Every good teacher must be preÂpared for the stuÂdents who surÂpass them. Such was the case with MarÂtin Lewis, Edward HopÂper’s oneÂtime teacher, an AusÂtralian-born printÂmakÂer who left rurÂal VicÂtoÂria at age 15 and travÂeled the world before setÂtling in New York City in 1900 to make his fame and forÂtune. By the 1910s, Lewis had become a comÂmerÂcialÂly sucÂcessÂful illusÂtraÂtor, well-known for his etchÂing skill. It was then that he took on HopÂper as an apprenÂtice.
“HopÂper asked that he might study alongÂside him,” writes DC Pae at Review 31, “and Lewis thereÂafter became his menÂtor in the disÂciÂpline.” The future painter of Nighthawks even “citÂed his apprenÂticeÂship with the printÂmakÂer as inspiÂraÂtion for his latÂer paintÂing, the conÂsolÂiÂdaÂtion of his indiÂvidÂual style.” Messy Nessy quotes Hopper’s own words: “after I took up my etchÂing, my paintÂing seemed to crysÂtalÂlize.” HopÂper, she writes, “learned the finÂer points of etchÂing and both artists used the great AmerÂiÂcan metropÂoÂlis at night as their muse.”
Though he is not popÂuÂlarÂly known for the art, HopÂper himÂself became an accomÂplished printÂmakÂer, creÂatÂing a series of around 70 works in the 1920s that drew from both Edgar Degas and his etchÂing teacher, Lewis.
“HopÂper easÂiÂly took to etchÂing and dryÂpoint,” writes the SeatÂtle Artist League. “He had a prefÂerÂence for a deeply etched plate, and very black ink on very white paper, so the prints were high conÂtrast, simÂiÂlar to MarÂtin Lewis…, Hopper’s priÂmaÂry influÂence in printÂmakÂing.”
A simÂiÂlar series by Lewis in the 1920s, which includes the strikÂing prints you see here, shows a far stronger hand in the art, though also, perÂhaps, some mutuÂal influÂence between the two friends, who exhibÂitÂed togethÂer durÂing the periÂod. But there’s no doubt Lewis’s long shadÂows, forÂlorn street-lit corÂners, and cinÂeÂmatÂic scenes left their mark on Hopper’s famous latÂer paintÂings.
It was to paintÂing, after the masÂsive popÂuÂlarÂiÂty of printÂmakÂing, that the art world turned when the DepresÂsion hit. Lewis found himÂself out of date. HopÂper left off etchÂing in 1928 to focus on his priÂmaÂry mediÂum. In many ways, Pae points out, Lewis served as a bridge between the docÂuÂmenÂtary AshÂcan School and the more psyÂchoÂlogÂiÂcal realÂism of HopÂper and his conÂtemÂpoÂraries. Yet he “died in obscuÂriÂty in 1962, largeÂly forÂgotÂten” notes Messy Nessy (see much more of Lewis’s workthere). “HisÂtoÂry chose Edward HopÂper but MarÂtin Lewis was his menÂtor,” and a figÂure well worth celÂeÂbratÂing on his own for his techÂniÂcal masÂtery and origÂiÂnalÂiÂty.
Negro Dive RaidÂed. ThirÂteen Black Men Dressed as Women SurÂprised at SupÂper and ArrestÂed. —The WashÂingÂton Post, April 13, 1888
SomeÂtimes, when we are engaged as either parÂticÂiÂpant in, or eyeÂwitÂness to, the makÂing of hisÂtoÂry, its easy to forÂget the hisÂtoÂry-makÂers who came earÂliÂer, who dug the trenchÂes that allow our modÂern batÂtles to be waged out in the open.
Take America’s first self-appointÂed “queen of drag” and pioÂneerÂing LGBTQ activist, William Dorsey Swann, born into slavÂery around 1858.
30 years latÂer, Swann faced down white offiÂcers bustÂing a drag ball in a “quiÂet-lookÂing house” on WashÂingÂton, DC’s F street, near 12th.
