“History Re-Imaged”: A Brief Introduction to The Artist and the Exhibition Alan M. Richards My artwork is photomontage. It took me quite a while to actually figure out what to call my artwork since it wasn't pure photography, collage, painting, or drawing. Actually, it was a combination of all those things. Over time, however, I gradually came to the realization that photomontage was a good descriptor. My method of creation is not simply about pasting things together as in a collage. Rather, it's about combining and refining many elements to form a picture that might be serious, bizarre, surreal, or humorous. My goal is to have the viewers interpret the new image (re-image) based on their thoughts. My work often uses vintage images that have meaning to me on a personal and emotional level. A good number of the images used in my works are derived from the Office of War Information (OWI), the Farm Services Administration (FSA), and from commercial photographers during that time in and about the WWII years. The OWI was established to document life on the home front between 1941-1945. The FSA preceded the OWI.
The OWI and FSA hired photographers. One such photographer was Marjory Collins who photographed life in New York City. I have used her photos as prime elements in much of my work. Other photographers whose images I have used are John Vachon, John Collier, Jr., Jacobs Fenno, Albert Barden, and others. I have also used other sources such as my own photos, clips, and drawings. None of the images used have any known copyright issues since they are all within the public domain. In this series of work I try to maintain the feeling of that era. I do not seek to alter the work so much that it takes away from what was. The re-imaged work is a rebirth of what was eighty-odd years ago. The smaller black and white photos are the original photos from which the final re- imaged picture evolved. There are also other images or clips that I included to further develop and enhance the final work. I invite the viewer of each re-imaged picture to make up his or her own story. This was a work of gratitude to those who were selfless during wartime, and the years just before and after WWII. It has been called the "Greatest Generation." As usual, I am indebted to Ellen, my wife, who has helped me edit this work. She has pointed out my inappropriate use of commas for many years. I never seem to learn, but she's there to set me straight.
This image is based on two vintage photographs. The first black and white photo was that of a man having breakfast at a venue presumably in Queens. The board behind him showed movie theaters and the movies that were playing at the time 1942). One theater, the RKO Keiths, was located in Flushing at the end of Main Street. The waiter worked at John's Restaurant on East 12th Street in the East Village. This was in January, 1943. The photographer was Marjory Collins (1912-1985). She was a well-known photojournalist who was best known for covering the home ront during WWII. She completed about 50 assignments for the OWI concerning he American way of life and support for the war effort. "What do you see happening in the re-imaged picture?"
Artist's Notes & Thoughts about "Business Formal." The original black and white photo (upper right) really caught my eye. It was a scene that was familiar to me from my childhood. The annotated image from the OWI was that of the 3rd Avenue El at 17th Street. To that scene, I added the businessman walking. Again, he was very familiar to me having had relatives of the same generation and demeanor. In the "Business Formal" re-imaged picture some eatures have been added. I like to have surprises in my works... so look for them. The photographer was Marjory Collins.
The photographer for the original black and white picture (below right) is unknown. What is known is that the image was taken in June, 1943 at Mackey's Creamery located in Sausalito, California. The original picture caught my attention because of the clarity of the image and its wonderful representation of that time period. In my re-image "Counter Intelligence," I sought to focus on wo individuals and simplify the background to create a new story open to nterpretation.
This re-image was derived from many elements. The main element was the black and white photo of a storefront in Asheboro, NC. It appears to be a men's clothing store. The image was taken by Albert Barden (1888-1953). Mr. Barden was a commercial photographer whose work was primarily based in North Carolina. His works were quite varied including portraiture, advertising, events, funerals, and nfrastructure. The women who are window shopping in my re-imaged picture were actually photographed in a variety store in Southington, CT. The photographer was Jacobs Fenno and the photo was taken in May, 1942. Mr. Fenno, whose real name was Charles Fenno Jacobs, was recruited by Edward Steichen as a US Navy photographer during the war. After the war he worked as a photographer for Fortune Magazine covering various parts of the world. The other elements of the picture were essentially clips of cats and fish which were placed in and about an aquarium.
n this re-imaged work I sought to keep things simple in terms of color and style. I chose to use a palette similar to that of the artist David Hockney. The two main black and white photos for this montage were taken by Albert Barden and reside in the Archives of North Carolina. The man is J.C. Ellington, as identified by the photographer, and that image was taken in August, 1951. The house belonged to the Richard Ball family. The original picture was taken in 1938. The woman in recline was an image I had saved for future use. 'm particularly pleased with "Reading Beauty" due to its simplicity and ability to elicit narratives from viewers.
