Photography

Series
Work In Progress
Original Broadcast Date
1986
Cast
Tim Jerome, Nick Ullett, Sandy Faison, David Rapkin, Lester Nafzger, Arthur Miller, Joe Frank
Format
Absurd Monologue, Panel Discussion,Call In Show, Improv Actors, 58 minutes
Preceded by:	Dreams Of The River
Followed by:	Dear Annie
Purchase on CD or  Stream

"Knockoff was the inventor of the photographic negative"

Photography is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series Work In Progress. It was originally broadcast in 1986.

Synopsis

A man (David Rapkin?) tells a nonsense version of the invention of photography.

1:20: (Automobile sounds, then police radio)

2:00: 'China blues' (Weather report)

2:30: Joe tells us he drives around, listening to police radio, all night, his car equipped with a dark room. He takes pictures of accidents. He describes the scene of a fatal accident. He goes on to talk about the limitations of photographs: they are an instant in time; they show people as others see them.

11:10: (Music)

11:40: A panel (Arthur Miller, Tim Jerome (fake German accent), Nick Ullett (real English accent), Joe) talk about the truthfulness of photographs, the meaning of colors. Larry Block, on the phone, joins in, then Lester Nafzger on the phone. A woman (Sandy Faison?) speaks.

24:30: 'China blues' (Weather report)

25:00: Joe talks about yin and yang, balance, why that makes a photograph perfect. He asks for people to call in to have their picture taken on the radio.

26:10: A woman calls in, describes herself. Joe takes pictures.

29:00: Another woman calls in, describes herself. She's naked in the tub. Joe takes pictures.

32:30: The panel returns, talks about combat photographers who staged battles to photograph. They consider whether a photographer should warn a pedestrian to prevent an accident rather than take a photograph of the accident, then whether people rob banks to get photographed. They consider a photographic state in which everyone has to carry a camera and take a thousand pictures daily. They discuss non-light photography. They opine on whether an undeveloped photograph exists.

39:50: Joe asks a man (Arthur Miller?) about this photo he took at a nude wedding. The panel chimes in.

43:10: Joe asks Iris (Sandy Faison) about this picture she took of a milk bottle on a fire escape, a passed-out vagrant underneath. Joe ask André (Tim Jerome) what he thinks of it. Nick Ullett chimes in. Larry Block, on the phone, talks about a different picture from Iris's show.

47:00: André tells us photography is an important form, explains why. Nick Ullett adds his opinion, then Larry.

48:30: Joe says why photographers claim they're creative artists.

49:30: Another woman calls in to have her picture taken. She's wearing fatigues, holding a gun. They pose as though they're shooting each other. Joe takes pictures.

52:40: Joe signs off.

53:00: The guy from the first segment says he wears surgical garb, describes his dress, the scene out the window, rock storms they've been having, his furniture, the molds he grows in flasks and petri dishes, family photographs.

Legacy Synopsis

Monologue: a photographer chases crime scene. Actors: panel discussion about photography. Call in to have picture taken on the radio. An actor describes the scene in his room (rock storms, mushrooms).

Music

• "China Blues" - Weather Report (from This Is This, 1986) | YouTube [1:50]

Additional credits

The original broadcast credits state: "Special thanks to Tim Jerome, Nick Ullett, Sandy Faison, David Rapkin, Lester Nafzger, and Arthur Miller for appearing in tonight's program. Thanks also to Bill Cowen and Sheryl G. Technical production by Tom Strother."

Commentary

Are the women who call in to have their pictures taken the same ones who call in to Joe Frank Live - Women Police Officers?
Sandy Faison had a serious acting career.