A lurid WashÂingÂton Post clipÂping about the raid caught the eye of writer, hisÂtoÂriÂan, and forÂmer OberÂlin ColÂlege Drag Ball queen, ChanÂning GerÂard Joseph, who was researchÂing an assignÂment for a ColumÂbia UniÂverÂsiÂty gradÂuÂate levÂel invesÂtigaÂtive reportÂing class:
An aniÂmatÂed conÂverÂsaÂtion, carÂried on in effemÂiÂnate tones, was in progress as the offiÂcers approached the door, but when they opened it and the form of Lieut. Amiss was visÂiÂble to the peoÂple in the room a panÂic ensued. A scramÂble was made for the winÂdows and doors and some of the peoÂple jumped to the roofs of adjoinÂing buildÂings. OthÂers stripped off their dressÂes and danced about the room almost in a nude conÂdiÂtion, while sevÂerÂal, headÂed by a big negro named Dorsey, who was arrayed in a gorÂgeous dress of cream-colÂored satin, rushed towards the offiÂcers and tried to preÂvent their enterÂing.
MeanÂwhile you can bone up on Swann, Swann’s jail time for runÂning a brothÂel, and the WashÂingÂton DC drag scene of the Swann era in Joseph’s essay for The Nation, “The First Drag Queen Was a ForÂmer Slave.”
Please note that William Dorsey Swann does not appear in the phoÂto at the top of the page. As per Joseph:
The dancers — one in striped pants, the othÂer in a dress — were recordÂed in France by Louis Lumière. Though their names are lost, they are believed to be AmerÂiÂcan. In the show, they perÂformed a verÂsion of the cakeÂwalk, a dance inventÂed by enslaved peoÂple, and the preÂcurÂsor to vogueÂing.
As the last couÂple of genÂerÂaÂtions to come of age have redisÂcovÂered, urban livÂing has its benÂeÂfits. One of those benÂeÂfits is the abilÂiÂty to keep an eye on your neighÂbors — quite litÂerÂalÂly, givÂen a sitÂuÂaÂtion of buildÂings in close proxÂimÂiÂty, sufÂfiÂcientÂly large winÂdows, and minÂiÂmal usage of drapes. FortysomeÂthing BrookÂlyn couÂple Alli and Jacob find themÂselves turned into voyeurs by just such a sitÂuÂaÂtion in MarÂshall CurÂry’s The NeighÂbor’s WinÂdow, the Best Live Action Short Film at this year’s AcadÂeÂmy Awards. “Do they have jobs, or clothes?” asks Alli, overÂcome by the frusÂtraÂtion of lookÂing after her and Jacob’s three young chilÂdren. “All they do is host dance parÂties and sleep ’till noon and screw.”
You may recÂogÂnize Maria Dizzia and Greg Keller, who play Alli and Jacob, from their appearÂances in Noah BaumÂbach’s While We’re Young. That film, too, dealt with the envy New York Gen-Xers feel for seemÂingÂly more freeÂwheelÂing New York MilÂlenÂniÂals, but The NeighÂbor’s WinÂdow takes it in a difÂferÂent direcÂtion.
CurÂry based it on “The LivÂing Room,” an episode of the stoÂryÂtelling interÂview podÂcast Love and Radio in which writer and filmÂmakÂer Diana Weipert tells of all she saw when she enjoyed a simÂiÂlarÂly clear view into the life of her own younger neighÂbors. “Am I supÂposed to have maybe respectÂed their priÂvaÂcy and just looked away?” Weipert asks, rhetorÂiÂcalÂly. “But it’s imposÂsiÂble because that’s the way the chairs face. They face the winÂdow! I couldÂn’t have not seen them if I wantÂed to.”
Then again, she adds, “I guess I could’ve not gotÂten the binocÂuÂlars.” That irreÂsistible detail makes it into The NeighÂbor’s WinÂdow as a symÂbol of Alli and Jacob’s surÂrenÂder to their fasÂciÂnaÂtion with the couÂple across the street. “They’re like a car crash that you can’t look away from,” as Alli puts it. “Okay, a beauÂtiÂful, sexy, young car crash.” Yet both she and her husÂband, like any human beings with a parÂtial view of othÂer human beings, can’t help but comÂpare their cirÂcumÂstances unfaÂvorÂably with those seen from afar. EvenÂtuÂalÂly, as in “The LivÂing Room,” the twenÂtysomeÂthings expeÂriÂence a reverÂsal of forÂtune, changÂing Alli and Jacob’s view of them. They also regain the view of themÂselves they’d lost amid all their voyeurism — enough of it to make them forÂget that the observers can also be observed.
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.
