12 magazine’s beauty editorial Victims of Beauty, which featured models made up to look like victims of horrific crimes, was neatly skewered by Jezebel writer Jenna Sauers this week.
Sauers pegged the spread as a ham-fisted, short-sighted attempt at edginess: “ The high-fashion world in general loves to think of itself as contrarian, élite, and boldly at odds with the tastes and mores of the wider public. It likes to think that it, in fact, leads those tastes. But much of the imagery the fashion industry uses to communicate its messages at best echoes and at worst reinforces some of the wider culture's most negative ideas about women and girls.”
The magazine got its feathers ruffled at her criticism and wrote back a letter saying their intentions were misconstrued and closed with these questions: “1. How would you perceive those photographs if they were accompanying an <sic> campaign against domestic violence? Would you still think of them as disgusting or would you praise them as brave and thought provoking? Worth the think <sic>, isn’t it? 2. What would you say if those were bespoken men, carefully groomed, but still, terribly injured? Probably nothing, and quite frankly that’s a bit sexist.”
Let’s set aside the patronizing tone of those questions and talk about what seems to be at the root of the hub-bub: do the photos glorify or promote violence against women? The magazine claims that they did not set out to condone domestic violence but…if that’s true…it would seem that they didn’t publish the pictures with any conscious aim at all beyond shocking their readership.
That’s negligent.
An important part of my development as a writer was a bit of advice a treasured English teacher gave me: if you’re going to put something terrible on paper, have a damn good reason. Shock for shock’s sake cannot withstand public scrutiny and can compromise the value of your work as a whole.
However, where a book or a movie might suffer blowback for splashing on domestic violence like cheap cologne, there doesn’t seem to be the same kind of accountability in fashion. This Bulgarian editorial is only one example in a never-ending parade of paper dolls and mannequins painted, stripped and speared by an industry stocked with professionals who are rapidly running out of ideas.
Let’s not let controversy be a substitute for substance.
What are your expectations of art and artists?
Link to: jezebel.com/: fashions ongoing violence against women
Sauers pegged the spread as a ham-fisted, short-sighted attempt at edginess: “ The high-fashion world in general loves to think of itself as contrarian, élite, and boldly at odds with the tastes and mores of the wider public. It likes to think that it, in fact, leads those tastes. But much of the imagery the fashion industry uses to communicate its messages at best echoes and at worst reinforces some of the wider culture's most negative ideas about women and girls.”
The magazine got its feathers ruffled at her criticism and wrote back a letter saying their intentions were misconstrued and closed with these questions: “1. How would you perceive those photographs if they were accompanying an <sic> campaign against domestic violence? Would you still think of them as disgusting or would you praise them as brave and thought provoking? Worth the think <sic>, isn’t it? 2. What would you say if those were bespoken men, carefully groomed, but still, terribly injured? Probably nothing, and quite frankly that’s a bit sexist.”
Let’s set aside the patronizing tone of those questions and talk about what seems to be at the root of the hub-bub: do the photos glorify or promote violence against women? The magazine claims that they did not set out to condone domestic violence but…if that’s true…it would seem that they didn’t publish the pictures with any conscious aim at all beyond shocking their readership.
That’s negligent.
An important part of my development as a writer was a bit of advice a treasured English teacher gave me: if you’re going to put something terrible on paper, have a damn good reason. Shock for shock’s sake cannot withstand public scrutiny and can compromise the value of your work as a whole.
However, where a book or a movie might suffer blowback for splashing on domestic violence like cheap cologne, there doesn’t seem to be the same kind of accountability in fashion. This Bulgarian editorial is only one example in a never-ending parade of paper dolls and mannequins painted, stripped and speared by an industry stocked with professionals who are rapidly running out of ideas.
Let’s not let controversy be a substitute for substance.
What are your expectations of art and artists?
Link to: jezebel.com/: fashions ongoing violence against women
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| Tom Ford ad: provocative and no one gets hurt |
Robyn here - I'd like to add this to the mix. I would like to say that I don't believe that all high-fashion people are cut from the same cloth (no pun intended.) Designer/Artist Tom Ford has always represented women in a positive way. Yes, his fashion and his ads contain scantily clad people sometimes but there is always a playful self-awareness and gender equality to anything he does. His images can be thought-provoking, but you cannot lump him in with a publication like 12 Mag.
I would also argue that publications are not the makers of fashion (except for Vogue and its editor Anna Wintour) and you would never see an editorial as grotesque and women-hating as that in the pages of any country's Vogue. Or Elle. Or any of the other authentic fashion magazines.
I also echo Ashley in the question, what are our expectations of art and artists? And what role do we have as consumers in the production and selling of the underlying violence of those images?
I refuse to put those images on the blog, so please check out the article on Jezebel if you would like to see them.
--Robyn
about Duendefilms West production of appleseeds:
Please visit our indiegogo page to find out how we are trying to make a difference both in our short film and the screening/benefits to follow to raise money and awareness around issues of domestic violence and gender representation in film and media.
about Duendefilms West production of appleseeds:
Please visit our indiegogo page to find out how we are trying to make a difference both in our short film and the screening/benefits to follow to raise money and awareness around issues of domestic violence and gender representation in film and media.
