Kansas Photographer Accused Of Making Mayor Look Goth
What is or isn’t Goth has always been a tricky question among the children of the night themselves. At the subculture’s 1970s birth and 1980s heyday, its foremost icons, such as Siouxsie Sioux and Andrew Eldritch, went out of their way to disown the label, resulting in the perverse situation whereby the most Goth thing to do, is to deny being a Goth to your dying breath. A Kansas photographer named Debra Bates-Lamborn has taken it one step further, threatening to sue the local council for ‘in excess of $75,000 plus punitive damages’ for describing her work as Gothic.
Bates-Lamborn had previously shot portraits of local officials at Lansing Council, but the mayor, one Billy Blackwell, had decided to dispense with her services. “We are going to go with a different person, so we won’t have the gothic look this time,” he observed at a recent meeting, words that did not go down well with Ms Bates-Lamborn when they got back to her. “That’s scary to most people,” she said. “Gothic, to me, means dark and moody. That’s branding a photographer.” Scanning through her portfolio, there’s a notable absence of kohl eyeliner, black lipstick and fishnets. Plus, while his name might sound quite Goth, we have to say that it’s difficult to imagine Mayor Blackwell looking the part. For those looking for some authentic nocturnal glamour, night we suggest a perusal of our new Alchemy Gothic catalogue…
The Alchemy Editorial Team
www.AlchemyEngland.com