Archive for January, 2010

January 16, 2010

Unidentified beatnik, San Francisco, 1957

During a coffee-house reading from On the Road, Jack Kerouac (out of picture) seems to have bored at least one member of the audience, who splits the scene.  He was later denounced by the writer as a square.

January 16, 2010

12 Angry Men (1957)

The Jury may still be “out” in this scene from Sidney Lumet’s 1957 courtroom drama, 12 Angy Men, but at least one member unwittingly imagines another, if temporary, adjournment.

January 16, 2010

Beatles fans, London, 1964

This image reveals decisive, evolutionary variations in the unconscious occupation of the hands that would become more refined and voluntary over time.

January 16, 2010

Charlie Watts, London, 1967

Rolling Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham attempts to recruit a diffident Charlie Watts to “the look”.

January 16, 2010

Bill Wyman, Stone Alone, 1976

Clearly fed up with the timidity of the other Stones, Bill Wyman boldly takes possession of “the look” on the cover art of his second solo album Stone Alone (1976).  The self-assured composure and smugness disclose the demeanour of a man who knows, without quite knowing why, he is making history.  Stone Alone did not.

January 16, 2010

Bill Wyman, Linda and Paul McCartney, backstage, New York, 1978

Bill basks in self-congratulation, knowing that at least two people bought, or at least have seen Stone Alone.  Its influence exceeds his expectations as Paul McCartney brings a new inflection to “the look”.

January 16, 2010

The Warhola Family, ca. 1947

Prior to his entry into the world of commercial illustration, a young Andrew Warhola imagines an alternative form of manual imagery.  His nephew is the unsuspecting prop.

January 16, 2010

Andrew Warhola, ca.1949

In New York Warhola refines the gesture into a more self-conscious vogue.

January 16, 2010

Andy Warhol and Jonas Mekas, New York, 1965

With a new name and a new identity, Andy Warhol introduces filmmaker Jonas Mekas to his innovative pose.

January 16, 2010

Paul Morrissey, New York, 1967

At the Factory with Andy’s latest find, The Velvet Underground, collaborator Paul Morrissey has tuned in and turned on. With a discreet turn of the head John Cale senses what is happening and is keen to succumb to the new habit.