Beauty In Discussion: Katie Price Vs Orlan

In the world of art the concept of beauty has been a popular topic to explore, often being the basis of many creations and ideas. In this discussion I will be comparing the idea of glamour (Katie Price, former glamour model known as Jordan) Vs art (Orlan, a eccentric French artist known for her unusual performance art) and their methods of beauty modifications in relation to conformity.

Katie Price (Glamour) Vs Orlan (Art)

After reading the Guardian's article on Orlan's work (Orlan's art of sex and surgery) and the BBC video interviewing Katie Price (Price: Breast implants 'need age limit'), the discussion on the concept of beauty and using cosmetic surgery as a means to alter a person’s appearance is certainly interesting with varying viewpoints.

Orlan's work can be seen as extremist especially in her unorthodox ways of presenting her ideas through art in particular her performance art. She is renowned for her many cosmetic alterations to her face where she has 'altered her mouth to imitate that of François Boucher's Europa, another changed her forehead to mimic the protruding brow of Leonardo's Mona Lisa, while yet another altered her chin to look like that of Botticelli's Venus.' (The Guardian) The idea of filming herself conscious in the operating theatre is hard to digest particularly as no other artist has done this before. Many people see this as crazy and that she's taken 'art' too far, however this raises questions such as 'what is art?'. Personally I find her work interesting especially her concepts but I am put off by her method of execution as I am not too keen on conceptual performance art as I am not as appreciative of this form. It is rather eccentric and radical.

Still from Orlan, Carnal Art by Stephen Oriach

The fact that Orlan is strong rooted in her feminist beliefs makes her work much more powerful and without this the concept of beauty would be completely changed. Beauty through female eyes are perceived and received differently than the man's. I like how Orlan challenges the idea of 'what is beautiful' and by representing her concepts by physically altering her body, she not only goes to show that the human body is a canvas but makes you think of ideas of conforming to a social norm (the standardized beauty, if there is one?) and whether cosmetic surgery really does make you beautiful.

In relation to glamour (Katie Price) Vs art (Orlan) their concepts and procedure are the same yet the perception is completely different. Stereotypically men would find Katie more appealing after her breast implants etc, as large breasts, blonde hair, small waist etc. is the 'comic-book' image of an ideal desirable woman whereas Orlan has created a protruding brow etc. which isn't seen as beautiful. Perhaps if society was socialized in accepting protruding brows as being desirable more men would find Orlan attractive. This debate returns to the idea of 'Standardized idea of beauty' Vs 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'.

In conclusion there isn't any difference between the idea of altering your appearance to 'conform' to a particular ideal of beauty whether it's Katie Price or Orlan doing it, the question that is being asked is 'Conformity to the majority or minority?'

(This discussion has been a response to my Photography degree forum on 'Orlan: Narcissist or Cultural commentator?)

Image Sources:

Katie Price Portrait

Orlan Portrait

Still from Orlan, Carnal Art

Sources:

The Guardian

BBC News Health

Further Reading:

idebate: Cosmetic Surgery

In Discussion: The Photograph as Contemporary Art by Charlotte Cotton

In preparation for a seminar, Charlotte Cotton's popular photography theory book 'The Photograph as Contemporary Art' (Thames & Hudson, 2009) was the topic of discussion, in particular Chapter 2 'Once Upon a Time'. This chapter brought to light contemporary art photography which is often described as 'tableau-vivant photography'. This means 'living picture' in French. Google Dictionary describes tableau-vivant as 'A silent and motionless group of people arranged to represent a scene or incident'. In relation to photography this is posed image to construct a narrative.

The image below was interesting to deconstruct and draws inspiration from a particular popular painting.

Diary of a Victorian Dandy 19:00 hours' (1998) by Yinka Shonibare

It features five moments in the day in the life of a dandy (Dictionary.reference.com: 'a man who is excessively concerned about his clothes and appearance; a fop.'), performed by the artist. An apparent reference is to 'The Rake's Progress' (1732-33) by William Hogarth about the young cad Tom Rockwell. There are 7 episodes in Rockwell's life that Hogarth paints vividly following the character's pleasures and consequences of his debauchery.

