Reflections From a Murky Pond

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.

Tags: Art | Beauty | Celebrities | England | Fashion | Hathaway | Magazines | Marcus Piggott | Mert Alas | Photography | Prostitution | Romance | Society | Victorian Age | Women

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 20th, 2011 at 12:08 pm and is filed under Art, Society. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Can you imagine what the cover of a “woman’s magazine” would like if they were both honest their opinions of women and not still constrained by ever weakening anti-obscenity laws? I think that the cover of such an issue might look something like this:

Overanalyzing: The Cover of an Honest Woman’s Magazine

Personally I think that such a magazine would be a hit; I don’t think grocery stores and newsstands could keep it on the shelves. Even the women who buy and read these rags aren’t really stupid and they’ve got to be getting a bit jaded over the veiled misogyny and psychological abuse in the current “woman’s magazines.” They probably truly already need this sort of magazine in order to get the fix they need. 😛

Tags: Christina Hendricks | Fashion | Humor | Magazines | Marketing | Media | Misogyny | Sex | Society | Truth | Women

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 6:10 am and is filed under Humor, Society. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.