For decades folÂlowÂing World War II, the world was left wonÂderÂing how the atrocÂiÂties of the HoloÂcaust could have been perÂpeÂtratÂed in the midst of—and, most horÂrifÂiÂcalÂly, by—a modÂern and civÂiÂlized sociÂety. How did peoÂple come to engage in a willÂing and sysÂtemÂatÂic exterÂmiÂnaÂtion of their neighÂbors? PsyÂcholÂoÂgists, whose field had grown into a grudgÂingÂly respectÂed sciÂence by the midÂpoint of the 20th cenÂtuÂry, were eager to tackÂle the quesÂtion.
In 1961, Yale University’s StanÂley MilÂgram began a series of infaÂmous obeÂdiÂence experÂiÂments. While Adolf Eichmann’s triÂal was underÂway in Jerusalem (resultÂing in HanÂnah Arendt’s five-piece reportage, which became one of The New YorkÂer magazine’s most draÂmatÂic and conÂtroÂverÂsial artiÂcle series), MilÂgram began to susÂpect that human nature was more straightÂforÂward than earÂliÂer theÂoÂrists had imagÂined; he wonÂdered, as he latÂer wrote, “Could it be that EichÂmann and his milÂlion accomÂplices in the HoloÂcaust were just folÂlowÂing orders? Could we call them all accomÂplices?”
In the most famous his experÂiÂments, MilÂgram ostenÂsiÂbly recruitÂed parÂticÂiÂpants to take part in a study assessÂing the effects of pain on learnÂing. In realÂiÂty, he wantÂed to see how far he could push the averÂage AmerÂiÂcan to adminÂisÂter painful elecÂtric shocks to a felÂlow human being.
When parÂticÂiÂpants arrived at his lab, Milgram’s assisÂtant would ask them, as well as a secÂond man, to draw slips of paper to receive their roles for the experÂiÂment. In fact, the secÂond man was a conÂfedÂerÂate; the parÂticÂiÂpant would always draw the role of “teacher,” and the secÂond man would invariÂably be made the “learnÂer.”
The parÂticÂiÂpants received instrucÂtions to teach pairs of words to the conÂfedÂerÂate. After they had read the list of words once, the teachÂers were to test the learner’s recall by readÂing one word, and askÂing the learnÂer to name one of the four words assoÂciÂatÂed with it. The experÂiÂmenter told the parÂticÂiÂpants to punÂish any learnÂer misÂtakes by pushÂing a butÂton and adminÂisÂterÂing an elecÂtric shock; while they could not see the learnÂer, parÂticÂiÂpants could hear his screams. The conÂfedÂerÂate, of course, remained unharmed, and mereÂly actÂed out in pain, with each misÂtake costÂing him an addiÂtionÂal 15 volts of punÂishÂment. In case parÂticÂiÂpants falÂtered in their sciÂenÂtifÂic resolve, the experÂiÂmenter was nearÂby to urge them, using four authorÂiÂtaÂtive stateÂments:
Please conÂtinÂue.
The experÂiÂment requires that you conÂtinÂue.
It is absoluteÂly essenÂtial that you conÂtinÂue.
You have no othÂer choice, you must go on.
In a jarÂring set of findÂings, MilÂgram found that 26 of the 40 parÂticÂiÂpants obeyed instrucÂtions, adminÂisÂterÂing shocks all the way from “Slight Shock,” to “DanÂger: Severe Shock.” The final two omiÂnous switchÂes were simÂply marked “XXX.” Even when the learnÂers would pound on the walls in agony after seemÂingÂly receivÂing 300 volts, parÂticÂiÂpants perÂsistÂed. EvenÂtuÂalÂly, the learnÂer simÂply stopped respondÂing.
“I observed a mature and iniÂtialÂly poised busiÂnessÂman enter the labÂoÂraÂtoÂry smilÂing and conÂfiÂdent. WithÂin 20 minÂutes he was reduced to a twitchÂing, stutÂterÂing wreck, who was rapidÂly approachÂing a point of nerÂvous colÂlapse… At one point he pushed his fist into his foreÂhead and mutÂtered: “Oh God, let’s stop it.” And yet he conÂtinÂued to respond to every word of the experÂiÂmenter, and obeyed to the end.”
