LARRY BAUMHOR

  J.D. Salinger writing Catcher in the Rye as a soldier in WW2   Looking for Mr. Salinger "by" Larry Baumhor    As I was driving to Cornish, New Hampshire to speak with Mr. Salinger my motives became more clear, I was bullshitting myself. Yes, I am writing a short story on this experience, and I would like his advice on my twenty years of unpublished literary material, and yes, I want Mr. Salinger’s insights into my psychological conflict of self-publishing on the Internet. But in part, and perhaps in large part, I desired something Mr. Salinger avoided for over 40 years as a recluse: notoriety. I’m a phony. I’m driven by ulterior motives. Though I don’t know of anybody who’s not a phony, at times, when desiring something. Being a hypocrite is not black and white, but rather shaded in layers of complex nuances, some acceptable, others illegal, immoral, repulsive, and even murderous. Nevertheless, I was in pursuit of notoriety and was attempting to use Mr. Salinger ...

Why Do We Wear Masks With Cindy Sherman by Larry Baumhor    I attended the Cindy Sherman exhibit at the Hauser & Wirth Gallery in NYC and these photos became superimposed in my mind, inspiring me to write this story.    No one knows who we are anymore, our masks are cracking and we’re running out of plaster. Cindy Sherman at Hauser & Wirth by Larry Baumhor    “We’re all products of what we want to project to the world. Even people who don’t spend any time, or think they don’t, on preparing themselves for the world out there – I think that ultimately they have for their whole lives groomed themselves to be a certain way, to present a face to the world,” -- Cindy Sherman.    “People assume that a self-portrait is narcissistic and you’re trying to reveal something about yourself: fantasies or autobiographical information. In fact, none of my work is about me or my private life,” -- Cindy Sherman.    “My photographs are certainly no...