Parlour Games with Proust

Photo of Marcel Proust

Lately it has been me, me, me on my blog which is something that literary giant Marcel Proust would abhor. And even though I vowed to take his lessons of living to heart in my recent post, I could not resist sharing with you an amusing parlour game that Proust used to play with his friends after a dinner party.

Vanity Fair has an online version of this game in which you answer the questions and your answers are matched to celebrities. But if you'd rather just play with me, here are the questions and my answers. I strongly advise drinking a glass of wine or two before you play!

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A weekend away with my husband in Paris or London

2. What is your greatest fear?
Dying of Parkinson's disease in which I am trapped inside the prison of my body, like my father did and like my mother soon will 

3. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Marie Antoinette

4. Which living person do you most admire?
Artist Cindy Sherman because she took what she feared the most and made a career out of it

5. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
A desire for validation of my work

6. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Lack of manners

7. What is your greatest extravagence?
Fashion and books

8. On what occasion do you lie?
To avoid hurting someone's feelings

9. What do you dislike most about your appearance?
My hair

10. When and where were you happiest?
 In this moment

11. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
To have more self confidence about my work

12. If you could change one thing about your family what would it be?
That we saw each other more often

13. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
 Learning to find joy within the moment even through difficult times

14. If you died and came back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
 A tree

15. What is your most treasured possession?
 Photos of my husband and boys

16. What do you regard as the lowest depths of misery?
Time spent with people who complain

17. Who are your heroes in real life?
 My husband

18. What is it that you most dislike?
 Lack of courtesy 

19. How would you like to die?
 In my sleep

20. What is your motto?
This too shall pass


In the online Vanity Fair version, my answers most closely matched Joan Didion (88%), author of the book The Year of Magical Thinking.  I was a little surprised by this at first, but then I read a reviewer's comments about my show All is Vanity.

Among the myriad of associations elicited by your images was Joan Didion's 'The Year of Magical Thinking' (written by Didion following the death of her husband and daughter). Ingrid's images are a true interpretation of the magical thinking we all experience following the loss of someone dear to us. The images resonate and to me, are universal. (To read DF Krouskie's entire review, read the loop gallery blog here.)

If you do the survey, please share your answers!

Vanity Fair Portraits 1913-2008

In a world where everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame, having one's portrait in Vanity Fair magazine seems to be the hallmark of celebrity. Originally called Dress and Vanity Fair at its launch in 1913 with the title shortened to Vanity Fair six months later, the magazine was a phenomenal success with its modern and bold approach. Writers included such luminaries as Aldous Huxley, D.H. Lawrence, and Noel Coward. Photographers such as Edward Steichen, Man Ray, and Cecil Beaton forged new ground in portraiture. The magazine took in more advertising than any other magazine within two years. Vanity Fair suspended publication in 1936 and was relaunched in 1983. Annie Leibovitz has been the magazine's chief photographer since 1983 and her photographs alone are a fascinating chronicle of modern celebrity and culture.

A retrospective exhibition of 150 celebrity portraits from Vanity Fair opened at the Royal Ontario Museum on the weekend. At a packed preview last week, I saw many familiar cover photos from the magazine including the pregnant Demi Moore by Annie Liebovitz, Julia Roberts by Herb Ritts and Princess Diana by Mario Testino . I marveled at these exquisite images and especially enjoyed seeing them without text marring the image and in large format instead of magazine size. I also appreciated the rare privilege of viewing the vintage photo collection of ethereal black and white photos of Louise Brooks, Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Jean Harlowe, Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein.

There are no surprises in this exhibition. For me, the exhibition suggested that portraiture can be as much about the photographer as it is about the person being photographed. Given that Annie Leibovitz has dominated the pages of the modern Vanity Fair, the exhibition is, in a large part, about her. That in and of itself is not a bad thing given the depth of her talent, but it does suggest that we've defined modern celebrity through the lens of her camera.

Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario Canada
September 26, 2009 to January 3, 2010