Seema's Show: A Life on the Left

262 Pages·2005·5.57 MB·English

by  Sara Halprin

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Seema’s Show
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A volume
in the
CounterCulture
Series
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Editors:David Farber,History,Temple University
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Seema’s Show
A Life on the Left
SARA HALPR IN
FOREWORD BY MARGE FRANTZ
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS | ALBUQUERQUE
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© 2005by Sara Halprin
All rights reserved.Published 2005
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
10 09 08 07 06 05 1 2 3 4 5 6
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Halprin,Sara.
Seema’s show :a life on the left / Sara Halprin ;
foreword by Marge Frantz.—1st ed.
p. cm.— (CounterCulture series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 0-8263-3847-x(pbk.:alk.paper)
1.Weatherwax,Seema,1905– 2.Women political activists—United States—
Biography. 3.Women photographers—United States—Biography.
4.Russian Americans—Biography. 5.Counterculture—United States.
I.Title. II.Series.
ct275.w3494h35 2005
979.4'0049171'0092—dc22
2005006821
Two lines from “Red-nosed Frost”(“Moroz Drasnyy Nos”) from Nikolai Nekrasov:
Poems,1862–1863,by Nikolai Nekrasov,edited by Juliet Soskice,translator (1936).
By permission ofOxford University Press.
Design and composition:Melissa Tandysh
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It is very important to be stubborn
when you are losing your independence.
—Seema Aissen Weatherwax
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Contents
List ofPhotographs viii
Foreword by Marge Frantz xi
Introduction 1
Chapter One 1905–29:From Chernigov to California 15
Chapter Two 1929–38:Los Angeles,Tahiti,Los Angeles 53
Chapter Three 1938–41:Yosemite 93
Chapter Four 1940–84:Jack 123
Chapter Five 1985–2000:A New Life 203
Epilogue 223
Sources and Acknowledgments 229
Bibliography 234
Index 242
vii
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List of Photographs
Figure 1. Seema Weatherwax,Yosemite,
photograph by Edward Weston,1940 xiv
Figure 2. Darkroom,Yosemite,ca.1938 5
Figure 3. Seema,Santa Cruz,by Jason Weston,2000 8
Figure 4. “Springtime,”Yosemite,ca.1939 13
Figure 5. Reva and Avram Aissen,Chernigov,ca.1902 14
Figure 6. Aissen sisters,Chernigov,1909 17
Figure 7. Aissen sisters,Leeds,1913 23
Figure 8. Aissen sisters,Leeds,1920 31
Figure 9. Seema,Reva,Tama,Boston,1928 34
Figure 10. James Lacey and Seema,Boston,ca.1925 40
Figure 11. House in Paterson,New Jersey,ca.1928 43
Figure 12. Seema with Jim’s Ford in California,1929 45
Figure 13. Seema,Los Angeles,ca.1930 52
Figure 14. Seema and Clarence Lingeman,ca.1930 58
Figure 15. Mariposa Cafe,Papeete,ca.1932 62
Figure 16. Moorea,1931 65
Figure 17. Seema and friend,Tahiti,ca.1932 67
Figure 18. Reva,ca.1933 74
Figure 19. Joy,Clarence,Seema,Tama,Al,
Long Beach,ca.1934 77
viii
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Figure 20. Chan Weston and Seema,Yosemite,ca.1938 84
Figure 21. Seema,Virginia and Ansel Adams,
Best’s Studio,Yosemite,ca.1940 92
Figure 22. Ansel Adams,Yosemite,ca.1939 94
Figure 23. Feet Firmly Planted,Yosemite,ca.1939 96
Figure 24. Seema with Graflex,Yosemite,ca.1940 102
Figure 25. Ansel Adams with view camera,ca.1940 103
Figure 26. Chan Weston,by Dorothea Lange,ca.1938 106
Figure 27. Joy Sands and Ted Weston,Yosemite,ca.1938 108
Figures 28a,b,c. Seema and Edward Weston,
Apache dance,Yosemite,1940 113
Figure 29. Fog Below Point Lobos,ca.1940 119
Figure 30. Jack and Seema Weatherwax,
Los Angeles,ca.1942 122
Figure 31. Jack Weatherwax,Los Angeles,ca.1943 124
Figure 32. Woody Guthrie with homeless
mother and child,Bakersfield,1941 130
Figure 33. Artist at Shafter Farm Labor Camp,1941 133
Figure 34. Owner,Windsor Hotel,Las Vegas,1942 136
Figure 35. Wedding reception for Jack and Seema,
Edgemont Street,Los Angeles,1942 145
Figure 36. Clara Weatherwax and Jerry Strang,
Seema and Jack,Los Angeles,ca.1943 147
Figure 37. Jack with James Ford,Golden’s Bridge,
New York,1945 153
Figure 38. Mt.Lyell,1945 157
Figure 39. Exploring the World,Lakshmi Singh,
Los Angeles,1942 159
Figure 40. Jimsie Porter’s house in Santa Barbara,1945 163
Figure 41. Hollywood strike,1945 164
Figure 42. Hattie Brown,ca.1983 168
Figure 43. Seema and Jack,Edgemont Street,ca.1955 177
Figure 44. Seema and Jack,1965 178
Figure 45. Seema and Jack,1980 180
LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS ix