Linda Lorenzo - Nostalgia Ayer y Hoy

Before Linda Lorenzo and Nora Patrich showed up at my door this Monday morning I knew I was going to do one photograph for sure. I took out my father’s Argentine flag from a drawer. A word, one I had not uttered in many years, fell into my memory – “enarbolar”. The word has strangely something to do with trees, árboles., This only, if you can consider both a tree and a flag as holy standards.

  

enarbolar De en- y árbol.

2. tr. Levantar un arma o algo con lo que se amenaza a otra persona.

3. prnl. Dicho de un caballo: encabritarse.

4. prnl. Enfadarse, enfurecerse.

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To raise your nation’s flag is to enarbolar but in my idea Lorenzo would wrap herself in it.

Because 17 years had passed since I had last photographed her I chose to use my ring-flash trick (the camera is purposely crooked). I wanted her to be less glamorous (if that is possible!) and more seriously edgy. Our notions of what flags represent are in question these days. My father’s flag was made of rough and very durable wool in Argentina. It flew from a pole in our garden on Argentine independence day, the 25th of May. Where are flags made these days?

Beautiful women love to be contrariwise.  Before Patrich and my appointment with Lorenzo, she (Lorenzo) had indicated that she was going on a vacation to Hawaii. “No te quemes,” I told her. But she did tan and she did have tan lines on her chest which I have removed (not too skilfully from the shot you see here). While I was doing it occurred to me (and this happens often when I “fix” and enlarged photograph with Photoshop in my monitor. Years ago I might have spotted a black and white print with Spotone remove the vestiges of dust. Only that technical marvel of the past, the airbrush could have handled those tan lines.

My point is that when I enlarge a person’s face and body I get to see them in a most intimate manner. It is perhaps one of the most obvious improvements of this digital age