Photograph of Steinberg Drawing Projected onto Hedda Sterne Pointing Finger

This portrait is one of a series in which Hedda Sterne was photographed with a Saul Steinberg drawing of a woman in Victorian-style jewelry projected onto her face and chest. Steinberg spent time with the Eameses during a two-month stay in Hollywood in 1950, and these images taken during that time speak to their shared interest in wide-ranging experimentation. This particular photo captures the projection lowered to hit halfway down Sterne’s face. This disguises her with a wide black band covering her eyes like a blindfold. It also cleverly transforms her individual features. For one, her chin aligns with the curve of the projected nose, adding dimensionality to the flatness of the drawn lines. And the projected lips appear square in the middle of Sterne’s neck, which makes it look like the finger she has pointed at her neck is resting coyly at her lips, as well as if the garment’s embellishment are bracelets wrapped around her raised wrist.