Collage, Ink, and Watercolor on Blueprint Print

This mixed media portrait on canvas paper, framed, is of Hedy Lamarr was created over a reproduction of the blueprint for one of Lamarr’s most significant inventions—her frequency-hopping technology, which laid the groundwork for modern wireless communication. With ink, watercolor, and bold collage, Annie Wood contrasts the brilliance of Lamarr’s mind with the reductive view often placed on women in the spotlight. The layered text, “Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid,” comes from Lamarr herself—an ironic nod to how society undervalued her intellect while celebrating her beauty.

This piece was featured in Wood’s solo exhibition Pardon Me While I Blaze Some Trails, which celebrated trailblazing women who defied expectations.

Lamarr, best known as a 1940s Hollywood starlet, was also a groundbreaking inventor, whose contributions to science remained unrecognized during her lifetime. Here, Wood reclaims Lamarr’s complexity, inviting viewers to look beyond the surface and honor the mind behind the myth.