Artist Notes and thoughts about "Summer in the City." Two black and white images caught my attention. The first was that of a man holding eight ice cream cones. I wondered for whom they were intended. Perhaps some kids? His t-shirt was typical of the style of the day. The street was Houston Street looking South on a Sunday morning in September, 1942. The sign on the building (upper right) referred to the bonds sold to finance the war effort. Notice that the final work contains many more elements than the originals, and there are some surprises as well. Both black and white images were taken by Marjory Collins.
felt that this re-imaged picture could stand on its own without the addition of too many elements. I changed the background and the floor. She was a waitress at Marconi's Restaurant on Mulberry Street in Little Italy. She put on an extemporaneous dance for the customers on New Year's Eve of December, 1942. The event, their annual New Year's Eve party, was hosted by the Di Contanzos family (below, lower eft), the owners of the restaurant.
This photomontage is composed of three separate pictures. The first was the elevated rain station at 76th Street and 3rd Avenue at 8 A.M. (bottom left). This station is long gone. The two women in the foreground were actually located in Penn Station awaiting heir train. The man in the foreground was at another "El" station. An interesting observation is how nearly all of the riders were reading newspapers. Today iPhones and tablets would be the preferred mode of gathering news. All of the images used in his montage were taken by Marjorie Collins between August and October, 1942. This picture is the first of a diptych.
This image is the second half of the diptych. The AM version served as the basic template for this work. All people from the AM version were removed, and many other features were changed as well. The lone man pictured in the picture was a farmer who had come to the town of Manheim in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The photographer was Marjory Collins and the picture of the man was taken in November, 1942.
The original black and white pictures were taken on Mott Street in the Little Italy section of New York City. These images were taken in 1942. The people on the re escapes were watching a parade and flag-raising ceremony in honor of the boys in the neighborhood who were then serving in the army. Having been born n the Bronx and with relatives in buildings such as these, this picture was one of remembrance for me. Social media at the time was simply talking out the window.
New ?"
Artist's Notes & Thoughts about "Lost in Thought." This picture came about after seeing two black and white images of interest to me. The first (bottom right) were the park sitters. This was in September, 1942 and they were sitting on the Central Park Mall on a Sunday afternoon. In the original photo he buildings surrounding the park were visible. The girl shown in the upper right picture was the daughter of a physician named Wynn. Her first name was Janet. They were a Czech-American family who lived on 72nd Street on the Upper East Side. Central Park, 1942
This image was primarily derived from two main photos. The men were at the "World's Fair" in Tunbridge, Vermont. They were chatting with each other in a way that reminded me of some sort of conflict. What attracted me about them was, of course, their body language and by the shadows which were cast on heir faces by the brims of their hats. The street scene was an image of a street corner in lower Manhattan. I reworked the street corner to have a more vintage ook, which fit the period of the men. The men were photographed by Jack Delano (1914-1997).
This re-imaged picture was based on two black and white photos. In my mind these men had been meeting for years in this park to enjoy each other's company. The two girls on the lower left of the monkey bars are, in fact, Janet and Marie Wynn (below eft). The picture was taken in October, 1942 in Central Park. They were the children of Dr. Wynn, a physician on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The black and white photo of the men on the bench (below right) was that of five Norwegian men. The photo was taken in Grimstad, Norway in July, 1967.
am an admirer of the work of Edward Hopper. I was fortunate enough to have one of my pictures displayed at the Edward Hopper House and Museum n Nyack, NY. So, when I came across Jacobs Fenno's (1904-1975) black and white image (lower right) I was very impressed. It captured the feelings and form that I was looking for in my work. The picture was taken in Southington, CT in May of 1942. In the original black and white picture, here was no house nor woman on the right. I placed those elements using another Fenno image. The woman was identified as Mrs. John Chimbor who had immigrated from Iceland to the US circa 1922. The man sitting on the porch was a photo I took of a guy sitting on a table at a flea market in New ersey. This image is one half of a diptych, the other being "Southington, P.M."
This image is the second half of the diptych, the first being "Southington, A.M." It s also based on the work of Jacobs Fenno. For this image, the A.M. version served as a template. The man was a perfect subject for the montage as was the dog.
Artist's Notes & Thoughts about "The Joke." This re-image is a combination of two very disparate black and white pictures by photographer Marjory Collins. The first (upper right) shows a woman in a pew at a midnight mass at St. Dominick's church on Sullivan Street in lower Manhattan. The picture was taken in December, 1942. What peaked my interest was her dour expression and her no-nonsense demeanor. The second picture (bottom right) was hat of a kosher wine merchant on the Lower East Side passing the time with a local rabbi. The re-imaged picture was quite a bit different from either of the original images. Putting the two people together and placing them in a totally different setting led me o have some rather odd interpretations. I'll leave the rest up to the viewers to nterpret and add their own stories.
