This is a structural plan developed by Dr Stephen Marquartdt of the ‘perfect face’ used by modelling agencies and plastic surgeons to re structure facial features to create a pefectly symmetrical face shapes and spacing. It is called a facial mask which aims to display classic beauty in the form of triangles and geometric shapes. People such as Angelina Jolie share similar facial proportions to this mask. I want to use this mask as an overlay on my portrait photographs, instead of adapting the face to meet the perfect proportions of the mask I want to warp the mask to meet realistic images of beauty showing that people should not have to conform to these guidelines.
After adding and warping the mask I then copied it to a new page and changes the background to a colour found in the corresponding portrait image. I want to put the photograph alongside the mask image on a double page in the final magazine.
I want to edit some of the images i have taken by hand, to do this I started by changing some of them to black and white. This will help the colours in each image match and will make certain parts of the images stand out. I then printed out the photos on A4 pieces of paper, the quality wasn’t great but I like the way this looked, it deconstructed the perfect style that glossy high quality images have, this goes with the idea of challenging stereotypes on beauty.
I then begun to manipulate the printed images in the style of Nigel Tomm by folding and crumpling sections to distort the facial features, I started by doing this subtly, choosing where the folds went and gradually became more destructive, crumpling it into a ball and then faltering it back out to create a textured effect. I then scanned the prints which I had manipulated back onto the computer rather than re photographing them, this shows images depth and manages shadows better. I did this with black and white and coloured images, the coloured prints were slightly discoloured and when scanned this happened more, I like the effect and colours this creates, with the pink toned background which creates a more stylised effect.
With some of the prints I decided to manipulate them using makeup, the idea being applying makeup to the image rather than the models face. This targets the idea of people using products to erases and mask their natural imperfections, many people use and wear makeup as an art form however their is no doubt that its origin is to enhance or change appearance. It is known that people use makeup to make themselves more confidant some people are even too self conscious to leave the house without it on. I think this concept is interesting to incorporate into my images because it is something that a lot of people can relate with in some way. I have used this idea to edit my prints, I wanted to make it dramatic to obviously show the message. For the first image I applied different makeup products to the relevant parts of the face to create a messy effect reminiscent of when young children try copying their mothers putting on makeup. This shows how children can be influenced by the idea of perfection and beauty from a young age from their own parents. I then continued to use foundation as a paint on top of them prints, using makeup sponges and brushes to cover parts of the face. For one of them I squeezed the foundation on to the photo and pressing it against another piece of paper, this left a textured, caky finish. I then waited for it to dry and scanned them onto the computer.
I also wanted my model to edit and destroy their own images, I printed out one photo of each model in low quality giving them discolourations and distortions. I then instructed each of the girls that I photograph to remove their insecurities or destroy the image in any way they wanted. Some of them grabbed a pen and started scribbling on parts of their faces and bodies covering and changing different aspects, other people cut, ripped and crumpled the paper. I then reconstructed the pieces and scanned them in as new photographs.
After my initial portrait photoshoot I started editing the photos and decided I needed to take more of different people so that i had a bigger selection to work from. I want to take photos again with a simple background so they are minimal and I can focus on the editing process. I want my models to look real not overdone with makeup or constructed to look perfect. This will work with the concept for my editing which will challenge beauty ideals and myths.
I want to talk to my models and other women about their opinions on perfection and beauty. I want to ask a large variety of question on the topic so I can get an idea of what real people think about the ideals pressured onto them and how the beauty and fashion industries effects this. I want to talk to a variety of people of different ages and backgrounds to get a varied response which represents different people views. I hope to use the information o find to develop my work with a better understanding of the audience and issue I want to comment on. I have though about using the results by incorporating them into the images of my final piece.
Define the concept of Beauty in your own words
What is an idealistic view of beauty you feel is promoted my modern media?
How has the internet and social Media effected how you view yourself in terms of beauty?
What is perfection to you?
Is perfection reachable and what does it look like?
What is your biggest insecurity?
Who do you think is the is perfect in the way they look? Why?
Has the way you look ever effected your confidence or stopped you from doing anything?
Have you ever judged someone on the way they look or dress? Why might it effect your view of them?
What do you think about having surgery, taking medication or using cosmetics to improve your looks?
Give an example of something you think is ugly, why?
I want to keep the results very anonymous because people feel a lot more comfortable talking about personal issues when this is the case. This means I am more likely to get honest answers that I can use alongside my work.
As part of my project I want to look into the way celebrities and influential people within the modern media are setting unrealistic expectations in terms of beauty. I hope to use the information I find in my project to construct my own photos which subvert and challenge these ideals. In relation to the title variation and similarity I hope to show the limitations of modern beauty standards and how they are being compressed and viewed from a single perspective.
