She is à la Mode
Natalie Scenters-Zapico
After Asco’s À la Mode (photographer Harry Gamboa Jr.), 1976, printed 2010, chromogenic print
A very faithful drawing may actually tell us more about the model, but despite the promptings of our critical intelligence it will never have the irrational power of the photograph to bear away our faith.
—André Bazin, “The Ontology of the Photographic Image”
A sheet cake soaked in milk and left suspended. She had no decorations, so she placed sugar and tin napkin dispensers, a pepper shaker, and a bowl with a spoon on top. But the cake was still too boring, so she placed her man at the head of the cake and told him to close his eyes and relax. “Lean back, mi rey, you deserve comfort at the head of my cake.” She wanted to capture the cake before it was consumed, so she called her brother-in-law, Marco, and asked him to stand behind the cake for good balance. She placed a camera in front of the cake to capture the white cream, sugar and tin napkin dispensers, pepper shaker, bowl with a spoon, her man leaning back in pleasure, and Marco with his hands in his pockets. Then she jumped on top of the cake, folded her legs like Minnie Mouse and told everyone to be cool, that this cake was going to be in a movie. She was going to call it À la Mode and this was to be the opening scene. “But there’s no ice cream,” her man said. “No, my body is the ice cream,” she said and pursed her lips for the camera until her mouth became a dark wound. Then Marco left to watch the Chivas game, and her man who had adored her again for a minute told her, “You’re so dumb, clean up this kitchen already da asco.” She waited for the hot water to run and poured a cap full of bleach in the sink and cried, “All my movies are No Movies. My No Movies are all mine.”