surreal eden: edward james and his las pozas

I've posted about

Edward James 

before,

but I didn't show that many shots of

Las Pozas

his utterly unique

and mad concrete garden in the middle of the 

mountains of the Sierra Madre.

We'll get to the garden in a moment,

but first I have to show a shot

of his gorgeous wife

Tilly Losch.

Things didn't go so well with their marriage;

he liked men as well as women, and she, well, she REALLY liked the men,

having numerous affairs on James, which finally lead him to divorce her.

She countersued,

claiming he was a homosexual,

but lost.

When James and Tilly

were married, these stairs

had a carpet woven of her wet footprints.

The spiral staircase led from the bath into the bedroom.

After their bitter divorce,

Edward had the footprints changed to those of his dog...

Edward James

by

Man Ray

1937

Edward's "guide" in Mexico

Plutarco Gastelum Esquer.

He "guided" 

Edward for decades, and was the most important 

relationship of his life.

Edwards with a worker at a waterfall.

Why is the worker nude you ask?

Well, it's hot in Mexico...

and Edward preferred his workers to work nude,

which they happily did as Edward was

a generous and extremely rich boss.

Now that's a poncho Matt!

Edwards at the "El Capitan" waterfall.

Carpenter's workshop

with molds for concrete structures.

Worker's repairing storm damage.

Edward next to a pool shaped like and eye.

Mr. James atop his concrete sarcophagus.

Ok....

In his sedan chair after an accident.

I need to find out what his trusty bird's name was....

On the steps of the

"Bamboo Palace"

Dig that getup.

Wild Man James!

This structure was to house birds.

"Cornucopia forms on Gothic construction"

"Structure with a roof shaped like a whale"

"House of Don Eduardo"

"Stairway to the Sky"

Viewed from the road to Las Pozas.

Concrete Serpents line a pathway.

Crazy columns

Sculpture of

Plutarco's hands....

"Flying Buttresses, Las Pozas style."

"Bamboo Palace"

'Stairway to the Sky"

"Fleur de Lys Bridge"

The narrow door on the left was Edward's private entrance.

"Fountain in Plaza San Isidro"

"Columns and Bromeliad sculpture in 'House of Don Eduardo'"

"Cinema structure with double staircase"

Nice

Amazing concrete and iron doors

"House of Plants" sculpture

"Little yellow column at mouth of artificial cave"

Dig the painted rocks. 

"Variation on the many trefoil forms

used in structures at Las Pozas"

"Wall with plump pillars and corn motifs"

Freak Show in the mist!

"Columns with bulbous capitals"

"Fountain detail in Plaza San Isidro"

Misty Magic Mountain

Detail of a concrete serpent

Lower waterfall near entrance to Las Pozas

"House of Peristyles"

Edward James

1907-1984

An amazing, rich, super freak!

I still don't know the name of his Macaw....

UPDATE:

Hadrian is his name,

hangin' with Edward was his/her game....

More 

here.

I highly recommend this book:

"Surreal Eden

Edward James and Las Pozas"

by Margaret Hooks.