Reflections From a Murky Pond

It’s, by and large, a grim world that we live in. There are, however, things of beauty in it though: cute animals, pretty girls, and some art. Why not combine them in the most pleasing fashion?

With thanks and credit to Megan over at theBerry for these delectable pics. They brightened my morning a bit and I hope they’ll do the same for others.

Art, when well done, is always evocative. It’s also very subjective and personal, drawing meaning and emotion from the beholder as well as the artist and, especially in the case of artist photography, the subject.

Take, by way of example, the photos below. To me they portray a beautified and romanticized vignette of the “fallen women” of 19th century London, especially those of the White Chapel district. Ethereal beauty, hope, despair, elegant style, an odd Catholicism to the fashion, and a certain tawdry sexuality combine and create a frisson that is, to me at least, very compelling.

Others would likely see the photos completely differently and within completely different contexts, but very few, I think, would see them merely as part of the fashion shoot which was their commercial purpose.

The above are photos taken of Anne Hathaway taken in London by Marcus Piggott and Mert Alas as part of a piece by Chelsea Handler of Interview Magazine. They also preview the upcoming issue of the magazine since Anne Hathaway will be on the cover of the magazine’s magazine’s September 2011 issue.

As I’ve commented before, if one has a message that is in protest against someone or something, one should be cognizant of the imagery one uses. It does little or no good for one’s cause if the imagery you use to get attention actually provides a “positive” image of what you’re protesting.

Such was largely the case with the Surfrider Foundation’s 2011 “Oil Bikini” calendar.

Sorry, as much as I love the oceans and take issue with the wanton destruction of our maritime environment, this calendar is just not making me angry about the Gulf Oil Spill. If anything, the thought of pretty young women wearing nothing but oil strikes me as a “golden lining” in the situation, at least at the hindbrain level.

From Surfrider’s earlier Press release:

Last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico left a deep impression in people’s minds. To remember this catastrophe, we have a created a calendar with photos of young naiads covered in oil…This calendar, which will be offered to all members of Surfrider Foundation Europe, is also designed to help recruit new volunteers

By way of mitigation, the calendar was marketed as stress relief to current members of the organization; it wasn’t designed as a public push campaign. On the other hand, as proven by my posting of this, everything goes onto the internet and parts of it will stay there long after any thought of context has faded away.

Some days you just feel a little froggy…

Monique Moura de Carvalho – Brazil, 1977

Which is why we should thank the Gods for lily pads. 😉

So what would it be like if one took three of DC comics super heroines and set them in Victorian England? Michael Dooney aka ~doonboy has been both talented and kind enough to give us an idea.

Lady Zatanna, The Black Cat, and Super Girl would have looked quite different, but still quite lovely, in the late 19th Century.

Of course my opinion is heavily prejudiced. One of the things I like about the Steampunk meme is the resurgence of the sensibilities and conceits of Victorian fashion.