I was recently awarded an opportunity to participate in a collaborative internship through University of Maryland, Baltimore County. For this internship, myself and five other interns, were asked to observe over 10,000 photographs and interviews that were conducted by three photographers between 1975 and 1980 in East Baltimore. One of the photographers, Linda Rich, was significantly attracted to painted screens and decorated window sills. I too, am fascinated by the painted screens and decorated window sills. I decided to perform further research and collect my own photographs of the modern day windows.
The painted screen tradition began in 1913 in East Baltimore when a Bohemian immigrant, William Oktavec, painted a picture of “cuts of beef, spare ribs, lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots” on his screen. One of Oktavec’s neighbors was intrigued when she realized that she could not see into his shop from the street but could see out when standing inside. Eventually, the owners of many East Baltimore homes began requesting painted screens from Oktavec. To this day, Oktavec’s painted screens can still be seen throughout East Baltimore.
Many of the homes located in the East Baltimore did not have front yards, so along with painted screens, decorating window sills was a way of expression and celebration. The three photographers mentioned earlier, conducted an interview with Mary Ordakowski in regards to her decorated window. ”…We had a beautiful Christmas tree, but my boy said ‘… nobody sees it. Why don’t you put it in the window where everybody can see it?’ And that’s the way it started. I never realized how much pleasure other people are getting out of it.” Decorated window sills are still very popular in East Baltimore. In fact, the majority of ground level windows in East Baltimore homes today, have a variety of decorations.
About the presenterCourtney Monaco
I am a Graphic Design student at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. I will be graduating with my Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in May, 2020. Along with Graphic Design, I enjoy shooting photography.