Photos of celebrities and models have been manipulated to look perfect for years fooling impressionable audiences into thinking it is real and untouched. Since the introduction of the internet and social media this issue has only got worse, now not only magazines are editing photos, everyone has the power to improve their appearance at the tap of a button using various apps. Plastic surgery has also grown in popularity with anyone who can afford it making changes to their body. From fat distribution, and hair transplants to boob jobs and lip fillers many people are fixing their personal insecurities. Editing, makeup and surgery has become the norm and it is starting to means people are believing these unrealistic and unreachable expectations and wanting to reach them. Some people are open about the changes they make to their appearance and support the idea of body confidence whether it is natural of not. I want to look at some of the most influential celebrities on the internet and in popular culture as see what messages they are portraying to audiences about body image.
The Kardatian/ Jenner family are widely known for their ‘beautiful’ looks and have made careers from it. With accentuated hourglass figures, golden tanned skin and an endless wardrobe many people look up to them as inspiration. They have millions of followers each and dominate the media meaning the have a large influence of audiences. various members of the family have had cosmetic surgeries and undergo extensive treatments to maintain their looks. With their whole life dedicated to looking ‘perfect’ many people have criticised them for using their platforms and large influence for narcissistic content. Kylie Jenner, known now as the youngest self made billionaire has built her brand ‘Kylie Cosmetics’ by cleverly marketing and selling beauty products online. In the past she was known for her large lips which she claimed for years were natural and just over lined however she eventually admitted to having fillers. During this time a trend went viral where people used a small cup over their lips and sucked to create a vacuum in hope to achieve a similar look to Kylie’s lips, this was a very dangerous activity which could leave permanent bruises to the area and shows how easily audiences can be influenced.
Other members of the family such as Kris (the mum) and Khloe have recently advertised a product called ‘flattummyco’ it is a meal replacement shake which claims to help users loose weight. Product including, hair treatment gummys’, various skin serums and many more a promoted by influencers online daily. For them it is a job, they get payed per post and for the companies this is a highly effective marketing strategy which gets their product into the public eye. These influencers are trusted by their audiences who therefore trust the brands being advertised even when on many occasions the influencers have never used the products.
fashion retailers have also been criticised for encouraging unrealistic beauty standard and portraying the ideal look in such a specific way. Victoria Secret a womenswear and beauty product marketer has an annual catwalk show which girls all over the world aspire so walk in. The brand has a very specific look, displaying models with long flowing hair, perfect skin and very slim figures. images from the show are used as marketing material for the brand and are published in magazine, billboards, stores and online. The so called ‘Victoria Secret Angels’ are an aspirational target for many young girls despite it being and unreachable and fantasy goal they are chasing.
Alexis Ren is a model who found fame on Instagram ultimately due to her looks and ‘perfect beach body’. She has recently been criticised for promoting unrealistic body expectations even after suffering with an eating disorder herself. She admitted to suffering from food guilt and over exercising yet is still a role model for many ‘fans’.
It is now common for people edit their photos to change their appearance, from slimming waistlines to whitening teeth but it is important to remember that what we see on the internet in only a depiction of reality which rarely resembles real life. I want play with this concept and exaggerate it with my photography and editing, the idea, to make people look at fashion and beauty from a clearer perspective.
This link shows a few example of celebrities in the public eye who have savourily edited their photos, I wish to use this as inspiration for my own work.
I want to look at the work of modern artists who are questioning beauty ideals and reality in a new digital age. In a world where everything can be edited from looks to lifestyle we no longer know what is real. One digital artist (unknown) has created a fictional character called Lil Miquela who has become well known (famous) on the internet. She claims to be an Instagram model and music artist however does not exist in reality. Her Instagram page displays her living an ideal life going to the beach, visiting her favourite art galleries, and hang out with other influencers (real and simulated). She is a form of artificial intelligence created my a under the radar company ‘Brud” who kept their intentions and reasons for creating the character quiet, they say she is an Artificial Consciousness in many ways a virtual robot. Many people seen the character as a social experiment playing around with how the internet culture idealises people for their looks and virtual profile. I find the concept fascinating the way reality and fantasy are crossing and becoming one with these images combining photography with 3D digital design.
Jean Baudrillard was a cultural theorist who talked about how in postmodern culture blurs the boundaries between the ‘real world and the world of the media, he says that their is no way to distinguish reality and simulation. We can no longer refer to anything as real or original due to the idea of simulacra and technology, being able to edit and adapt things digitally. This links back to the fictional character Lil Miquela who appears online in the same way as real life models and celebrities despite it being fully constructed.
