The politics of fashion photography:

Steven Meisel’s Oil and Water

Oil and Water, Steven Meisel, Vogue Italia 2010

Introducing my topic

Introduction & a brief history  

 

Ponte De Vecchio, Florence, Brian Duffy,1962

Guy Bourdin Vogue Paris 1969

Key Concepts

Key Concepts

Representation  

 

The discipline of fashion, Steven Meisel, Vogue Italia 2011

‘Fashion does not supplant the natural body with an ideal one but with an

imagined one’  

-Shinkle, E. (2008) Fashion As Photograph. London: I.B. Tauris

Oil and Water, Steven Meisel, Vogue Italia 2010

Water,  Edward  Burtynsky,  2010  

Oil  Spill  #7,  Daniel  Beltra,  2010  

Key Concepts

Representation Politics and aesthetics

Makeover madness, Steven Meisel, Vogue Italia 2005

‘But it’s not because they are controversial that I like them, but because they say a little more than just a

beautiful woman in a beautiful dress. I love that too, but to try and say something is also my goal.’

 -­‐Steven  Meisel  

Blanks, T. (2015) An Exclusive Q&A With Photographer Steven Meisel [online] available from <http://www.wsj.com/articles/an-exclusive-q-a-with-photographer-steven-meisel-1422460551> [20 November 2015]

Key Concepts

Representation Politics and aesthetics

Realism

Super mods enter rehab, Steven Meisel, Vogue Italia 2007

‘Fashion photography glamourizes drug use and glorifies anorexia to sell clothes’

-­‐Bill  Clinton  

Bull, S. (2010) Photography, 159. London: Routledge

Key Concepts

Representation Politics and aesthetics

Realism Mass Production

‘In terms of the Vogues that I work for, certainly Vogue Italia is the most lenient and allows me to do

more or less what I feel like doing. Not that they don’t also kill things, but that doesn’t happen often;

it’s been the most creative outlet that I have.’

-­‐Steven  Meisel  

Blanks, T. (2015) An Exclusive Q&A With Photographer Steven Meisel [online] available from <http://www.wsj.com/articles/an-exclusive-q-a-with-photographer-steven-meisel-1422460551> [20 November 2015]

Mass productionà larger audienceà power and control  

visual representation à politics à capitalism à neoliberalism à profit à oil

Oil and Water, Steven Meisel, Vogue Italia 2010

Un0tled  #1,  The  Prophecy,  Fabrice  Monteiro,  2014  

What  do  I  want  to  answer  within  my  essay?  

•  Is  all  fashion  photography  poliHcal  to  an  extent?  

•  Is  it  ethically  right  to  take  images  of  poliHcally  charged  issues?  For  example  disasters  such  as  the  oil  spill?  Is  this  just  unsympatheHc?  

•  Are  photographers  planning  on  causing  heated  discussions  or  do  they  have  another  agenda?  

Presentation Script

Slide 1: The politics of fashion photography: Steven Meisel’s Oil and Water Slide 2: This is the image that I have chosen to write my essay around, it is one of the images from the series Oil and Water by Steven Meisel. I have always been interested in fashion photography, however I wanted to find an image with some depth and meaning behind it. Meisel’s work is always very political and is generally his response to what is going on in the world at the time. I picked this image, about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as it was very controversial at the time it was published and still is now, due to the subject matter being very sensitive. I really like the idea of fashion images having both politics and aesthetics; these images leave an underlying cultural tone and message. There are many questions that I want to look at during my essay, but I think the main one is: is it ethical for these issues to be represented? Or by doing so are we just glamourizing these events and forgetting their severity? Slide 3: The introduction will provide a quick overview of my essay, each paragraph will hint towards what the main sections of my essay will be about. The first section will contextualise my essay more and go more in depth about the history of fashion photography. This will allow my audience to understand how fashion photography has developed and where it is today. Slide 4: These are just two quick examples of two different styles of fashion photography: documentary and surrealism. Slide 5: Key Concepts Slide 6: Representation: This can be seen in two ways: representation of the event that is being portrayed and representation of women in fashion, I am going to talk about both of these in different parts of my essay. Slide 7: This is an example of how women can be portrayed in fashion and media. We are being presented ‘an air brushed world’ (Shinkle 2008), a body and life style that is unrealistic and unachievable to all. But why are we being pushed towards this way of living and unattainable style? Slide 8: ‘Fashion does not supplant the natural body with an ideal one but with an imagine one’. (Shinkle 2008) It has now gotten to the point where what is being represented as an ‘ideal’ body image doesn’t actually exist, however the people that are reading these magazines, such as young girls, are easily influenced, this causes wider issues as they are constantly exposed to this ‘ideal’ body shape. Slide 9: This is another image from Oil and Water- Steven Meisel, and an example of an event being represented within fashion photography.

