Lassman's Cockroach Girl

Alexandra Silverthorne over at Solarize This has an interesting posting on the terrific photograph by Scott Lassman titled "Girl with Cockroaches" that is currently part of our Bethesda International Photography Exhibition.

The photo has attracted a lot of attention, and as Alexandra points out, there are various merit and creep factor reasons for some of the attention. I have also overheard some discussion by gallery visitors, and even answered a few questions about the photo.

Here's some background:

- The little girl in the photo is Scott's niece. At the opening, Mrs. Lassman told me the story of the cockroaches and the little girl.

- The cockroaches are real and are not superimposed on top of the little girl's body.

- Not only are those huge suckers real, but they are Madagascar hissing cockroaches, so they make noises as well!

- The roaches are the pets of the little girl.

- One of them was recently lost in a hotel room in New England. I don't know about you, but I'm skipping visiting New England for a while.

Aother darker (and ignorant) set of comments overheard (just the usual handful of two or three idiots), have been a few folks who have been offended by the nudity of the little girl in the photo. I have zero patience for people who see something bad or sinister or morally wrong with nudity, and have very vocally challenged the "commenters" about the fact that perhaps there is something wrong with "them" in seeing something bad about a happy little girl resting on the grass, with a huge smile as her repulsive pets tickle her tummy, simply because the photo implies that she's in the buff.

It's an excellent photo and a great deal as well by the way... it measures 17x11 inches and it is matted in a white pH-balanced acid free mat and framed under glass in a black metal moulding frame to 32.5 x 20.5 inches and sells for $600. Call the gallery at 301/718-9651 if you are interested.