Picasso

Pablo Picasso, Girl Before a Mirror, 1932// Etro, Spring 2012 Runway

When I was looking through Etro's spring 2012 collection a lot of the color choices and thick, bold black lines reminded me of Picasso's cubist-surrealist phase. I chose this particular painting in Pablo's enormous repertoire because it represents (on the most base of levels) the female relationship with clothing and looks. We often don't see a clear or mirrored reflection but rather what we want (or don't want) to see.

Cramped

Sabbath ,Grey #5, Shot by: Alessio Bolzoni, Styling by: Moren// Rene Magritte, Intermission, 1927

Rene Magritte would often redefine the norm but not in a way that was easily predictable. He takes that which you are familiar with and alters it just enough to make the viewer mildly uncomfortable and disturbed. However, he never did anything too harsh or surprising. In Intermission Magritte startles the viewer with the awkward yet subtle misplacement of the human anatomy. In a similar way Alession Bolzoni pushes the boundaries of the natural in the form and stance of his models. They are just different enough that their form is questionable, distinct, and irritating. Their unique stance does highlight the graceful and delicate flow of the clothing, which is the ultimate goal with an editorial.

Nude Angles

Man Ray 1924 Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow



Exstasis
Dazed & Confused; 
Shot by Matthew Stone

It's been a while since I've written anything with substance so I beg your pardon if I come across as dim. Though the surrealist movement is one that's hard for me to grasp, I've found its much easier to see photography's role in the movement. The day photographers began to view their medium as one that could be creative versus purely documentary an entirely new avenue opened. Man Ray is most definitely one of the largest names in avant-garde photography, and many of his works pushed the envelope artistically in various ways. He viewed photography as a form of creation rather than one that purely reproduced. He often used women as his subject matter, confronting the conservative viewer with the female body. Today the use of the nude still startles and causes discomfort in some viewers but it amazes me how truly artistic the use of the nude has become. Matthew Stone places the soft female body next to the harsh marble square but manages to remain delicate. Even the smoke can't make the image harsh.