When I was reading the textbook there was a comment regarding Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother photograph and that John David Viera questioned the loss of privacy of the people in Lange's photographs (206). Apparently he wasn't familiar with Lange's comments on taking Migrant Mother:
"I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. I did not ask her name or her history. She told me her age, that she was thirty-two. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields, and birds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy food. There she sat in that lean- to tent with her children huddled around her, and seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort of equality about it." (From: Popular Photography, Feb. 1960).
Lange also apparently alerted a San Francisco newspaper and government about conditions at the camp where the migrant mother and her family were, and the result was 20,000 pounds of food being delivered to the camp.
Lange was paid by the US Government to take these photographs precisely so that these people were not forgotten in their poverty. They were works made for hire, so I doubt Lange benefitted monetarily from them beyond her salary. I really don't have time to see who has the copyright to these photographs, but one of the reasons Migrant Mother is such a common image may have to do with its publication not being restricted, not Lange and others like her trying to make a buck off of these people. I
Another similar photograph is the Afghan girl with the green eyes that Steve McCurry took. The girl gave permission for him to take her photograph and was apparently oblivious that her face became such an icon for that situation until she was contacted a few years ago. She allowed a female photographer to take your photo a second time and is reported that she was pleased that her first photograph symbolized her people. According to http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/03/0311_020312_sharbat_2.html, she is being financially "looked after" and money from proceeds of her photograph is being used to assist in the development and delivery of educational opportunities for young Afghan women and girls. Sharbat Gula has returned to purdah; how is this an invasion of privacy?
Monday, November 30, 2009
Judging Wine by Its Label
I'm my family's wine czar. It's not because I really know much about wine other than you color coordinate it with the type of meat (white meat/white wine, red meat red wine, not sure--rose) and that "late harvest" means the wine will be sweet as the grapes had more time to develop the sugars. Oh yes--the type of wine (Merlot, Shiraz, etc.) refers to the grapes used. I get to be the wine czar so my family doesn't have to eat my cooking, and this arrangement suits us both.
Earlier in the year I had purchased some rhubarb wine (serving suggestion: ice cream)and it was a big hit so I was kind of hoping to get more for Thanksgiving. No such luck, but the store did have a few bottles of pumpkin wine. It met my requirements: it was made at an Illinois winery (Prairie State Winery in Genoa)out of Illinois pumpkins. Best yet was its very colorful label depicting the state of Illinois with bright blue skies and big plump pumpkins. I'm a sucker for an interesting wine label. My mother wasn't too pleased when I told her what I had gotten, but all it took to convince her to try it it was one whiff. The wine was really good too--just a hint of pumpkin with a bit of spice--and a big hit. Too bad this year's pumpkin harvest is so bad.
You can see a picture of the label at http://prairiestatewinery.com/fruits.html--I like some of the other labels (like the one with the cardinal on it).
Earlier in the year I had purchased some rhubarb wine (serving suggestion: ice cream)and it was a big hit so I was kind of hoping to get more for Thanksgiving. No such luck, but the store did have a few bottles of pumpkin wine. It met my requirements: it was made at an Illinois winery (Prairie State Winery in Genoa)out of Illinois pumpkins. Best yet was its very colorful label depicting the state of Illinois with bright blue skies and big plump pumpkins. I'm a sucker for an interesting wine label. My mother wasn't too pleased when I told her what I had gotten, but all it took to convince her to try it it was one whiff. The wine was really good too--just a hint of pumpkin with a bit of spice--and a big hit. Too bad this year's pumpkin harvest is so bad.
You can see a picture of the label at http://prairiestatewinery.com/fruits.html--I like some of the other labels (like the one with the cardinal on it).
Pride and Prejudice, Graphic Novel
While waiting for the plumbers to repair the water lines at the laundremat--so much for going early on a Wednesday morning to beat the crowd--I headed over to Borders. I needed some blank books for my nephews (didn't find what I was looking for). I did notice that Marvel comics had depicted Pride and Prejudice as a graphic novel (all five issues were bound in one), though. The front cover was very eye-catching--kind of like the magazines in grocery store check-out lines (and I do have a thing for kitsch); however,an illustration on the back cover had me a bit concerned--it looked like the models for the Bennet sisters were taken straight from the Joe Wright/Keira Knightly film version. Despite this, I bought the book anyway (the film is visually interesting, but the screenwriters should be shot: the title is Pride AND Prejudice and they left out the prejudice. Lots of pride though, but it isn't fueled by much. The character of Wickahm only gets 5 minutes of screen time--not much to seduce three women, nearly run off with one and actaully run off with the third--and that doesn't even allow for his dalliance with Mary King!)
The person doing the text adaptation did an okay job, and I was delighted with several of the issue covers, but it irked me that the visuals inside so heavily relied on the one film adaptation. Why couldn't the illustrator do something original? The Brock, Thomson, and Hassall illustrations are different yet still convey the flavor of the story (okay, so most of them pre-date all the recent film and telly adaptations). Because the illustrator relied on this one film, the colors are drab (never mind that Regency fashion was quite colorful for both men and women; see blog entry on Bright Star)
I was amused when the writer said she had to tell the illustrator to include more bonnets--that was one of Joe Wright's complaints, too many bonnets, in his director's commentary.
The person doing the text adaptation did an okay job, and I was delighted with several of the issue covers, but it irked me that the visuals inside so heavily relied on the one film adaptation. Why couldn't the illustrator do something original? The Brock, Thomson, and Hassall illustrations are different yet still convey the flavor of the story (okay, so most of them pre-date all the recent film and telly adaptations). Because the illustrator relied on this one film, the colors are drab (never mind that Regency fashion was quite colorful for both men and women; see blog entry on Bright Star)
I was amused when the writer said she had to tell the illustrator to include more bonnets--that was one of Joe Wright's complaints, too many bonnets, in his director's commentary.
Bright Star
I see from my list of things to do that I didn’t write a blog on the visuals of Bright Star. So here it is. The timing of the films showing here in Normal was impeccable as I was covering John Keats the following week and it made for a really good extra-credit opportunity for my students (had I known in advance it was going to be playing here, I would have made it required). However, I didn’t learn of it until I was skunking around on some British news sites looking for information on the horde of Anglo-Saxon treasure found recently.
Anyway, the film did not disappoint. I really don’t need much of a plot if the cinematography, costumes and such are up to snuff. While Jane Austen claims there is nothing so fine as a woman in white, Brawne was bright—no pale whites, dingy earth tones, and pastels for her. Try red (especially when she was walking through the mud). Even when she wasn’t wearing a bright color, she stood out. There was the iridescent blues of butterflies and cool blue of bluebells (a sea of flowers), pink of blossoms, and of course, the greenness that is so very English. Keats was suitably fragile looking—I was surprised to learn recently he wasn’t much bigger than I am physically, and I am a rather dainty person. Of course the architecture and furniture adds to the visuals (sorry, I read too many issues of Architectual Digest in my formative years).
Anyway, the film did not disappoint. I really don’t need much of a plot if the cinematography, costumes and such are up to snuff. While Jane Austen claims there is nothing so fine as a woman in white, Brawne was bright—no pale whites, dingy earth tones, and pastels for her. Try red (especially when she was walking through the mud). Even when she wasn’t wearing a bright color, she stood out. There was the iridescent blues of butterflies and cool blue of bluebells (a sea of flowers), pink of blossoms, and of course, the greenness that is so very English. Keats was suitably fragile looking—I was surprised to learn recently he wasn’t much bigger than I am physically, and I am a rather dainty person. Of course the architecture and furniture adds to the visuals (sorry, I read too many issues of Architectual Digest in my formative years).
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