Hi Tribe! Happy post-Thanksgiving! Sadly, nobody sent me any turkey photos, and I ate with vegetarians, so I have none. But rather than turn to my album of foster rabbits, I found this lovely photo on Getty. And technically, this is here in Deuce Club because it is... a picture of me. Yes, I am convinced that I am somewhere in this photo on the extreme left. As you can probably tell from the apparel, this is US Open 2006, an exhibition on a mini-court at Golfsmith in Manhattan. Technically, therefore, I have seen Federer play live. Or to quote one dour man next to me, "200 feet. Closest we're ever gonna get."
So, calling all Tribe members to send news and photos! Also calling for a fan who's interested in going to the Miami tournament in late March/early April and possibly rooming with one of our most frequent posters. I won't give any more details at the moment, but if interested, contact me and I'll put you in touch. Miami is supposed to be a great fan experience, so think about it!
I found an interesting tennis-outside-of-tennis bit for you today. Contemporary artist Yoshua Okon, a very well-known, exciting photographic installation artist from Mexico, did a piece called Sudden Death that features an older Mexican woman in a housedress standing on a grass tennis court. A very poor, tiny photo of it can be found here. In case that doesn't work for you, you can find it in the new enormous coffeetable book from Phaidon, Ice Cream.
Okon is all about playing with our notions of class, race, nationality, and convention, and I think you'll agree that the photo is jarring, even if you don't like the further implication that tennis is still predominantly viewed as a country-club sport. Another great example of this kind of reversal of normality is his series of cops meditating.
If someone does take a look at Sudden Death, please tell me what kind of racquet or paddle it is that she's holding. It's a Wilson, or maybe just an industrial-looking fake, more of Okon's whimsy?
And finally, if I'm constantly calling for news, I should share a bit of my own: started my own completely non-tennis-related blog. Mostly about the arts (TV, books, music, but also news articles), but there's the odd tennis reference. Feel free to skip over and leave a mocking comment.
That's all, folks. OT away below. Send photos, and enjoy the Davis Cup!
-Heidi