I hardly ever tire of looking at images, particularly old family snapshots, with their candid nature and hidden truths. Among my favorites of those are photographs of cakes. The cake itself is a completely frivolous food, in fact, I hesitate to call it food, (Marie Antoinette may agree) because it is so nutritionally void. Don't get me wrong, it's delicious, but so impractical. When someone takes a photograph of a cake, to me, it's as if the cake becomes anthropomorphized, it becomes a doomed guest at the party, it becomes a personality, and the image of that personality I find very amusing.
These two are from my own family's archive, and I thought I should share them. They are responsible for feeding my fascination with this type of image. The first was taken at a wedding. I couldn't tell you whose wedding, it was before I was born. I am drawn to the juxtaposition of the elaborately decorated cake, complete with swans and pink roses, and the support column and clock in the background, obvious props from a drab beige basement.
The second photograph is of my great, great grandmother. I have always known this woman in rare pictures of her to have excellent posture, a collar all the way buttoned, and the slightest hint of a smile. This image is no different, apart from the celebratory cake she holds on her lap. I enjoy the light leaks around the edges of this photograph, and the overexposed cake which doesn't allow for me to make out the decorations on it. Some pictures want to be turned over:
If any of you would like to share some old pictures of cake with me, I would be overjoyed :)
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