It took a hell of a lot of daring to cross the United States alone, by bicycle, at the age of 17, in 1939. Obviously, the American Ruth Orkin was not afraid when she embarked on this solitary enterprise of almost four months, from Los Angeles to New York, with his bicycle, his camera and 25 dollars in his pocket.
The exhibition “Ruth Orkin, Bike Trip, USA1939″, presented at the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, in Paris, and accompanied by a book published by Textuel, returns in around forty prints to this original journey, which also marks, for the budding photographer, her first series images – Ruth Orkin would later work for the magazine press and direct films with her husband, Morris Engel.
For the young girl, this journey is part of the emancipatory quest, but also part of feminist affirmation. Among her most vivid childhood memories, she remembers an aerobatics demonstration by her idol, Amelia Earhart, the first female pilot to have crossed the Atlantic in flight and solo.
Inventive and resourceful, young Ruth manages to amass a little nest egg necessary for her project by winning a prize in a competition for young stylists offered by a women’s magazine. It was about imagining a new pattern for fabric, and she had the idea of designing stylized bicycles, elegantly crisscrossed and seen from above. Her model will even be used to make a prototype dress.
“Hercules”, inseparable companion
The teenager cherishes her bicycle, nicknamed “Hercules”, an inseparable companion and symbol of her independence. In this she follows the women who, since the 19the century, took hold of the little queen and made it a tool for autonomy and appropriation of public space. In 1896, American women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony claimed that the bicycle had “does more for the emancipation of women than anything else in the world.”
To travel the United States from West to East, Ruth Orkin reaches major cities by train, bus or hitchhiking. And uses her two-wheeler to get around once she arrives at her destination – in June, she will still cover 180 kilometers in one day between Philadelphia and New York. At night, it relies on the network of youth hostels, which were inaugurated in 1934 in the country.
Very quickly, she understands the interest she has in publicizing her odyssey. She contacts journalists in the cities where she stops. Everyone is intrigued by this original story. The articles published earned him invitations to shows, free bags for his bicycle, and even a new bike. For each item, the young girl carefully presents herself – in particular she puts on a dress for the photo.
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