men of
Proposal: Acts of subversive editing like collage and erasure help us re-learn how to read.
Material: Men of Progress, published in 1898 by The New England Magazine, a gold-tooled, leather-bound volume that contains over 500 biographical entries of Connecticut men. Each is represented by a photograph and a structured written summary: claims of lineage (the best Western European stock), accomplishments (in education and industry), wives (often more than one). Each entry conformably strives for exception and achieves exceptional conformity. The photographs suggest progress was white. Women of Progress does not exist.
Yearbook IV appeared in Contemporary Collage Magazine Issue 17.
