Watergate and the Rosemary stretch.Like the magic bullet…eighteen minutes?
by Art Chantry ( art@artchantry.com):
this is the actual tape recorder that rosemary woods was using when she did that “accidentally” erased that infamous “18-minute gap”. ever see her re-create the pose she would have to strike in order to accidentally erase the tape? she as a contortionist!
I always assumed (like i always do when i read things in the press) that this whole white house taping system was some sort of high tech piece of state-of-the-art gear that was only accessible to CIA or (the then unknown) NSA or something. turns out its a cruddy little panasonic or sony or something. real junk.
That sort of brings me back to the whole “fantasy vs. reality” thing. we always assume so much when we hear about something. we have great imaginations and we start to IMAGINE the scenario we hear about. the result is that we end up with grandiose conspiracy theories about what really happened. or that there really are ‘james bond’ guys out there with super secret extreme gear that can legally kill. that all rock stars and movie stars and celebrities are famous, therefore rich, as if fame=wealth. none of this stuff is true, but we will fight to the death to defend it because we ASSUME it’s the truth.
AC:whenever i get into this particular screed (i often talk like this in front of audiences - particularly if they are students and/or professionals), i always feel like i'm committing professional suicide. most design people never even consider this side of the biz, would never ever NEVER say anything that might possibly throw themselves into a negative light (it's bad for business, ya know). but, at this point in my "career", i've sort of made my name by doing this sort of "emperor has no clothes" sort of dialog. so, i'm immune. i'm one of the very few people in this particular "industry" that can say this sort of thing and totally get away with it.
Truth is gray, not b&w. nothing is ever “true or false.” it’s all shades of gray. for example, yes we really did try to kill leaders of foreign nations (think “castro”), but we had such lame gear that it all failed. our invasions were lame, our initial planning stupid our execution amateur. even the people involved were all goombahs with much more fantasy than reality in their experiences. the “truth” is that it was all a big “dungeons and dragons” role playing game executed boys boys with toys (and power). lame in the extreme.
I’m in the business of fucking with people’s ideas and fantasies. it’s my job to use this language of graphic design – a language that everybody knows but nobody knows they know it. I use color and shape and line and form to make a viewer change their mind about something. for example, “yellow’ MEANS something in our minds. a ‘circle means something VERY different than a ‘square.’ a ‘rough’ line can say something utterly contradictory to a ‘smooth’ line.
---"Stretch: a fantasia" is the title of Susan Bernfield has given her new play. Her inspiration was this iconic 1974 photograph of Rose Mary Woods as she demonstrated to a grand jury how she accidentally erased a section of the "Nixon tapes." In 2005, Susan read that Woods had died in an Ohio nursing home and began to write the play. Though it only had a four-day run last week at the Ice Factory at the Ohio Theatre in Soho, I'm sure someone will be smart enough to bring it back for a full run. The play zips along in 80 minutes and was a tour de force for Kristin Griffith, the lead actress. At first Rose Mary drowses in a wheel chair, then wakes periodically to reveal the tough and shrewd "executive assistant" she became. Of course, she is unknown to the clueless 20-something orderly who watches over her. Though I missed some of the drug references he made when relaxing over substances with his stoned buddy, the two were characterized perfectly for all who believe that little of the curriculum reaches many in today's high schools. A view of the classroom from the other side arrives in the person of a very serious former social studies teacher who wheels his chair next to Rose Mary. He tells her of his efforts to bring the truth to his students--though he's sad he disagreed with his son about the Vietnam war. Always the educator, he hopes she will come to a meeting of nursing home residents as a guest speaker. She resists. Protective always of her old boss, she will only agree to talk about Eisenhower. ---
These are my words and I put these words together into sentences and paragraphs and entire stories to change your mind. it may be as simple as ‘buy this product’, or “go to this event”. or it may be as insidious as “vote for this candidate” or “think this way about something”. that’s what I do, I fuck with people’s heads. for a client. who pays me to do it. I create the very very fantasies that induce the ‘marks’ into giving power (be it money or political) over to the client. I’m a tool. a hooker. a con artist. I create a sense of confidence in both the viewer AND the client. the client has the confidence in my ability to accomplish what they want. the viewer simply stupidly believe the reality I present. it’s my job to “con” (short for ‘con’fidence) people into giving me money to do what I do, which is to help the client gain power.
Some graphic designers aren’t even graphic designers. they’re SALESMEN who hire graphic designers to create what they sell. their name is on the door so they get the credit. they are (sometimes) world famous designers. but, they don’t design anything. they simply hire designers and ‘art direct’ them (if they have the time). ever wonder why so many graphic designers present such a wonderful ‘front, like they live a glamorous life of fame and luxury? ever meet anybody like that in reality?
#8217;s a con, to create confidence in the client and the public. the better the ‘public image’, the better the con, the more money they make. ever wonder how a famous graphic designer can retire and even die, yet still produce award winning work under their name. It’s called a studio, or ‘stable’. they’re name became a business entity and continues the con in perpetuity.
---The person who gave themselves the blame was no one other than Ms. Woods. She said she quite accidentally erased the tape by answering the phone, typing a letter, and working with the tape machine at the same time... However, the stretch she said she did would have been difficult for a gymnast.....Well we knew it was not true then..and now we really know it was not true. She even posed for a picture..showing how she did it!!!!! Eighteen minutes in that position???? Give me a break!! Even if it was a short moment it was a very difficult thing to explain. But my how she tried. It is truly wonderful to have such a loyal and wonderful person on your staff. I am sure she was adored by Nixon. But she was loyal to the last. Just like Evelyn Lincoln..President Kennedy's personal secretary. She never saw anything...Had Kennedy asked her too, I am sure she would have gone to the gallows just like Rose Mary Woods did for Nixon. They were both of the same quality But one of the great moments of Watergate was of Woods trying to make others believe what she said she did. One of the great moments of comedy in the dark days of Watergate.---click image for more...
and you guys all ASSUME I’m a rich ‘artist.’ the jokes on you. like that 18-minute gap. sucker.
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