Shazaam!

I'm still in and out of the lab. And, the photo gods are not ignoring my pleas. I have 2.99 prints from the tricky negatives. So, the printing is not utterly maddening. However, I can't share the images on the web. I tried printing my remembered fairy tale on 8 X 10 paper, but way too much information for that size frame. So, I jumped up to 11 X 14 and now it's not cramped and so busy. My dinky scanner can't fit that size print with the proper framing, so, you're out of luck.

The origins of the project came from my memory of being told a fairy tale (Sleeping Beauty) twice: the first tale would be the way white people would act out the tale; and, the second would be the way black folk would do it. If this was the 60s or 70s, I think I would have kept to that division of black and white. But, the time is the brand new Aughts, and some black people have achieved or acquired enough capital to not be excluded from mainstream American culture (this is a very debatable point with lots of shady corners to investigate, so I'm very aware of that, please, feel free to argue amongst yourselves).

I became less enamored of presenting a perceived white culture, and I realized it was more about the dominant trend of current American culture, commercialism. So, there are traces of black in the first fairy tale. Obviously, the "awkward/evil" fairy is a black hen, but I chose to make her an animal for two reasons. One, animal totems are used throughout many religions and spiritual practices. Even Christians use the "lamb" to symbolize an aspect of Christ. (My knowledge of Christianity is not thorough. Please, correct me when I err.) The second reason I chose an animal form for Ms. La-La is that "politically correct" white Americans will not say race is the source of their rejection/resistance/discomfort with non-Caucasians. They have been educated to encode their prejudice with variations of the thought "Why can't they be more like us?"

There are acceptable forms of blackness, especially if white corporate American can obtain a profit from them. That's why the "nice/good" fairy takes the shapely form of Beyonce. (This is no statement about Beyonce as a person or performer, I'm just using the carefully crafted persona that is put out there to sell records. I have paid $1.98 for two of her singles, and I feel perfectly entitled to handle that persona as I see fit...like a proper American, I've paid the fees to participate in her story.) I don't mean to say that the "nice/good" fairy is a sell-out, I'm presenting the other way to engage with the culture of the first fairy tale. Both fairies are negotiating with the culture: one does so on the culture's terms, the other on her own terms.

The other trace of blackness will appear on the handsome prince. If you examine him closely, you should notice that his hands are black but his head is white. I don't think it's a gross overstatement to say that young American males have usually appropriated parts of black culture to enliven their youth. It's an example of taking one part out of the whole to fit your viewpoint/agenda, and in America, you've probably "paid" for the privilege. (The misogynistic/gangsta style of rap is consumed primarily by white, suburban, male teenagers--why? Rap isn't just gangsta, it can't be defined by just that style.) The handsome young prince is also outfitted in togs designed by Ozwald Boateng, an immensely talented "bespoke couturier" born in Ghana and raised in London. You'd have to be a bit of a fashionista to see that, but it's there.

While working on the first fairy tale and discussing it with others, I also realized how "male" the dominant culture is in this story. Before the king marries the queen, her land is more pastoral and doesn't feature many buildings. After the marriage, tall skyscrapers and multiplying structures cover the fields of daisies.

While contemplating these tales, I had to confront my own American-ness and how we so easily believe we're the alpha and the omega. I realized that like so many of us, my childhood was shaped/infiltrated/tainted by Disney. I was remembering a fairy tale as presented by corporate America. It struck me (as they are hardly faithful or accurate in their retellings) that the original tale is European and that it was probably nothing like the Disney version or my memory. Researching it, I discovered, yes, there are many discrepancies between all of them.

Spinner's memory: two fairies only
Disney's version: three, I think
Perrault: 13 fairies

Spinner's memory: ends with marriage of Beauty and handsome prince
Disney's version: ends with wedding and happily ever after
Perrault: the marriage only concludes the second act, the third act is dominated by a wicked mother-in-law who is an ogress who eats children and hankers after her grandchildren

What they all have in common, though, is that Beauty is a mute object who is handled and moved through her story by others with a voice/power.

I'm almost finished with the first half of my project: portraying the remembered fairy tale. The second half of the project will be my portrayal of the re-authored version of Sleeping Beauty. And, this Beauty will not be a mute object, she's all mouth!