Always the contrarian, Lucy Parsons commanded treatment on her own terms as a wholly unique individual, entitled to equality, dignity, and respect; and she claimed that higher ground not only for herself but for all people, everywhere and forever. […]
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That Lucy Parsons was not “white” was apparent to both the audiences she addressed and the mass media that routinely reported on her activities. The published observations of her physical attributes referred to her skin color in euphemistic terms such as “dusky,” “mulatto” and “quadroon,” or bluntly as “negro” and “negress,” adjectives and nouns all used to sully her reputation and undermine her credibility. […] The relationship between photographer and sitter is, at best, an intimate collaboration that serves mutual purposes. This photograph of Lucy Parsons by Paul Grottkau is a perfect example of that truism, and quite possibly a conscious attempt to seize control of the public narrative from a hostile media. […] By the end of the twentieth century, you and your classmates were reading about the disposition of this or that photographer’s life’s work. Some did it well, some did it badly, and some didn’t do it at all — so the stuff got tossed out, or damaged, or dispersed, or simply vanished into thin air. […] As a young 21st-century maker of informationally oriented imagery, you’re familiar with and knowledgeable about both print media and digital media. You can use analog cameras, perhaps even prefer them for some tasks, but increasingly your clients and your vehicles prefer digital systems. Therefore, much of your activity is digital from start to finish. […] |
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