Give A Hand Grenade To A Baby

This weekend I was reminded by my friend and photographer Josh Yospyn of Worn Magazine about what Norman Mailer had to say about Diane Arbus. Mailer said that "Giving a camera to Diane Arbus is like giving a hand grenade to a baby." Arthur Lubow, in an article for the NYT writes that Mailer said that "after seeing how she had captured him, leaning back in a velvet armchair with his legs splayed cockily." I think Mailer was having a laugh. The most famous Arbus photo, "Child With Toy Hand Grenade, 1962", was shot the year before the Mailer portrait.


Norman Mailer at home, 1963. © Diane Arbus


Child with Toy Hand Grenade, 1962 © Diane Arbus