so i guess seen as it is london fashion week right now and i promise i am continuously looking at different collections, i should be posting some of my favourite looks... and though i am tickled pink --or maybe orange? we seem to be seeing more and more orange each season!-- by a lot of the shows, i just feel i'd rather take my focus away and look at something else for a moment. or as Phoebe Buffay was once quoted as saying, "i would, but i don't want to."
so let's talk about my favourite sassy/edgy/rebelious/turn-of-the-century, staten island gal: miss Alice Austen. i can't get enough of this passionate teen/young woman with her steel blue-grey eyes. truly a girl way ahead of her time, "princess Alice" (as they called her) was introduced to photography when she was only ten years old by her uncle, who brought home an early-model dry plate camera from a trip abroad. in no time, Alice taught herself how to operate the complex camera mechanism, judge exposure, develop the heavy glass plates, and make prints. she learned this all through experimentation, and showed undeniable natural talent in doing so. by the time she was 18 in 1884, she was not only technically skilled but artistically accomplished as well. friggen timeless, her photos are.
so let's talk about my favourite sassy/edgy/rebelious/turn-of-the-century, staten island gal: miss Alice Austen. i can't get enough of this passionate teen/young woman with her steel blue-grey eyes. truly a girl way ahead of her time, "princess Alice" (as they called her) was introduced to photography when she was only ten years old by her uncle, who brought home an early-model dry plate camera from a trip abroad. in no time, Alice taught herself how to operate the complex camera mechanism, judge exposure, develop the heavy glass plates, and make prints. she learned this all through experimentation, and showed undeniable natural talent in doing so. by the time she was 18 in 1884, she was not only technically skilled but artistically accomplished as well. friggen timeless, her photos are.
(that's her on the fence!)i think her personality shows through, too. here are some quotes (given to me by my professor in my 20th Century Fashion class):
"if you haven't anything nice to say about someone, sit next to me."
"i have a simple philosophy: fill what's empty, empty what's full, and scratch where it itches."
umm can we talk about how amazing this girl is? *reminder* this was PRE 1900! you rock, sista!
*gash* all of this reminds me how much i wanted her book of photos! http://www.amazon.com/Alices-World-Photography-American-1866-1952/dp/0856991287
(this one is my all time faves titled "Trude and I Masked, Short Skirts" photographed by Austen on August 6, 1891... she's on the left, i believe. and next to her is her bff Gertrude Tate).
credit: http://www.aliceausten.org/
"if you haven't anything nice to say about someone, sit next to me."
"i have a simple philosophy: fill what's empty, empty what's full, and scratch where it itches."
umm can we talk about how amazing this girl is? *reminder* this was PRE 1900! you rock, sista!
*gash* all of this reminds me how much i wanted her book of photos! http://www.amazon.com/Alices-World-Photography-American-1866-1952/dp/0856991287
(this one is my all time faves titled "Trude and I Masked, Short Skirts" photographed by Austen on August 6, 1891... she's on the left, i believe. and next to her is her bff Gertrude Tate). credit: http://www.aliceausten.org/
2 comments:
Talk about helping a fellow blogger out! I am so bad at photo credits, so that would be some more advice, don't forget where the photos come from.
that first quote is my new favorite.
<3 the girl.
Love this post about Alice. I really want to learn more about her. You may like my blog Dani... check it out:
http://accidentalmysteries.blogspot.com/
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