Finally I want to talk about new alternative models who are changing the game and breaking conventions of beauty. Magazines such as I-D and Dazed and brands like Fenty are known for showing diversity in their publications, from age, gender, skin tone, weight and may more these progressive approaches help to spread more positive and universal beauty expectations. Models such as Paloma Elsesser, Jazzelle Zanaughtti and Winnie Harlow (bellow: left to right) are the first of a new era of models who will hopefully help to represent a more diverse group of people helping audiences to feel connected and represented in the media.
Perfection is a socially constructed ideal which varies massively depending on parts of the world and personal preference. I want to look into what perfection and beauty really is in order to develop my project and create images commenting on the negative effects of these ideas.
What I have learnt from looking into these definitions is that beauty is subjective and completely up to perception and personal opinion. Due to mass media peoples opinions have been channelled to view only specific things as beautiful. I want my work to tackle this and help people see this concept from a different point of view and realise that models seen in magazine and online are rarely an unaltered reflection of reality.
I also want to look into the varying beauty ideal around the world, different cultures have their own perspective on how people should look if they want to be considered beautiful. For example in parts of Asia pale skin and double eyelids are preferred and specific surgery, products and treatments are available to help people achieve this. On the other hand in Europe and America people spend time and money in sun beds or getting spray tans to appear to have more golden tropical skin tones. Maori tribes from New Zeland get traditional tattoos to display their status and beauty however in Dubai tattoo must be covered and tourists have in the past been banned from the country for having offensive tattoos on display.
Beauty ideals are socially constructed from physical attractiveness and in the past has been seen as one of women’s most important assets. Throughout history beauty ideal have also changed and developed, during the Edwardian period it was though that pale skin was beautiful this was due to how it showed that someone lived a life of luxury inside being served for rather than working on the land and becoming tanned. over the years as industries changed and people started woking indoors tanning started to become popular as it showed a person have a life of leisure, lying on beaches and enjoying life. Industries and brands tend to exploit and encourage beauty ideals by creating products which can help you achieve the desired look and displaying the supposed results on a ‘perfect’ model.
The first Exhibition we went to was BEHIND THE LENS (March 8 – April 28) It showcased the unseen aspects of photographing celebrities, from behind the lenses of Carinthia West, Rupert Truman, Storm Thorgerson and Mike McCartney. A photograph that stood out to me was this one by Storm Thorgerson which was used as the album art and cover for Biffy Clyro album ‘only Revolution’ He was the founder of Storm studios formed in the 1990’s who created designs for diverse projects including logos, websites, books, but their most known work existing on album covers.
“In thinking that the music was strong-minded yet lyrical persuaded us to think of material flapping in the wind like flags – the flags of a revolution. Not little flags or small bits of fabric, but enormous flags the size of a modest office block, which we affixed to a scaffold tower on the top of a hill on a windy day. The sound of the undulating material was affecting, let alone the bizarre shapes. The actual cover used red and blue flags to represent the sexes.”
Storm Thorgerson
This photo stood out to me due to its size and attention to detail, the print was suspended on a wall and was around 2metres wide. I have seen this image before as an album cover but when seeing it blown up I noticed small things such as how the flags cover the peoples eyes and how they are holding weapons behind their backs. I also read more into the meaning of the image when seeing it on this scale.
The second exhibition be went to was at the public and private displaying the best of pop art called ‘Pop Icons of the 20th Century’ which featured work from Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Sir Peter Blake and many more. Pop art is a movement which became popular in the 1950’s in the UK and US, it challenged traditional fine art techniques by using imagery of popular culture, such as advertising, comic books and culturally popular objects.The two paintings caught my attention due to the use of basic primary colour and mixture between abstract shapes and line figures.
Andy Warhol was an American artist, one of the most well know in the pop art genre. Known for his bold screen prints commenting on the ideas of consumerism and celebrity culture linking with the idea of post-modernism. His most known work was of the Marilyn Monroe the famous American actress, he used an existing image of her and simplified it to show the main textures on her face, he then went over the image will various screen print templates which allowed his to layer up bright colours corresponding will relevant parts of her face. This image was reproduced again and again which degraded the quality creating unique prints with variation. This idea came from his work as a commercial illustrator where he traced or drew by hand using ink and pressed a clean sheet of plain paper onto the tines, creating spontaneous and expressive images.
