$1,000 Bright Star

at Boston College High?!?!

If I had to choose just one image to convey the “essence” of North Carolina, I would choose this one above. The scale and the light, the growth and the eye contact.

All of the pre-1950 photos labelled North Carolina in the Smithsonian photo archive.

Limited archives are telling. Are these the only images of North Carolina that the Smithsonian cared to keep? The only ones that found their way to their desk. Photos bleach, rot and tear. Who kept these clean, safe and whole?

The ones below are from the Scurlock studio in Washington D.C. Both of the subjects are from North Carolina.

A politician and a businessman.

I hope Addison Scurlock knew how important his work would be for us. Us, as in, everyone touched by any work of art post-1950. If you have seen a work of art set in the United States between 1900 and 1950, you have seen the work of people that have looked long and hard at Scurlock photographs. I will spare you my costume designer-specific excitement at the level of detail that allows me to see how these people tie their ties. The eye contact, though. That should make everyone excited. Very few …