PaJaMa Collective
Show notes
Episode 39 - Zach & Courtney talk about PaJaMa collective, made up of painters & photographers Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and Margaret French. Between 1937 and the mid 1950s, they created a set of photos that feel like summer.
This episode about PaJaMa is also a great way to celebrate Pride Month, as the artists are credited as being the first queer art collective on Fire Island, NY.
In this episode, we look through their vast archive of images, talk about how their painting styles were reflected in their photographs, and address the importance of these photos as a historical document of a community that largely lived their lives outside of public view.
“Photography is nothing–it's life that interests me.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson
Index
0:00 - Intro: Who is PaJaMa collective?
2:11 - Photos locations: Fire Island, NY and Provincetown, MA
5:27 - Photography used to be mostly private
12:50 - Friends of PaJaMa
16:15 - Queer history as told through photography. Alice Austen
18:48 - Jared French & Paul Cadmus paintings
23:06 - Alfred Eisenstaedt’s V-J Day photo is SA
27:52 - About Margaret Hoening French
28:25 - The photography of PaJaMa collective
38:30 - Stone Blossom: A Conversation Piece by Paul Cadmus
39:41 - What is the historical significance of PaJaMa?
44:07 - Photographer George Platt Lynes - a friend of PaJaMa
46:15 - Calvalrymen Crossing A River - Jared French
**CORRECTIONS**
In the audio, Zach states Chess and Politics is by Jared French. This is correct.
The text incorrectly credits the painting to Paul Cadmus.
Also, Zach called the Alfred Eisenstaedt photo, “V-E Day” but it’s actually “V-J Day”
Find Zach
Website: https://zachdobson.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachdobsonphoto/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachdobsonphoto
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@zachdobsonphoto
Find Courtney
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneymccracken_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happy_life_lessons
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@courtneymccracken_
About the Podcast
Photography is Nothing with Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken is a weekly conversation about photography and all its impact. Each week Zach and Courtney discuss their latest adventures, life lessons, and anything else that sounds interesting.
Photography is Nothing invites you into the conversations they were already having as a married couple running a photography and media company in the current world.
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