Milgram’s study set off a powÂder keg whose impact remains felt to this day. EthÂiÂcalÂly, many objectÂed to the decepÂtion and the lack of adeÂquate parÂticÂiÂpant debriefÂing. OthÂers claimed that MilÂgram overemÂphaÂsized human nature’s propenÂsiÂty for blind obeÂdiÂence, with the experÂiÂmenter often urgÂing parÂticÂiÂpants to conÂtinÂue many more times than the four stock phrasÂes allowed.
In the clip above, you can watch origÂiÂnal footage from Milgram’s experÂiÂment, frightÂenÂing in its insidÂiÂous simÂplicÂiÂty. (See a full docÂuÂmenÂtary on the study below.) The man adminÂisÂterÂing the shock grows increasÂingÂly uncomÂfortÂable with his part in the proÂceedÂings, and almost walks out, askÂing “Who’s going to take the responÂsiÂbilÂiÂty for anyÂthing that hapÂpens to that genÂtleÂman?” When the experÂiÂmenter replies, “I’m responÂsiÂble,” the man, absolvÂing himÂself, conÂtinÂues. As the perÂson receivÂing the shocks grows increasÂingÂly panÂicked, comÂplainÂing about his heart and askÂing to be let out, the parÂticÂiÂpant makes his objecÂtions known but appears parÂaÂlyzed, sheepÂishÂly turnÂing to the experÂiÂmenter, unable to leave.
Although Milgram’s work has drawn critÂics, his results endure. While changÂing the experiment’s proÂceÂdure may alter comÂpliÂance (e.g., havÂing the experÂiÂmenter speak to parÂticÂiÂpants over the phone rather than remain in the same room throughÂout the experÂiÂment decreased obeÂdiÂence rates), repliÂcaÂtions have tendÂed to conÂfirm Milgram’s iniÂtial findÂings. Whether one is urged once or a dozen times, peoÂple tend to take on the yoke of authorÂiÂty as absolute, relinÂquishÂing their perÂsonÂal agency in the pain they impart. Human nature, it seems, has no Manichean leanings—merely a pliÂant bent.
Note: An earÂliÂer verÂsion of this post appeared on our site in NovemÂber 2013.
The mid-cenÂtuÂry objects of AnderÂsonÂ’s love include TheNew YorkÂer, a magÂaÂzine he’s read and colÂlectÂed since his teen years. The influÂence of that love on The French DisÂpatch has not gone unnoÂticed at the curÂrent New YorkÂer. A piece pubÂlished there offerÂing stills of AnderÂsonÂ’s new film describes it as “about the doings of a ficÂtionÂal weekÂly magÂaÂzine that looks an awful lot like — and was, in fact, inspired by — The New YorkÂer. The ediÂtor and writÂers of this ficÂtionÂal magÂaÂzine, and the stoÂries it publishes—three of which are draÂmaÂtized in the film — are also looseÂly inspired by The New YorkÂer.” HeadÂing the titÂuÂlar disÂpatch is Arthur HowÂitzer, Jr., played (natÂuÂralÂly) by Bill MurÂray and inspired by New YorkÂer foundÂing ediÂtor Harold Ross. Owen Wilson’s HerbÂsaint SazÂerÂac is “a writer whose low-life beat mirÂrors Joseph Mitchell’s.” JefÂfrey Wright as RoeÂbuck Wright, “a mashup of James BaldÂwin and A. J. Liebling, is a jourÂnalÂist from the AmerÂiÂcan South who writes about food.”
OthÂer regÂuÂlar AnderÂson playÂers include Adrien Brody’s Julian Cadazio, an art dealÂer “modÂelled on Lord Duveen, who was the subÂject of a six-part New YorkÂer ProÂfile by S. N. Behrman, in 1951.” ConÂsidÂer, for a moment, that there was a time when a major magÂaÂzine would pubÂlish a six-part proÂfile of a British art dealÂer who had died more than a decade before — and when such a piece of writÂing would draw both conÂsidÂerÂable attenÂtion and acclaim. There are those who critÂiÂcize as misÂplaced AnderÂsonÂ’s apparÂent nosÂtalÂgia for times, places, and culÂtures like the one The French DisÂpatch will bring to the screen this sumÂmer. But here in the 21st cenÂtuÂry, inunÂdatÂed as we are by what Pogue calls the “largeÂly voiceÂless and preÂciseÂly forÂmuÂlaÂic” writÂing of even respectable pubÂliÂcaÂtions, can we begrudge the filmÂmakÂer his yearnÂing for those bygone days? The only thing missÂing back then, it might seem to us fans, was Wes AnderÂson movies.
