Sunday Funnies

Karen did this ...

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The Ahn Sisters

The Ahn Sisters originally uploaded by anyjazz65. These are the Ahn sisters, an amazing trio of musicians. We enjoyed them very much. They were very kind to appear here last Friday in the middle of Oklahoma, given that everyone east of the Mississippi thinks that Oklahoma is still a wild territory with corn as high as an elephant's eye. The concert was excellent. The musical fare varied from the very original and complex item written especially for the trio by a contemporary Russian composer, to more familiar strains from old masters. The encore was "Orange Blossom Special" played oh so delicately. While intense and focused while playing, the girls were very personable and humorous between selections. Here one is asking the audience if anyone knows how it is to travel with a cellist. I avoided a flash and shot the evening with a 70mm lens and available light. Not all shots were clear because the sisters were very animated when playing. So I combined three shots for the above example because I could not catch all three of them holding still at once in one shot.

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Found Friday

My Glorious Leader always acts as though she doesn’t know me when I pick up scraps of paper from parking lots and road-sides. I find lists and torn photographs, bits of someone’s ongoing life. Lost things, forgotten things, unwanted things. These fragments always represent a tiny slice of someone’s life. And an even tinier bit of life in general; something happening or going to happen or indeed, has already happened. This past week found these blowing in the wind in Oklahoma City. Here is a name and phone number (both slightly altered for protection) written on the back of an appointment card. The face of the card is blank except for a beautician’s Hair Style logo with a space for a name and appointment time. No name, no appointment; But the reverse has this memo. The blue scrap, probably from a dye-cut pad in the shape of a tropical fish, appears to be a list of things for cleaning. Perhaps they are moving and the new apartment or home must be given a thorough scrub. Maybe they are cleaning an elderly relative’s home. Maybe there is a baby on the way and the spare room is being fixed up for the new arrival. The other paper, a page of a small notebook, was folded and then torn in half. The top section lists some lumber needed for some project. The middle part, just above the tear is a mysterious message. I couldn’t find the third piece. Perhaps it had an important number or address or name and it was tucked away in a wallet or pocket. Perhaps.

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Edgar Degas and the nude red-headed girl

Almost fifty years ago this print was clipped from the esteemed pages of LIFE magazine. At the time it was said to be the first and only time this Degas pastel painting had ever been seen outside of a museum. No prints had ever been authorized. This was the only one. You couldn’t buy a print like this one anywhere. (Except of course in that LIFE magazine and there were probably a few of those around.) Consequently, for a long time, the print was a treasured possession, well framed and displayed on a prominent wall in whatever residence held the family. It was finally released as a print and over the years much has been said about the session with the shallow tub, the red headed girl and Edgar Degas. Aside from being executed on an exact square 27 ¼ x 27 ¼ which always attracts this mind, the geometrics of the whole piece are fascinating. It is a difficult figure to capture too. The colors are warm and full of life. The picture is quite candid. It is not a pose but a moment in this girl’s life. One has the feeling of just a glance toward a mundane event. ”Degas Pastels” (Watson-Guptil Publications, 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036) first published in 1967 in hardback and then in paperback 8 years later, lists the painting as belonging to the Hill-Stead Museum of Farmington, Connecticut. This would be around the time of the Life Magazine publication. It is currently listed as being in Musée d’Orsay, Paris. One item read recently proclaimed that there were only nine paintings (pastel drawings) as a result of the session. Over the years there seemed to be many more than that. An investigation seemed warranted. Are there more than nine? Was the red-haired model at more than one session? Was there more than one model? There is always the possibility that there are more like this one, never having been shown at all outside of a museum. So collecting a sample of each one would be limited to only those that have been published of course. But it seems we’ve SEEN more than nine… First thing discovered is that there really are lots of “girl at bath” paintings and drawings from Degas. We found 90 to compare here. Maybe Degas, like Charlie Brown, had a thing for red haired girls. He did lots of pastel paintings of them; not as many as ballet dancers but many. When they get all together in one thumbnail page, the differences begin to emerge. Indeed they are not all from the same session. Note that these comparisons and groupings disregard the suggested dating of the originals. The date is often only a broad guess, such as “1895-1898”. Also there seems to be some discrepancy from one publication to another about the dating. The comparisons here are strictly visual, no background information is considered. First let’s compare the panels with the deep tub showing or no tub at all. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he preferred to be called a realist. Today, September 27, in 1917 we lost Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas. Goodbye Monsieur Degas and thanks. This page has had hundreds of visitors. Does anyone know of a painting that should be included somewhere above? Let me know what you think.

