Art & Exhibitions
At NYPL, Katharine Hepburn is a Heartbreaker
THE DAILY PIC: A show of headshots makes clear that star-power has a sexual edge.
Blake Gopnik
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THE DAILY PIC (#1391): The show called “Head Shots: Performer Portraits from Daguerreotype to Digital”, at the New York Public Library For the Performing Arts, makes clear that the “charisma” which stars are supposed to have is basically a sexual, or at least amorous, charge. Looking at this show’s pile of publicity shots, you can measure star power by how much your heart goes pitter-pat, regardless of the star’s gender or your own sexual preference.
Katharine Hepburn, in this 1950 shot by Florence Vandamm, makes me fall instantly, insanely in love with her. Doesn’t “Katharine Gopnik” have a nice ring to it? (Vandamm Theatrical Photography Collection, Billy Rose Theatre Division, NYPL)
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