I've wasted a lot of time at the Institute for Official Cheer but I never wandered through this gallery. It's amazing.
I don't know how you feel about women with their underpants inexplicably around their ankles. I tend to vote in favor, but I understand if that's not your bag. As a painter by training (I recently picked up the brushes after a long hiatus, New Orleans does that) it never occurred to me that there may be a market in pictures of embarrassed women. I don't see why not. It's practically an industry standard in all other media.
What I like about New Orleans women isn't just their sauciness. I admire their strength and resilience. I admire their pluck. Being a man isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's good, don't get me wrong. There is something to be said for wearing pants, as the above picture proves. New Orleans, the most seductive of cities, has both a soft spot and a pedestal for the women who call it home. The sexes are equal without arguments or regrets.
I haven't seen any embarrassed women during my short sojourn in the Crescent City. I haven't seen any women take any guff either. Women shouldn't take any guff.
A tip of the fedora to James Lileks for celebrating the work of the artiste Art Frahm.
2 comments:
I think you seem to be a nice guy and I'd like to think I'm a part of the welcoming committee as you get settled here, and try to help you avoid the worst of the potholes and such. So, here goes.
The 1953 gaze of this artist that you and the site author rightly perceive as a little bit creepy is seriously sexist. In the event you haven't studied the topic (most people haven't), here's a link to Feminism 101 to paste in your browser and refer to at leisure. It might save you some time and help you steer around some of the really big conceptual potholes.
As always, I enjoy the way you write about the variety of things that capture your interest.
I find it remarkable that he painted essentially the same picture over and over right down to the grocery bags. Of course it's sexist. That is what makes it so remarkably grotesque. It is now and it certainly was then. None of this is lost on me.
Thanks for sticking with me.
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