The idea of consumerism and celebrity culture seen in his work links to my project because of how it promoted the idea that buying branded items and materialism. Modern attitudes towards success root from the idea of being rich, famous and having desirable possessions. It is often through that buying things can make a person more ‘Beautiful’ or desirable, especially in the terms of clothes and beauty products and procedures. This could link to the way products are advertised to sell a lifestyle that people think the product will help them achieve. The following quote sums up the idea of becoming an online celebrities who display the best parts of their lives creating a hyperreality which other people persevere as reality and want to achieve.
In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.
Andy Warhol, Catalogue Moderna Museet, Stockholm
Photo of the gallery space at the public and private
Photoshoot Plan: I want to take some simple portraits to edit in the style of Nigel Tomm, I have already looked at his work and the concept behind it using found images from magazine to manipulate the stereotypical ideals of beauty conveyed. I now want to take my own photos which I can edit in a similar way and experiment further with. As a starting point I want to take photos on a plain white background in the style of a model headshot focusing of facial features and angles. I want to use bright natural light to illuminate my models face evenly, the model will be wearing neutral colours which will match the colour scheme.
I am happy with how this shoot turned out, not all of the photos will be able to be used after going through the images I am confident I will have enough to start experimenting with. The lighting on the day was extremely bright, this gave the images a nice glowing colour however it made harsh shadows caused my model squint in some photos. My favourite photos from this shoot are the ones taken from a side angle with the model looking at the camera directly, the one of the model looking back over her shoulder follows a traditional style of female beauty. It gives a feminine, gentle look to the image which can not be achieved as well by portraits taken at a straight on square angle. Many of the images i found in magazines were taken at this angle and i wanted to replicate this in the images I take.
I wanted to try my own version of Nigel Tomm’s work so I could understand more about the process and see the transformation for myself. I am also interested in developing the idea further and editing then in different styles, potentially going on to making work with a similar concept incorporating my own photos.
I started by looking through existing women’s fashion and beauty magazines for cosmetic adverts, celebrity and model endorsements and features. I chose a selection of full page or blown up images which showed women with airbrushed skin and perfectly placed features, the majority of the images I found showed re touched images of models with not one hair out of place. Most were advertising a product or a way of life which is unattainable by regular people showing a false perspective of the world.
After ripping out a variety of images, some black and white others in colour I started to crumple and fold the pages. I wanted this process to be partially random but to also focus the distortion around the models face disturbing the original aesthetic of the images. The idea of manipulating these photos in a disruptive way of bringing their looks down to a realistic level ultimately undoing the editing process the original photographers have made. I then scanned the crumpled images making sure they were not flattened too much, the scanner captures the depth in the folds and the textures of the edge of the page better than a camera would, it also lights the glossy paper evenly.
I then cropped the scanned images so that you could not see the white boarder and uneven sides.
Nigel Tomm is a modern artist whose work has great parallels with cubist art. He is most knows for his manipulation, distraction and recreation of existing image. Working with pre-existing photographs from magazine he tackles the issue of perfection in the media displayed by celebrities and models. The magazine images he choices are often from editorial, beauty or glamour shoots, they show a glimpse of the beauty standards which are pushed to audiences every day. He manipulated them by crumpling the glossy images, randomly folding sections over and distorting to original. He then partially flattens the images back out an re captured them either using a camera in a studio with bright lights making reflections or a scanner which gives clean crisp look. These final images are then either turned to black and white or left in colour creating abstract pieces. His work subverts the conventions of beauty and critiques the these editorial publications which portray ‘perfect’ people. His work mixes the idea of beauty and ugliness two polar opposites which people have very fixed ideologies. In a way his work brings the ‘beautiful’ models and celebrities in the original photos down to a realistic level of beauty. He works with the idea that consumers are no longer looking to attain perfection but rather to be real instead, letting imperfections shine through showing a more modern surrealist approach.
This photo is a hand manipulation of an existing image in a beauty an fashion magazine. the original image would have been taken in a studio with bright lighting helping the evenly illuminate the models face. When the magazine page was distorted and re captured bright studio lights would have been used again, this helps to show off the glossy pages which we link with editorial images. These lights also create shadows which highlight the texture in the page and give it a more warped effect. The photo has a very high contrast because of the lights used and the shadows and highlights created on the paper. The magazine photo would have also had a high contrast because this is often a a technique used to help make editorials images stand out and look larger than life helping to exaggerate models features. This photo is in black and white which helps to simplify it and helps the viewer focus on the interesting shapes and distorted features. The form of the image has been reconstructed by the random crinkles inn the paper, although the photographer has considered the placing of the the folds he did not have complete control over it making the image more spontaneous. We can still tell the image was originally of a beautiful model however this idea had been challenged, the once smooth skin is now covered in lines from the creased paper and the proportions have been disfigured.
