Photo: Rebecca Martinez
The photo above, taken by photographer Rebecca Martinez, is of a baby shower in St. Louis, with games and gifts you'd typically find in such gathering, with one big exception: the honored babies aren't real.
For her photography series PreTenders, Rebecca, who never had any children of her own, explored the growing Reborn subculture, a group of predominantly women who collect lifelike dolls of newborn babies and treat them as if they were real:
When Ms. Martinez travels, she will sometimes bring one of her own five reborn dolls to photograph people’s reactions. She prefers to carry them in open bags because she feels uneasy putting them into closed containers, and her suitcases are always searched by airport security if a doll shows up in a scan. This leads to unusual encounters — like when other people in line get upset thinking that a real baby is about to be harmed by X-rays as they pass through security.
“These dolls are very powerful objects,” she said. “If I bring one of these dolls out, there’ll be a group of people around me very, very fast. They soon know it’s not real, but people have very strong reactions. I’ve seen people who will hold them, and their bodies will start responding and they’ll be rocking them. And then they realize and feel a little embarrassed.”
James Estrin of The New York Times' LENS blog has the story: Link
Comments (12)
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2013/02/abusive_parents_what_do_grown_children_owe_the_mothers_and_fathers_who_made.html
http://boxofjack.com/files/blade-runner-los-angeles.jpg
Reminds me of Bladerunner.
Amen brother.
My thoughts:
We as a people HAVE to stand up and fight for our rights. We are moving very quickly into a police state. Think the old adage:
First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
They will continue to erode our rights little by little until we have nothing. Our fore fathers are spinning in their graves.
http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm
Moving? I would say you're already there.
The funny thing (not really) is that most are so brainwashed with patriotism or fear of terrorism that you don't realize it.
Saw this article about the recent earthquake: "The earth trembled for 40 seconds."
Second sentence: "Could it be a terrorist attack?"
i suppose i understand the need for security around certain places, but like another poster said, it only takes about a minute to find photos of these places on Google Earth. not only that, but i would imagine someone that REALLY wanted to take photos for a nefarious purpose wouldn't be out doing it in broad daylight with a tripod and a bag full of various camera equipment and lenses. somehow i doubt a terrorist would bother using a light meter....or a $5000 camera.
Oooh, I am so busted!