Hey Athenites,
This week we find ourselves in the world of fashion, a world you will find, after you check out the following links, that is even more out of touch than I had previously thought.
I will keep my comments brief because I feel as if the videos explain it best. In the latest issue of French Vogue, white model Lara Stone poses in a series of shots, her entire body painted black. This is known as blackface which, I thought, had ended long ago. Blackface was popular in the United States in the 1800s where white performers painted their faces black and essentially performed like fools, supposedly playing up black stereotypes.
So my question is, why are we rehashing a clearly racist “artform”? Those who defend the photos claim that it was done for artistic merit. Although I am not someone who is particularly gifted in visual arts, I fail to see the artistic merit in this piece. My other question is, why not use a black model for the spread if that was what they were going for? Black models have been proven to be a severely underrepresented group in the industry.
Anyways, check out the next two links that provide commentary and draw your own conclusions.
Yamz
http://jezebel.com/5381755/french-vogue-controversy-goes-to-cable?autoplay=true
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABvb71oYyUo
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