This re-imaged picture was based primarily upon one black and white image and one photo I had taken. The first photo (upper right) was of the elevated 3rd Ave Line. Although the Office of War Information claimed that this picture was taken n the East 70s, I know that it was actually taken between 88th and 89th Streets on 3rd Avenue. When I first saw this image I noticed that there was a vertical store sign with the name "Wankel's." Coincidentally, Mr. Wankel was a patient of mine. My office was around the corner on 89th Street. Wankel's Hardware was there from 1896-2022. The "El" is long gone but the building was very recognizable having been painted in red, white, and blue colors. In the below picture notice the vertical silver line. That is, in fact, the side of the sign that was present in the black and white image. The woman in the final work was actually a photo that I took while visiting the Antiques Garage on 26th Street. The Garage has closed since the picture was taken.
Artist Notes and Thoughts about "Don't Tread on Me." This re-image is based primarily upon two photos by Walker Evans (1903-1975). Mr. Evans was a renowned photographer and photojournalist who is best known or his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) during the Great Depression. The images shown here (upper and middle right) were first published n the Summer of 1938. They were taken on East 61st Street in Manhattan somewhere between 1st and 3rd Avenues. had taken a picture of a woman sitting in a folding chair years ago, but had not ound perfect place to use her in my montages. However, if you look closely you would see a new countenance on the reworked picture.
Artist's Notes & Thoughts about "Tough Guys." This re-image was primarily based upon a photo taken in December, 1942. The man pictured is Joe Levy, the owner of a nightclub on Allen Street on the Lower East Side. To me, he was the perfect representation of a club owner, complete with cigar. Since he gave me a tough-guy vibe, I thought that the picture could be enhanced by placing him in a window accompanied by another tough-guy. Turns out that the other ough guy was a Bulldog of a similar countenance. added many elements to the re-imaged work to enhance the picture.
Artist's Notes & Thoughts about "What's So Damn Funny?" The original black and white picture (bottom) was taken on a weekend morning in 1942 in Central Park. It was a mundane picture showing five people just sitting and enjoying the morning sunshine. Since I'm always looking for an interesting scene, I chose two of the women and placed them together on one bench. As you can see, one woman was reading the comics while the other was sitting with a smirk on her ace. For humor, I decided to add in some Disney-ish characters. The title, "What's so Damn Funny?," reflects the attitude of the lady on the left.
"Three Kool Kats" was a combination of three main photos from entirely different backgrounds. The man sitting on the porch with his legs up was photographed in August, 1940 by Louise Rosskan (1910-2003). He did his sitting in Vergennes, Vermont at what appears to be a Rotary International Meeting Hall. By contrast, the standing man was characterized as a "bum." The photograph was taken at Third Avenue and 14th Street in New York City. He claimed to be a Scottish Comedian. The photographer was Marjory Collins, and the picture was taken in September, 1942. Although from entirely different places, I felt that the two me worked well together for my intended purpose. The cat was a clip from an old black and white photo. What attracted me to this photo was the cat's stare, which game me the feeling of a self- assured being. He was definitely a real "Kool Kat."
This re-image is a piece based primarily upon the three black and white photos on the bottom of this page. They were taken by Marjory Collins in August, 1942. The place was Penn Station in New York City. I chose various people from the original photographs and placed them around my re-imaged station. My station was based upon computer aided design drawings (CAD) located at the bottom of the page. Other elements were added including the light fixtures, the shadows, the clock, and all the coloring necessary to produce an image depicting an evening scene.
This re-imaged picture has a lot of interesting aspects. The men sitting at the table ower right) were actually in a Turkish restaurant on Allen Street on the Lower East Side. The year was 1943. In the re-imaged picture, I changed the items on he table, the entire background, and added a window to give the appearance of ooking into the restaurant. If you look carefully at the original black and white picture you'll notice another man who is not in the re-imaged version. The waiter (upper right) was of great interest to me. He was a waiter at the Sixty- Eight Restaurant on Fifth Avenue at Thirteenth Street in the East Village. The year was January, 1943. This location is of interest to me because it's only a block away from the Salmagundi Art Club to which I am a member.
This image turned out to be more surrealistic than expected...to me a happy accident. The original black and white photos for this piece were taken by two photographers. ohn Vachon (1914-1975) took the image on the upper right. These children were playing with toy boats in Grundy Center, Iowa. The picture was taken in April, 1940. The second picture (middle) was taken by Marjory Collins in Central Park, New York City in September, 1942. I drew the background, the water, and all the ner details. ohn Vachon was a world-traveling photographer whose work with the Farm Security Administration (FSA) was part of the New Deal. He contributed to LOOK Magazine as well.
Artist's Notes & Thoughts about "Inner Child." This re-image, "Inner Child," is somewhat different from the other images I have presented. During my career as an audiologist in New York City one of my favorite patients was Gene Moore. He was the famous designer who had decorated Tiffany's windows at Christmas for many years. In his book, "My Time at Tiffany's," one of the pictures showed him as a young man in a cardboard box (upper right). n his book he explained that he was exasperated with pressure at work and wanted some peace and quiet. I used that image plus another image of a woman sitting on a window box. As you can see, he now has cookies and milk. Interpret as you will. I would estimate his picture to be in the early 1940's and the woman's to be earlier. Gene was a wonderful man and I am truly happy to have known him.