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.
When EmiÂly RoeÂbling walked across the BrookÂlyn Bridge on May 24th, 1883, the first perÂson to cross its entire span, she capped a famÂiÂly saga equal parts triÂumph and tragedy, a stoÂry that began sixÂteen years earÂliÂer when her father-in-law, GerÂman-AmerÂiÂcan engiÂneer John AugusÂtus RoeÂbling, began design work on the bridge. RoeÂbling had already built susÂpenÂsion bridges over the MononÂgaÂhela RivÂer in PittsÂburgh, the NiaÂgara RivÂer between New York and CanaÂda, and over the Ohio RivÂer between CincinÂnati and CovÂingÂton, KenÂtucky. But the bridge over the East RivÂer was to be someÂthing else entireÂly. As RoeÂbling himÂself said, it “will not only be the greatÂest bridge in exisÂtence, but it will be the greatÂest engiÂneerÂing work of the conÂtiÂnent, and of the age.”
New York City offiÂcials may have had litÂtle reaÂson to think so in the mid-1860s. “SusÂpenÂsion bridges were colÂlapsÂing all across Europe,” notes the TED-Ed video above by Alex Gendler. “Their indusÂtriÂal cables frayed durÂing turÂbuÂlent weathÂer and snapped under the weight of their decks.” But the overÂcrowdÂing city needÂed relief. An “East RivÂer Bridge Project” had been in the works since 1829 and was seen as more necÂesÂsary with each passÂing decade. Despite their misÂgivÂings, the authorÂiÂties were willÂing to trust RoeÂbling with a hybrid design that comÂbined methÂods used by both susÂpenÂsion and cable-stayed bridges. Two years latÂer, he was dead, the result of a tetanus infecÂtion conÂtractÂed after he lost sevÂerÂal toes in a dock acciÂdent.
Roebling’s son WashÂingÂton, a civÂil engiÂneer who had fought for the Union Army at the BatÂtle of GetÂtysÂburg, took over the project, only to sufÂfer from paralÂyÂsis after he got the bends while trapped inside a caisÂson in 1870. For the remainÂder of the bridge’s conÂstrucÂtion, he would advise from his bedÂroom, relayÂing instrucÂtions through his wife Emily—who became after a time the bridge’s de facÂto chief engiÂneer. She “studÂied mathÂeÂmatÂics, the calÂcuÂlaÂtions of cateÂnary curves, strengths of mateÂriÂals and the intriÂcaÂcies of cable conÂstrucÂtion,” writes EmiÂly Nonko at 6sqft. She knew the bridge so well that “many were under the impresÂsion she was the real designÂer.”
“1.5 times longer than any preÂviÂousÂly built susÂpenÂsion bridge,” the video lesÂson notes, Roebling’s design worked because it used steel cables instead of hemp, with towÂers risÂing over 90 meters (295 feet) above sea levÂel. This is almost three times highÂer than ediÂtors at the New York MirÂror proÂjectÂed in 1829, when they called the brand new “East RivÂer Bridge Project” an “absurd and ruinous” propoÂsiÂtion. “Who would mount over such a strucÂture, when a pasÂsage could be effectÂed in a much shortÂer time, and that, too, withÂout exerÂtion or trouÂble, in a safe and well-shelÂtered steamÂboat?”
Just six days after EmiÂly RoeÂbling crossed the newÂly opened BrookÂlyn Bridge, a stamÂpede killed twelve peoÂple, and months latÂer, P.T. BarÂnum led 21 eleÂphants over the bridge to prove its safeÂty. Who would cross such a strucÂture? It turned out, for betÂter or worse, anyÂone and everyÂone would driÂve, walk, run, subÂway, bike, scoot, climb up, leap from, and othÂerÂwise “mount over” the East RivÂer by way of the neo-gothÂic wonÂder (and latÂer its much ugliÂer sibÂling, the ManÂhatÂtan Bridge). Learn much more in the short lesÂson above how John A. Roebling’s bomÂbasÂtic claims about his design were not far off the mark, and why the BrookÂlyn Bridge is one of the greatÂest engiÂneerÂing feats in modÂern hisÂtoÂry.
