To: pml1@yahoogroups.com
From: Mark Tomlonson
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 09:16:50 -0400
Subject: [PML1] Classic Centerfold: Cathy St. George

The August 1982 centerfold of Cathy St. George is one of what I consider 
to be Playboy's "Classic" centerfolds. These are gatefolds that use 
Playboy's standard foldout ingredients - women with near-angelic beauty, 
great attention to every detail, no-compromise production values and a 
classy eroticism that defies imitation - but what sets the "Classics" 
above the rest is that all the elements are in uncompromised top form.

Although her centerfold shows Cathy at her workplace, I find no implied 
situation or story in this photo. What set of circumstances would lead 
Cathy to be standing next to her make-up table in only a bed jacket? 
It's "just" a picture of a pretty girl. (But what a picture!)

The composition Ken Marcus uses is a very simple design, an "S" curve, 
with the top apex at the bottom of Cathy's sternum, and the bottom apex 
at, well, her bottom. There is a dressing table in the lower left to add 
weight to the composition, and she is holding a pair of make-up brushes 
the restate the diagonal of the "S". The camera is close to the model 
and the background is thrown out of focus, so there is nothing to 
detract from or further restate the basic design. The curve is set 
slightly to the right of the center line, a device that's used to create 
"tension", but here the interest is created by the lack of tension - a 
relaxing, soothing composition. Not every model can make this "S" look 
good, but Cathy does a wonderful job.

The composition takes a back seat to the use of color in this photo. The 
bed jacket and the background are closely keyed to the color of Cathy's 
tan and make-up. The lighting is subdued and very warm, with the 
exception of the "halo" effect around Cathy's head. Here is the true use 
of the bed jacket: not to tell a story, but to highlight and compliment 
Cathy absolutely stunning face. It's the warm coloring dominating the 
photo that makes this centerfold so hot.

I don't think I'm saying too much by revealing that running my hand over 
warm, dry, soft, feminine skin is something I enjoy doing. A lot. By his 
use of warm lighting and warm colors, Ken Marcus seems to be inviting me 
to reach out and touch Cathy. (Oh, that I could!) It is very clear that 
Cathy herself is comfortably warm. She is neither dripping beads of 
sweat nor covered in gooseflesh. Both of these conditions can be sexy, 
but Ken seems to be making an overt and deliberate effort to avoid them.

He is also playing up Cathy's own softness. There are no strong shadows 
in the photo, except on the make-up table and around the bed jacket. 
Cathy is very definitely wearing facial make-up (body make-up too, I'm 
almost certain), but the emphasis is on a blended look, and again the 
effect is one of softness. But the kicker is the make-up brushes. Who 
can look at these brushes and not instantly think how soft they would be 
when brushed against the palm of the hand? Or how much fun it would be 
to run them all over Cathy? Our eye is drawn to the brushes not only by 
their key position in the diagonal of the "S", but by a small light 
playing on the inside of Cathy's right breast and the ends of the brushes.

But as strong as the viewer's eyes are drawn by the brushes, they cannot 
escape the allure of Cathy's eyes. Perfectly framed by subtle and 
absolutely correct make-up and hair, they glisten in the light, giving 
Cathy an aliveness that is the frosting on the cake of this gatefold. 
The first two things a man notices about a woman are her eyes, and quite 
frankly, if this foldout were not 15 years old, I doubt I would have 
looked at it enough to realize there was more to the picture than just 
her eyes. (O.K., so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit here!) And they're set 
in a drop-dead gorgeous face. It's not the "cute" beauty Cathy had at 
16, nor the "Character" beauty she'll probably (hopefully) become at 65, 
but the mature beauty of an adult woman. An adult woman who can make up 
her own mind. An adult woman who has made up her mind she wants me, the 
viewer.

Let's see, a warm, dry, soft, beautiful, all-but-naked woman who wants 
me. There is probably a down side here somewhere, but at the moment I'm 
not really interested in looking for it.

Mark Tomlonson
Kalamazoo MI