The first painting in the series ' The Rake's Progress'

Shonibare's tableau-vivant photograph represents different moments in the day all set in historical interiors and Victorian fancy dess. Interestingly the roles are reversed showing a contemporary satirical twist. Charlotte Cotton writes 'The Caucasians are shown to be 'colour-blind' to the artist and his skin colour. His place within Victorian society appears to be protected by his guise as a dandy, the declaration of self-fashioning and authenticity being assured through pronounced artifice in manner and dress'. Shonibare's Victorian Dandy was commissioned to be shown first as posters on the London Underground system thus intended to align with today's popular commercial imagery.

Realizing this genre of photography has certainly been insightful as tableau-vivant photography is becoming increasingly popular especially in modern art galleries and understanding the origins and meanings behind these 'posed' images widens knowledge about photography and art history.

Sources:

The Photograph as Contemporary Art (New Edition) - Cotton, Charlotte (Thames & Hudson, 2009)

Google Dictionary - 'Tableau-Vivant'

Dictionary.reference.com - 'Dandy'

Wikipedia - The Rake's Progress

Further Reading:

Yinka Shonibare - Website

In Discussion: Ways of Seeing by John Berger

In the first Visual Exploration seminar the topic of discussion was John Berger's influential book Ways of Seeing (Penguin, 1972) which is based on a four part BBC documentary of the same name.

Discussing this book was certainly interesting as many topics were conversed such as the layout of the book, similarities of images and readings of images changing over time. Berger states on the front cover 'Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak... The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled'. Berger brings to light the idea of what we see and what we know and how the knowledge 'never quite fits the sight' meaning how we see is about perception and that images is the first form of communication. As photography is considered one of the newest form of visual communication how we read images is important so Berger's book has certainly been a recommended read for photographers and artists alike.

The first thing a reader will notice is the layout as it is quite unusual making the experience of reading this theoretical book different as would expected. It is split into 7 chapters with alternating pictorial chapters and written analysis of the images from the previous chapter. A reason for having solely image based chapters could be that the viewer is subconsciously storing read images into their memory preparing for the next chapter so images can be retrieved in relation to the text. Although this is a clever way of reading the page layout itself is quite distracting especially in the written chapters where all the text is in bold font and there are no clear spaces between paragraphs; the eye is forced to dart around the page rather than focus on the text itself. However, regardless of layout Berger writes in a manner that is accessible to all ages rather than make the reader decode his words which could be lost in translation.

Two images from chapter 6 were discussed: (please note the images in the book are monochrome however the paintings are in colour)

Woman with White Stockings by Gustave Courbet (1819-77)

Demoiselles au bord de la Seine by Gustave Courbet (1819-77)

These paintings by Gustave Courbet are particularly interesting in relation to the meaning of images over time. Throughout art history the perception of female beauty has been quite curvaceous with a fuller figure and pale skin (seen in the above paintings) however the idea of beauty today has changed considerably to tanned 6ft slim model figure such as Gisele Bündchen. A reading of these paintings are that the voluptuous figure denotes a perception of status and wealth. Despite some readings changing over time, one that is seen today is the idea of the dominant male painter/photographer and the submissive female. These paintings are innocently erotic yet there is an element of a 'man's gaze'. (read Laura Mulvey's feminist film theory essay 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema') Berger states in chapter 3 (page 47) 'The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object - and most particularly an object of vision: a sight.' In Courbet's paintings he is depicting his women an 'object of vision'.

Overall John Berger's 'Ways of Seeing' has been an insightful read and the issues discussed are still relevant today despite being published 1972. Our lives will always consist of images and understanding why and how we see and read images in a certain way is a vital part of how we communicate.

See the BBC 4 part documentary here:

Sources:

Ways of seeing - Berger, John (London : BBC 1972)

'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' - Mulvey, Laura 

Further Reading:
Gustave Courbet