“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.”
— Mark Twain
Take a moment to look at the photo above. We don’t know Maureen. She’s the subject of a pair of ‘BEFORE’ and AFTER’ polaroids from Robert E Jackson’s astounding archive of snapshots. What do you think changed between the two pictures and what happened between them? It can be fun to guess. The smart money would be on some kind of beauty treatment that at the time might well have left Maureen feeling rejuvenated and fabulous. But shorn of context and explainer text, we wonder if the photographer working for the beauty company thought yellow was more suited to Maureen’s skin and hair tones than red, and realised that many of us looking at shapely ‘BEFORE’ Maureen are not entirely focused on her face and hair.
There are 23 Before and After pictures in this series. And, as ever, let’s imagine the stories between…
“No, my friend, I am not drunk. I have just been to the dentist, and need not return for another six months! Is it not the most beautiful thought?”
― Agatha Christie, One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
“Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.”
— James Joyce, Ulysses
“ALICE
She drank from a bottle called DRINK ME
And she grew so tall,
She ate from a plate called TASTE ME
And down she shrank so small.
And so she changed, while other folks
Never tried nothin’ at all.”― Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends
“Now he’s gettin’ a tattoo, yeah, he’s gettin’ ink done
He asked for a thirteen, but they drew a thirty-one”– Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), The Offspring
“For believe me! — the secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment is: to live dangerously!”
— Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs
Breakfast black coffee one slice of dry toast no butter no jelly no jam
Lunch just some lettuce two celery stalks no booze no potatoes no ham
Dinner one chicken wing broiled not fried no gravy no biscuits no pie
And this dietin’ dietin’ dietin’ dietin’ sure is a rough way to die– Diet Song by Bobby Bare
Forrest steps onto the army bus. Rain pours outside as the army bus driver yells at Forrest.
FORREST: … Forrest Gump.
ARMY BUS DRIVER: Nobody gives a hunk of shit who you are, fuzzball! You’re not even a lowlife scum sucking maggot! Get your faggoty ass on the bus. You’re in the Army now!
– Forrest Gump by Eric Roth, based on a novel by Winston Groom
Well, I’m not the world’s most masculine man
But I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man
And so is Lola
La-la-la-la Lola
La-la-la-la Lola– The Kinks, Lola
More from Robert E. Jackson on the site. Follow him here for more great stuff.
Would you like to support Flashbak?
Please consider making a donation to our site. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For great art and culture delivered to your door, visit our shop.
