Maybe I should bring everyone up to speed on what I�m talking about. D found these 1920-40�s ads for Corsets and girdles and such on Ebay, which we thought were very cool. That inspired me, at the time, to do a show on corsets specifically, because they are coming back in vogue again. I�d do a shot of today�s woman wearing a corset, and have the framed ad next to it. Sort of illustrating the differences yet still saying women are feminine while still being strong and independent.
Too fucking political. What was I going to do, show women in hard hats and corsets? I did a couple of test shots trying to figure it out, and these were what I came up with.
Meh. I like them, don�t get me wrong, but they don�t exactly say� anything. Frustrated with this, I gave up on the idea for awhile. This was a year ago.
Since then, I�ve had multiple concepts for this show, just knowing that I wanted to do something and pair it with the ads. So I think I�ll get nothing but stick figure petite girls and boys and put them in oversized corsets, it�ll be commentary on where societal concepts of image have gone. Almost like a �we�ve gone too far� sort of thing.
Again, politics! I�m not interested in making comments regarding society�s image, one way or the other. I don�t think the images themselves would be interesting at all. If I wanted to stand up and shout to the world that we need more curvy chicks� well, that�s just stupid. I don�t want to be on a god damned soap box.
So I think I�ll use everyday women. Like, mothers and teachers and bankers. Women that aren�t classically defined as beautiful. Whoaa, bad idea. This is what one particularly sensitive person got out of it -> The artist�s (that�s me) statement is that these women aren�t beautiful but want to be so they must modify their bodies.
Oh Jesus Christ.
So I abandoned that idea, thinking I�ll just shoot obese women with bowling pins up their asses and the world as a collective whole can go fuck themselves.
And then I see a picture that I find very� intrusive, interesting, erotic. It�s a girl who�s, essentially, standing on a desk that has an attached mirror. She�s nude, except for shoes, and she�s masturbating.
It strikes an interesting idea. The whole photograph is, in my mind, about her and her image. It sort of illustrates a person�s intimate connection with their image. I think that this sort of thing translates well for corsets, because it�s people wanting to modify their image. So I develop a series of ideas around these editorial style shots showing women in intimate environments (bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.), and while not necessarily masturbating, but just being alone with their image. Make sense? Admiring, longing, and loving their image they�ve developed for themselves.
So I think I have a winner and talk to D about it on the way to work this morning. Basically, she uses my argument against the existence of altruism against me, saying that they aren�t necessarily modifying their body for themselves, but for society as a whole. That they could be thinking about their lovers looking at them, or strangers, etc.. She essentially said it sounds like a guy just wants to take pictures of half naked women in corsets.
Sigh...
I can�t argue with her because A. I�m not female, and B. I�ve never tried to wear a corset. I can admit that my desire to be healthy comes from a desire to appear healthy, along with the associated benefits that come from that, like actually being healthy and such. So who am I to argue?
Effectively, I�m a pervert, shooting fetish.
I GIVE UP!
I�m done. Fuck corsets. Fuck women. Fuck photography. Fuck society, and fuck your god damned image.
I�m going to take pictures of video games, because I can. I�m going to take pictures of beer and video games and get drunk, and throw shit. Yeah.
-G