The black and white photos of the people (below) were taken in September, 1942 by OWI artist John Collier, Jr. (1913-1992). Mr. Collier is best known for his use of photography as a tool in anthropology and ethnography. His images were widely used in textbooks and other sources. The people (below) were on a train leaving from Richwood, West Virginia to upstate New York. They were migratory workers who were needed to fill the shortage of farm workers during he war years.
Al's Fast Burgers was actually a White Tower... a precursor to many of the modern fast-food restaurants. The image was taken by John Collier, Jr. in 1941 n Amsterdam, New York. The store employees were from a McClellans's in North Carolina in 1941. The latter picture was taken by Albert Barden 1888-1953) who was a commercial photographer. Mr. Barden did not work or the OWI or FSA to my knowledge, but his works are to be found in the Archives of the State of North Carolina during that time period. As you may notice, the background buildings are different from the original photo. I drew in these buildings, placed the man with his dog, and added a delivery bicycle.
Artist Notes and Thoughts about "A Delicate Balance at the Ball Factory." This re-imaged work was based on a photograph taken by John Vachon (below). The black and white picture of the workman with the hand truck was taken at a fruit terminal warehouse in Chicago, Illinois. The year of the picture was 1941. These fruit shipments were bought at auction and shipped as soon as the drivers and loaders were notified. I thought that the picture of the loader was a bit mundane, so I sought to give it more interest by putting the balls on the hand truck. They did add color to the piece.
The original black and white image was taken in 1941 by Albert Barden. The place was McLellan's in Raleigh, NC. It was a five and dime store with a lunch counter similar to Woolworths. McClellan's opened for business in 1928 and closed in 1960. It sold household items and War Bonds to finance the war effort. The man at the counter in the re-imaged picture was actually playing a piano n the 1930s. Rather than having the indoor menu signs shown behind the workers in the black and white picture, I chose to have a window behind them to the outside street and buildings.
Artist's Notes & Thoughts about "Traveler's Eve." This re-imaged work was mainly drawn from two distinct photos. The first was that of wo children learning to dance. This was an OWI image, but the photographer was not identified. What is known is that the photo took was shot at the Tower Hill School n Wilmington, DE in 1942. The second black and white photo of the hotel bedroom was similarly unidentified. one looks at the left window of the room, there is a silhouetted figure of a woman with an umbrella. That image was from a series called "Wet Weather," and was aken in New South Wales (NSW) Australia in March, 1939. Photographer unknown. "What would your story be?"
Riders
This re-image is based on a black and white photo of a car dealership (lower right). The dealership was called the Harmon Motor Company and was established in 1946 by A.J. Harmon. It was a Lincoln-Mercury franchise. The picture was taken by Albert Barden in the early 1950s based on the car models in he showroom. The people in the re-imaged picture were taken from various sources. The man standing in the front of the dealership was Mr. J.C. Ellington, as dentified by Albert Barden. The other people were taken from various clips that I have used over the years. To make this image more personal, I altered the dealership's name to "Al's." Why not? chose to replace the original cars with Buicks because of their distinctive styling during that era. "What might your story be?"
The "Gas 'N Go" service station is a compilation of a number of pictures. The most interesting story is that of the attendant at the gas pump. His name was Sherman Blowe, and he was the owner/operator of Blowe's Esso Service Station in Raleigh, North Carolina. The picture was taken by Albert Barden in une, 1947. All of the logos were ESSO, but I changed them. The truck and the man in front of the truck were also taken by Mr, Barden in 1948. The man hosing down the truck was taken in September, 1939 by John Vachon (1914-1975). The truck had just returned from a run from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Chicago, Illinois.
The "Golden Beans Coffee Shop" was a conglomeration of many separate clips and elements. The main element in the picture was that of a "Chock Full 'O Nuts" counter. The photographer is unknown, but it is believed to have been aken between 1938-1945. The place was Brooklyn Heights, New York. There were a good number of "Chock Full 'O Nuts" in New York City. I'm not sure how the China Palace restaurant was located with reference to the coffee house. In any event, I changed the "Chock Full 'O Nut's" to the "Golden Beans" and changed the roof as well. I also placed some more people in the scene than the original. The building that was above the "Golden Beans" was shot in August, 1940 in Middlebury, Vermont. The photographer was Louise Rosskam (1910-2003). What attracted me to this photo was the man in the window, who I presume was an attorney.
Alan M Richards Website: alanrichardsart.com Instagram: @amrichardsart Facebook: alan.richards.58760 Phone: (516)-652-6660
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