The Tonight Show

Today in 1954, Mr. Steve Allen began The Tonight Show. Think about how different your life would have been without Steve Allen, Ernie Kovaks, Jack Lescoulie, Al "Jazzbo" Collins, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson and Jay Leno... Thanks Steve.

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BUGS

BUGS originally uploaded by anyjazz65. MY own Wordless Wednesday

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Sunday Funnies

Chris did this...

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School days Memory Book of Helen Jean Sillix

School Days. Ah Helen, where ever you are, your school days and your chums remind me of my own. So young and so ready for the world. Fun. Thanks. .... And here, Helen writes a note to herself.

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The Story Behind The Photograph - Four Cowboys

Four Cowboys originally uploaded by anyjazz65 Now here is an interesting item. At the end of a long trail ride, four cowboys got a buzz at the local saloon and decided to commemorate the event by having their picture taken at the photographer’s studio just down the street. Well, probably not. It seems to be a fake. But, how fake is it? First of all, all four are wearing dress ties under their bandannas. Three of them are wearing suit coats all tucked in under their gun belts and chaps. The one on the left even has a kerchief peeking out of his breast pocket. The one on the far right seems to be wearing a horizontal stripe pattern narrow tie or maybe that’s just the narrow end of the tie showing, the wide half being tucked up under that big bandanna. Second-from-right has his collar unbuttoned and his diagonal stripe tie loosened at the neck. Second-from-left has his collar buttoned and his tie up tight. Left-end wears a solid color wide tie. They all seem to be tied in Four In Hand or perhaps very tight Windsor knots. So when was it fashionable to wear both narrow ties and wide, patterned and solid? Their hats are all too big. They rest on their ears. Second-from-right has his pushed well back on his head. The other three have the front brim turned up to put light on their faces for the camera. These hats are probably photographer’s props. Dusty cattle trail riders? No, probably not. Here are four young men at a county or state fair getting their picture taken at the photo booth with fake cowboy costumes. That’s a more likely scenario. Their girlfriends stood off camera and teased them. Note the one on the left end is looking in a different direction than the rest. He also appears to be speaking. When? According to the postcard backing, the AZO design in the upper right hand corner indicates it was printed between 1904 and 1918. For the moment, let’s say it is not a counterfeit backing to give an “authentic” edge to the fake novelty photograph on the front. The photo qualities seem true for the time period just before 1918. The face of our cowboy on the left is slightly blurred. He moved. The slow shutters of the time would have captured that movement as a slight blur. Faster film media and lenses and consequently shutters didn’t appear until a little later. The eyes of second-from-left seem very light. As we have learned, blues tended to photograph as white in early photo media, just as reds tend to appear black. Second-from-right has what appears to be leather chaps, probably brown, making his suit probably brown also since they appear to be similar gray in the photo. First on left is probably dressed in blue. Since it seems to be a joke type photo, the chaps on second from right might very well be bright red. Well, maybe not. The black wedge in the lower right corner might indicate that the light sensitive media was not quite straight in the carrier when it was exposed. That is something that a good expensive studio photographer would not allow, nor would their customer accept. This was probably a carnival or fair or other novelty operation. The paper stock is the right weight for the time. The yellowing, fading and wrinkles seem appropriate for the age. With today’s technology, we know it could ALL be faked on a home desktop computer and printer. For paper you could use the blank flyleaf pages of old law books or catalogs. Without the use of a very technical lab to test the chemical composition of the emulsion on the front or the ink on the reverse, it would be hard to tell if it was printed yesterday or really nearly a hundred years ago. And what junk store shopper is going to go to all that trouble? An enterprising junk dealer could whip up a few of these to shuffle among a few real ones and maybe peddle them for four or six dollars each. The good sellers could be printed over and over. What do you think? anyjazz65 says: meagain625 says: I also like that the holster the man 2nd from right is backwards, for him holding that gun in his right hand. It's a lefty holster. I like it all, though. Especially the looks on their faces. 2nd from left reminds me of that guy from MASH. I can't remember his name. This is a fun one, though. Doesn't really matter to me when it came about. Of course, I didn't pay for the postcard :) anyjazz65 says: Actually it was cheap. But it got me to thinking about how easy it would be for someone to fake with today's tools. The left handed holster! I didn't notice that! Good one! From M*A*S*H...the one who played the priest? or Hawkeye? Hm. Looks like both of them...

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