After my return from visiting an artist friend in the UK, I had intended to share a number of interesting and relevant details, but alas, my hours are limited and I have not gotten to it yet. I want to do it properly as there is a lot to cover so you can expect to hear the details in the next couple of weeks—after completing the Brian Partridge post.

The first item here is a last minute addition. Robert Nelson, husband of Poli Papapetrou, suddenly replied to an inquiry I made in April.

Legacy of a Deserving Artist: As mentioned before, my first artist friend, Polixeni Papapetrou passed away this April leaving a number of bereaved family, friends and fans leaving a few questions up in the air. Her husband Robert has just graciously replied to some specific questions I had of particular interest to her adoring friends and fans. First of all, Poli’s website will be maintained indefinitely. At first glance, I had thought there was no accompanying text to her latest installation ‘My heart’ which is to be found here. During the memorial service held on April 17th, Robert read this poem at Poli’s graveside.  He also wrote three dedications to Poli which can be  found here. A book dedicated to the artist is indeed being produced by Thames & Hudson but there is no news on a release date as yet. A while back, Poli was kind enough to share a copy of her doctoral dissertation, A studio investigation into the theatricality and performative aspects of the child subject in photography. I had thought to have it published here but I am told it is already available online from the Monash University Library. Thank you again Robert for updating us on the latest developments.

The Problems of a Federal System: Coincidences are a remarkable thing. Upon returning to the US, I got a stark illustration of the differences between a monarchy and a federated republic. The Alabama authorities conducted a raid of Chris Madaio’s apartment. If this were an FBI raid, there would be nothing to be concerned about: a couple of computers and a portable drive containing his own legitimate work. The problem in this case is that Alabama law has a stricter interpretation of child pornography which includes non-suggestive photos to topless children (some of which have been published on Pigtails). With luck, this will simply be seen as a misunderstanding; but if not, this demonstrates a vindictive desire to continually punish people despite good faith efforts at rehabilitation. This kind of variation is not seen in the UK where Her Majesty’s law is the law of the land and cannot be made looser or more strict by the individual counties.

Part of a Proper Education? Here’s something you don’t see anymore. Apart from the general neglect of education in the West, people’s priorities have really changed. We no longer concern ourselves with children’s posture. This is a mixed blessing because it is now generally believed that the mental functions are most important; but if correcting our posture helps prevent bona fide health problems in the future, why not do it? Whatever your views on the subject, take a look at this charming 1920s video where children demonstrate many of the proposed corrective exercises.

More Modeling News: This month’s installment is a blog featuring articles about the issue of children photographed in the nude. Many of these topics have been discussed here before and the blog’s emphasis seems to be on anecdotes about law enforcement and the current debate on legality in the US.