 |
"Intruder: junk mail collage
|
Want music?
Click here: Al Jarreau, Mornin'
then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?
2GN2S ...
Pioneering newspaper publisher
She was a pioneering newspaper publisher in a room full of men. In history, she wasn't alone. The wood-walled conference room has a sterile quality, and the men in
muted suits seated around the wide central table are eerily alike, as if
duplicated. But this photograph of a high-level corporate meeting has
one outlier -- a woman with short, curled hair seated on the far left.
She lines up perfectly with the group's symmetry, but she's conspicuous
in her jewel-toned blue dress, her bare legs visible below the hem. Taken in New York City in 1975, the portrait of the former Washington
Post publisher and eventual CEO, Katharine Graham, is just one of
countless images that follow a similar visual formula: the only woman in
a composition of men.
"The Only Woman" is the culmination of a years-long research project
that Humes worked on after making a visual connection between two
images. The first was a 1962 photo of American filmmaker Shirley Clarke,
who was often (incorrectly) noted as the only female filmmaker of her
time, central in a ring of male creative types. The second was a 1951
group portrait of 15 famous abstract expressionist artists -- including Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko -- with a single woman, artist Hedda Sterne, in the back, standing on top of a table. Humes explained in a phone call that she became "obsessed" with the
image of Clarke. "What was it like for her? What difference did it make
in her life that she was the 'only woman?'"
 |
| Filmmaker Shirley Clarke, 1962 in NYC catalyzed Humes' book "The Only Woman." |
Soon, Humes couldn't un-see the pattern, finding photos of "the same
constellation" everywhere, she said. She collected images of scientists,
comedy writers, athletes and politicians, among many others, from the
mid-19th century, when photography was popularized, until today.
The
picture of Graham intrigued her because of the image's history. The
formidable publisher had inherited the Washington Post after her father
and husband both died. She never thought the role would fall on her, but helmed the newspaper during an era of
momentous reporting, publishing both the Pentagon Papers and
investigations into former President Nixon's administration that would
lead to his resignation. She became the newspaper's first female
publisher and, later, CEO. She was also the first woman elected to the
board of directors at the Associated Press -- the group she was seated
with in this particular image.
"She's
obviously being honored by being put in the front," Humes said. "In
this case...the woman has a place of honor because of her talent, and
because she's the only woman."
Do you remember the children's story ...
Well this isn't that story, no princess here. But, it does involve a mattress, just one.
While WonderWoman was in town last weekend, one of the things we did was go to get me a new mattress. I have been getting up each morning with a stiff back that makes me look like Quasimoto
for an hour until I can stretch it out. The new miracle mattress arrived yesterday and I woke up to no pain or stiffness. Plus, I have completed 4 loads of laundry and completed a lot of purging of files. (My goal was to get through a file drawer a day, but that was optimistic.)
They say get a new mattress every 8 years. Today while purging, I threw out the receipt from my previous mattress, dated
2006!
Throwback Thursday
Suzuki Sensei, Sakagami Sensei, Demura Sensei,
Honbu Dojo, Santa Ana, CA 1987
A music 3-minute video, Woodstock, here.
Just because ...
 |
| Scaly-breasted Munia |
Smiles for Thursday ...
Thanks for coming by today
