|
|
this is my final paper of high school ever. i graduate in a few days and this is the final assignment I am handing in.. hopefully you guys will get a kick out of it. Just rememebr, take everything you read with a grain of salt and a fine tooth comb....
Margaret Bourke-White
Margaret Bourke-White was a crazy woman, who has had numerous accomplishments throughout her lifetime. It all started with Mary and Joseph, no I am kidding, it all started with Minnie Bourke and Joseph White, Margaret’s parents married in June of 1898, they were both from New York City. They were happy as clams, with Joseph often writing in his letters she is “the sunshine and joy of my life” (Goldberg 1). Being the prudes they are, they insisted on only having sex when they wanted kids, between 1901 and 1911, they were very happy; even blessed, with three children Margaret, Ruth, and the boy (Roger)…
In 1921Margaret decided to try her hand at college and enrolled at Columbia University. At Columbia after her father died was the first time she ever even decided to try her hand at taking pictures. Her father had been a printer, and after he died she really wanted to follow in his legendary footsteps (Goldberg 26). Still for some odd reason despite her gift at photography she wanted to be a herpetologist. You know one of those crazy folks who study reptiles for a living. That summer following her freshman year at school she got a job at Camp Agaming as a photography counselor. Often though she would fill in as the nature specialist her real passion (Goldberg 27).
Any woman who wants to study reptiles for her life is ok in my book. I mean especially with her gift for photography combined with the overwhelming abundance of reptiles she could really corner the market in reptile photography. Despite her numerous gifts academically and artistically Margaret apparently just could not pick a college to stay at. She tried a bazillion including: Columbia University in New York, the University of Michigan, Purdue University in Indiana, Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and she received her degree in 1927 from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY (Woman in History). Eventually she did graduate, surprising but true it seems to everyone. While she attempted to stay in school she took photographs and made greeting cards out of them distributing them to local pharmacy’s to sell.
The first photograph she ever sold was one that she took in Cleveland Ohio, long before Cleveland was of any importance since the rock and roll hall of fame had yet to be created and the Cuyahoga river had not yet caught fire. Yet Margaret, she was a woman on fire. Some how she always managed to attract a crowd to see what she was doing. Her first commercially sold photograph was taken with a camera she borrowed and begged from a camera store across the street. What was the picture of you ask? Why of course it was of a black man and pigeons in an empty square. This crazy fellow using the birds as his choir preached to the empty buildings the message of God’s salvation! Once more the message has fallen on deaf ears, and cold stone (Goldberg 69). Surprisingly though, someone wanted this quiet picture, The Cleveland Chamber of Commerce quickly snatched it up, perhaps to prevent the embarrassment that it would have caused the city lest someone else got their hands on it.
In Cleveland still, apparently she decided she liked the place or something. Margaret discovered “the flats” it is a very industrialized section of Cleveland. Armed with a 4X5 camera and an entourage of police she began to reveal the dark and mysterious nature of the place. Mostly she only had police escorts because the Cleveland police were convinced that she was a whore on the prowl looking for a good time. I don’t see why the industrial section of Cleveland would be such a hot place to pick up hookers but they claim it is (Goldberg 81).
Margaret took a couple billion rolls of film after infiltrating the ranks of Ottis metal company. They made steel and stuff. She called this experimental photography, I suppose experimental is code for crap, since basically none of her pictures came out at all. It was to dark and too hot in the plant, so her time was wasted, except that she go tot run around in blue jeans being just one of the guys. Then again, she did submit one photo to an art competition once again in Cleveland. The contest was held at the Cleveland Museum of Art which is conveniently located next to the Case Western reserve campus in Cleveland Ohio. She won first place, and was very pleased with herself.
Her life continued in this fashion for approximately another 300 pages of a novel plus numerous websites brimming with information. Yet eventually, it all had to come to a close. Near the end of her own life she tended to follow priests around third world countries. I suppose she was a good photographer because she had an utter disregard for human rights. As a man lay dying in Honduras she quickly snapped pictures of his decaying form proclaiming what a great image he was. She didn’t even care that she was stealing his soul. Right before he died to! That is totally irresponsible of her (Goldberg 345). Yet she considered her trips with the pastor the crowning jewel of her life. She died happy and feeling fulfilled in 1971 in a hospital somewhere in the US from Parkinson’s disease.
[Updated on: Wed, 22 June 2005 10:16] by Moderator
Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?
|
] 
A Place of Safety
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
