Mannequins

Mannequins can sometimes take on alarmingly human qualities. I snapped this window display in Santa Cruz, California, in 1982. To the horror of most of its residents, Santa Cruz had recently been the site of Miss America or some similar contest. This display, set up by someone with a keen sense of irony, shows a group of mannequins at their most human: catty, envious, and snide.

The grouping below was set up at La Rinascente, a posh Milan department store, when the store featured handicrafts from Tibet. The monk is all wrong: he doesn't look Tibetan, and his robe is a draped saffron cloth, such as a Thai monk would wear - Tibetan monks wear tailored maroon robes. But I could easily imagine the two ladies as typical Milanese tourists: "But, caro, does meditation really work for you?" The one on the left seems to be marvelling at the size of his trumpet.