pictures from kathryn's lry archives

Con Con '81

“a picture is worth 9 hundred and 99 questions...”

kathryn, august 1981
photo by vonnie hicks

“On the road again...”

Tom Bier, Peter Nichols, Keith Knost and Kathryn Price, at a campground somewhere between New Hampshire and Missouri, July '81.
photo by kathryn, with the camera on a timer and propped up on the picnic table
(click on photo for a sharper version)

So the four of us, and a summer-tour's worth of stuff, wedged ourselves into Tom's little car and sped off across the Continental U.S., with Kraftwerk's Autobahn surging from the speakers. It was hot and cramped in there, but we kept our senses of humour. The two of us in the back seat tried to stretch out and sleep in a tangle of limbs and luggage (like that was going to work!), or scrawl in our journals, or watch the flatlands scroll by. I think Tom drove for almost the entire trip, with Peter up in front navigating. By the time this picture was taken we'd been on the road for awhile. The ranger at this campground gave us an informative little booklet on bats, which Keith is holding in his mouth. Note “warm fuzzy” on backpack.

“So, tab ‘a’ goes in slot ‘b’? Is this how I do it? Can someone help me with this?”

Keith and Tom attempt to grok the tent poles. July '81.
photo by kathryn (who was laughing so hard she was barely able to take the picture).

Trying to set up the tent proved confusing. I was laughing so hard I could barely stand up. Peter transcribed some of the surreal dialogue. But of course when we printed it as personals no one else got it. I guess you had to be there.

“Like a dream in the night / Who can say where we're going...”

Peter drives for a while. Somewhere in the Midwest, Summer '81
photo by kathryn

This was my view for much of that summer. Not the best picture (didn't we ever wash the windshield?), but thought I'd memorialize it, since it burned its way into my 17yr old brain. Things started to get way surreal by this point (too much time driving in the flatlands will do that to you... especially when you're cramped in a little car). Note iridescent LRY button. And what is that nuclear-green glow coming off Peter,anyway? “...scoot over, Keith, I'm trying to take a picture...”

“you and me writing letters, on our wall...”

kathryn and keith at cabin #9. august '81
i'm not sure who took this picture... maybe tom? or peter? or tanzy?
(click on photo to zoom in)

We were among the first to arrive. So we picked a cabin (number nine, of course). Keith had the idea of posting the big 51 on the side, which is ironic, given that most of the people who later filled the cabin were not in the 51st. By the time Brian and most of the 51st people got there, our cabin was full and they wound up in the cabin next door, or further back in the woods, in the infamous “Bombout Shelter" (a decrepit, but private, retreat of which most of the camp was unaware). But cabin designations began to break down as the week progressed... “we sleep wherever we fall...”

“I'm caught in a crossfire / that I don't understand...”

rosina, brian and kathryn, in the glare of the flash. august, '81
photo courtesy brian oelberg

“The Judging”

mr. ugly contest at con con, august 1981
photo by brian oelberg

The Contestants: Bruce? (in tanzy's clothes) ; Rufus?! (in demure kerchief and denim skirt) ; Katie? (with mustache) ; Keith (winner of “best evening gown” - in kathryn's rocky horror clothes!) ; ? ; ? ; The Winner - Mr. Ugly, 1981 - Chris (and his “safe” cucumber! - i think it's the talent that cinched it) ; Andrew (and his, um, talent) ; ? ; Jenny (mustache, groping) ; ? ; and Lonny in his braids (showing the judges some leg).

And the barely-visible audience in the shadows: Steve? Amy (in hat), ? , Mark, and the back of kathryn's head.

Group Shot, Con Con '81, Camp Dericotte, Missouri.

Click on photo for enlarged version

half-tone photo probably by vonnie hicks

Con Con was definitely small that year, though not quite as small as this picture would indicate. Here we are with Tom's “Continental” banner.
tech note: since I scanned this one in from a half-tone print, it wasn't possible to get the image quality you'd get from a normal print. If the moiré patterns are really obnoxious on your screen, try viewing the image at different sizes till you get the one that's cleanest.

We shot a couple different group pictures over the week, but some people always seemed to miss the shoots. My favorite was the infamous Nude Wink Pool Party photo. But we figured getting reprint permission from everyone in the photo would be difficult now that so many years have passed. Everyone in the nude photo consented to having their photo taken for the yearbook -- after all, the call had gone out, “get in the pool for the yearbook photo, everyone!” and people had complied by tossing off their clothes and joining us. So I went ahead and pasted up the nude photo in the Con Con yearbook. But after I finished pasteup and collapsed from lack of sleep, others came and replaced the nude photo with this “official” one. (The argument being that we shouldn't look so wild “since Common Ground was coming up.” Oh. Sure. Like it really would have made any difference at that point.) Oh well. Perhaps if I get permission from enough people, I can at least post an excerpt of it at some point.

So, once again, I didn't take any pictures once the conference got going - only travelling to and from the conference, and before anyone else got there. I was just too wrapped up in what was going on to remember. And so much of the time I was dancing or running around and just didn't want to have to think about it. Thankfully, others took pictures during the conference....

for more con con 81 photos see:
hillevi's con con '81 photos and dave caputo's photo pages

next page: Tacos on Tour: Summer '81 and Common Ground

soundtrack: through the mists of time and memory
side three: “i could feel at the time / there was no way of knowing”
june '81 - august 9, '81:
broken arrow - robbie robertson w/ peter gabriel - (soundclip)
because the night - patti smith
talk to me - iam siam
foolish games - jewel
babelogue/rock-n-roll nigger - patti smith
head on - jesus and mary chain
alabama song - the doors
wooden ships - jefferson airplane
two of us - lennon / mccartney - (streaming audio)
more than this - roxy music - (soundfile)
marone moan - human sexual response
kingdom of rain - the the - (soundfile)

pictures from kathryn's lry archives
picture index & soundtrack notes
the midwest, fall '79 - summer '80 | office and villa, fall '80 | joe taco's housewarming party, fall '80
spring '81 | star island '81 and villa afterwards | con con '81 | tacos on tour, summer '81
fall of '81 | cog in the eighties | the tribe(s) in the nineties and beyond
how i wound up doing this site

Copyright on all contributions belongs to the individual artists.
(In cases where photographer is unknown, I have listed the copyright to the person who owns the print, to the best of my knowlege, in order to legally protect our rights as the photographers and subjects.)
All text copyright ©1981-1999 kathryn price theatana & kpt/katharsis ink
Site copyright ©1999 kathryn price theatana for big electric celt productions
kathryn@bandia.net