In 1869, Boston photographer William H. Mumler was taken to court for depicting what he claimed were the spirits of the dead. But a few years later, Americans were no longer surprised or bewildered by such experiments with photographic truth. One popular deception was to photograph someone multiple times in the same setting.
Conocidos como el esqueleto viviente y el gordo, George Moore y Fred Howe actuaron por todo el país como espectáculo circense cómico. Crearon su rutina en respuesta a las recomendaciones de los médicos de que cada uno aumentara su ejercicio, uno para subir de peso y el otro para bajar, pero la perfeccionaron como medio tanto de viajar como de ganar dinero.
Known as the living skeleton and the fat man, George Moore and Fred Howe performed across the country as a comical circus sideshow. They created their routine in response to doctors’ recommendations that they each increase their exercise—one to gain weight and the other to lose it—but they perfected it as a means to both travel and make money.
La comedia física parece haber sido particularmente popular en los pueblos pequeños como forma de diversión, lo cual quizás refleje la prominencia del vodevil. En el estudio fotográfico, los modelos emulaban las actuaciones de payasadas que podrían haber visto en el escenario. A medida que la modernidad se extendía a estos lugares, las costumbres sociales daban paso al individualismo, y el carácter público se sustituía por la personalidad y la diversión momentánea.
Physical comedy seems to have been particularly popular across small towns as a form of amusement, perhaps reflecting the prominence of vaudeville. In the photographic studio, sitters emulated slapstick performances they might have seen on stage. As modernity extended to these places, social mores gave way to individualism and public character was replaced by personality and momentary diversion. Cards like these make it easy to forget that a mere twenty years earlier, most people were nervous about getting their portraits made, and were often upset by the results.
Es posible que John R. McGarrity haya leído o incluso visto las primeras versiones de los fotomatones que se introdujeron en Europa por esta época. Al presentar dieciocho versiones de esta mujer, incluida una en la que está claramente en movimiento, inyecta una sensación de espontaneidad en este innovador retrato ampliado.
John R. McGarrity may have read about or even seen early versions of photo booths being introduced in Europe around this time. By presenting eighteen versions of this woman, including one where she is clearly moving, he injects a sense of spontaneity into this inventive extended portrait.
El retrato fotográfico es una performance. ¿Cómo te presentas ante la cámara? Este hombre lleva esa premisa a su conclusión lógica, interpretando el acto de prepararse para afrontar el día.
Photographic portraiture is a performance. How do you present yourself to the camera? This man takes that understanding to its logical conclusion, performing the act of getting ready to face the day.
En la década de 1890, seguía siendo difícil captar un momento único en el tiempo. Estas mujeres parecen estar jugando un partido de tiro, pero ninguna de ellas está mirando la pelota.