An Exploration of Southern Pace & Other Ways of Knowing in Charleston, South Carolina Circa 1912 to 1934
📸: “Snapshot, two women sitting on the front porch of a house, unidentified.” Circa 1912 to 1934, Duke University Libraries Repository Collections & Archives.
Mirror Moment(s) (Things that reflect a Southern sensibility &/or resonate with the Southern element of the storytelling): Pace and Other Ways of Knowing
The woman on the right gazes down at a potentially unidentified object in her hand. Her legs are zipped up tight, out of habit, or to support the object in her hands. In comparison, the woman pictured on the left also gazed at the object with a slight smile. She leaves space between her legs to let the air flow. Even though the air of Charleston, South Carolina was filled with humid. The hair of both women is up with a middle part as they rest on the porch steps. The weight of the two women, and the house, are supported by large stones and gravel underneath the railing on the left. The screen door is left open to let the air circulate, testing the lines between private versus public space, line of defense versus spaces of leisure, and linear versus circular time. The Southern porch encompasses the Southern pace of life and is the stage where knowledge-filled stories are shared. What stories are these women sharing?