New York Times culÂture reporter Dave Itzkoff joins your hosts Mark LinÂsenÂmayÂer, EriÂca Spyres, and BriÂan Hirt to conÂsidÂer issues raised by DavÂe’s 2018 biogÂraÂphy Robin: How do we make sense of our strange relaÂtion to celebriÂties, and what are strateÂgies that celebriÂties use to deal with their asymÂmetÂric relaÂtionÂship to the world? While Robin Williams tried, in gratÂiÂtude, to share himÂself with his fans, and was very anxÂious about letÂting us all down when some of his latÂer work didÂn’t garÂner the wideÂspread praise he was used to, someÂone like Joaquin Phoenix takes a much more seemÂingÂly detached attiÂtude, keenÂly aware of the absurÂdiÂty of the celebriÂty-audiÂence relaÂtion.
We also talk to Dave about interÂview techÂnique and the difÂferÂent attiÂtudes that his subÂjects take toward him. Can an interÂview be someÂthing that has intrinÂsic valÂue and not just parÂaÂsitic on popÂuÂlar media?
For more about Robin, Dave parÂticÂiÂpatÂed in a recent podÂcast called KnowÂing: Robin Williams, which was creÂatÂed in part to supÂport DavÂe’s book (which some of us read for this episode; it’s realÂly good). HBO also recentÂly released the docÂuÂmenÂtary Come Inside My Mind that relates much of the same stoÂry.
For all the not-quite-believÂable mateÂrÂiÂal in the annals of 1970s rock hisÂtoÂry, is any more difÂfiÂcult to accept than the fact that ZigÂgy StarÂdust first mateÂriÂalÂized in the subÂurbs? SpecifÂiÂcalÂly, he mateÂriÂalÂized in TolÂworth, greater LonÂdon, at the Toby Jug pub, whose stoÂried hisÂtoÂry as a live-music venue also includes perÂforÂmances by Led ZepÂpelin, FleetÂwood Mac, GenÂeÂsis, and King CrimÂson. There, on the night of FebÂruÂary 10, 1972, David Bowie — until that point known, to the extent he was known, as the intriguÂing but not wholÂly unconÂvenÂtionÂal young rockÂer of “Space OddÂiÂty” — took the stage as his androgÂyÂnous MarÂtÂian alter ego, bedecked in othÂerÂworldÂly colÂors and actÂing as no rockÂer ever had before.
History.com quotes Bowie in an interÂview pubÂlished in Melody MakÂer less than three weeks before the Toby Jug show: “I’m going to be huge, and it’s quite frightÂenÂing in a way, because I know that when I reach my peak and it’s time for me to be brought down it will be with a bump.”
He was cerÂtainÂly right about the first part: while Bowie’s perÂforÂmance as ZigÂgy StarÂdust brought him seriÂous attenÂtion, the release that sumÂmer of his conÂcept album The Rise and Fall of ZigÂgy StarÂdust and the SpiÂders from Marswould launch him perÂmaÂnentÂly into the popÂuÂlar-culÂture canon. LatÂer described as “a boot in the colÂlecÂtive sagÂging denÂim behind of hipÂpie singer-songÂwhinÂers,” the album expandÂed the lisÂtenÂing pubÂlic’s sense of what rock and rock stars could be.
In a sense, Bowie was also corÂrect about the time comÂing for him to be brought down — if “him” means ZigÂgy StarÂdust, that delibÂerÂateÂly doomed creÂation, his fall foreÂtold in the title of the very album on which he stars. As we’ve preÂviÂousÂly postÂed about here on Open CulÂture, Bowie-as-ZigÂgy famousÂly bid the Earth farewell onstage in 1973, not much over a year after his arrival. Of course, what to some looked like the end of Bowie’s career proved to be only the end of one chapÂter: the saga would conÂtinÂue in such incarÂnaÂtions as Aladdin Sane, the Thin White Duke, and a variÂety of othÂers known only as “David Bowie.” But this much-mytholÂoÂgized and hugeÂly influÂenÂtial shapeshiftÂing all goes back to that FebÂruÂary night in TolÂworth, real footage of which you can see above. The sound comes spliced in from a difÂferÂent show, played that same year in SanÂta MonÂiÂca — but then, Bowie was about nothÂing if not artiÂfice.
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.
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