one of those probiotic drink things. I’m having a finger of bourbon. Elijah Craig barrel proof if you’re asking.
Hold your drink up…
Here’s to unknown ventures, and cautionary tales. CLINK
Shape here. Welcome to day zero. Building Shapeshyfter and Haus of Soul on open forum for everyones entertainment and education.
Haus of Soul reader,
I can hear you wondering whats the deal with the fabricated image just above?
I’ve always carried a torch for old tales made new.
Back in the 19th century bored and curious New Yorkers wandered sometimes on a whim through those hallowed black and white double doors.
P.T. Barnum's freak house where annoyingly weird and bearded people with large feet and felonies performed freakish performances for wandering imaginations.
PT Barnum and friend
Barnum built his uniquely faceted world brick and mortar by brick and sawdust. A strange house of lions, elephants and WOWZERS.
Passerbyers wondered “What cockamamie foolishness is P.T up to now?”
Barnum was many things
Business Man
Entertainer
Conman
Grifter
A charlatan who convinced common working stiffs that animals, clowns and obvious lies were worth two small coins. Big money, those days.
“No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else” - PT Barnum
400 years before Barnum
15th century
Folks shorter than us, skinnier than us, dressed like renaissance era druids in linen and chenille — insatiably curious fans of fine art, formally known as Romans wandered like herded Swifties into Santa Maria delle Grazie, where Leonardo da Vinci painted dinner.
Yes—dinner. Leo painted The Last Supper veeerrry slowly. He had no other place to be apparently.
Church custodians making a whopping one brass coin an hour set up bleachers for da Vinci’s underwear throwing fans to plop their barely-padded bums on.
He painted.
He rambled like a daytime talkshow host.
Romans watched in awe.
I wonder if he hummed? Tapped his feet? I wonder if he chatted about church gossip and shadow theory and spicy ragu or whatever genius things geniuses mumble while covered in paint.
Da Vinci and that nut job Barnum had their workplace. They too made work publicly, on open forum. Curious parties observed, marveled and learned.
Welcome to my interpretation of working publicly. A public space for curious ones to wonder, wander and dwell. I call it Haus of Soul… You’ll find out why later.
— Shape
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