Slide 10: Here is another example how an event may be portrayed within another genre photography. This is an image by Edward Burtynsky from his series Water. I think this has more of a shock factor and shows what is really there. Slide 11: And another image, from Daniel Beltra’s series Oil Spill. These images are all showing the same event but in different lights. This photograph shows the spill in a more aesthetically pleasing way, which brings me onto my next key concept… Slide 12: Politics and aesthetics: Of course aesthetics are important in fashion photography, and always have been. What I want to question within my essay is whether there are any boundaries? Is there a situation where it isn’t ethically correct to make something beautiful? Slide 13: ‘It’s me, it’s what I’m doing or experiencing’- Steven Meisel. (Meisel 2015) The work that he produces isn’t intentionally controversial; it is just what he sees in the world represented through his views and opinions. Are other photographers more aware of the political side that they are showing? Within my essay I want to discuss if it is ok to intentionally make controversial work, does this anger them because of the lack of sympathy towards the subject? But is that little bit of awareness worth it? Alfrado Jaar believes that all art is political, just maybe with more of an underlying message in some cases; he says that if your work is responding to the world, which it normally is, it is political. (Jaar 2014) So why is the more obviously political work frowned upon? Slide 14: ‘But it’s not because they are controversial that I like them, but because they say a little more than just a beautiful woman in a beautiful dress. I love that too, but to try and say something is also my goal.’- Steven Meisel. (Meisel 2015) Slide 15: Realism Slide 16: Like this image, everything being photographed is real to an extent, and I think what we have to question is whether it is ok to represent these things? And in an aesthetically pleasing way as well. In Meisel’s case his work isn’t meant to be humorous or cause anger, but he is purely making a comment on the work and what he sees, however this might not be true about other photographers work. Slide 17: ‘Fashion photography glamourizes drug use and glorifies anorexia to sell clothes’- Bill Clinton. (Bull 2010:159) This is a popular opinion, what I need to decipher is if I think its true or just confusion between reality and representation. Slide 18: Mass Production: creating large amounts of similar products efficiently. (Investopedia, 2015) This applies to vogue Italia in this case, however it is produced further as many photographers work is republished on websites and social media, this allows a wider audience to see their work

Slide 19: ‘In terms of the Vogues that I work for, certainly Vogue Italia is the most lenient and allows me to do more or less what I feel like doing. Not that they don’t also kill things, but that doesn’t happen often; it’s been the most creative outlet that I have.’-Steven Meisel (Meisel 2015) Vogue Italia gives the photographer the most creative freedom, this could be why Meisel has managed to print these political pieces, however I’m not sure this is a bad thing, we shouldn’t be hiding from what has happened but taking action, something which is encouraged by seeing what has happened- you have to think about the wider audience that is seeing this work, who may otherwise be unaware. Slide 20: Mass production! larger audience!power and control. This timeline is a simplistic way of how mass production can lead to having more power. Slide 21: visual representation ! politics ! capitalism ! neoliberalism ! profit ! oil. This shows how I can find the bridge between fashion photography and oil. Within my essay I need to go into the politics of oil and waste and question how fashion photographers are ok with the waste that they are producing. Slide 22: For example, back to my original image from Oil and Water there is waste in many different ways, from the dresses being shipped across countries (fossil fuel waste) to the dresses being ruined with fake crude oil. This is bringing in another politic side that many don’t even think about, why is it ok to produce this much waste, especially when this is what the main photograph may be trying to raise awareness for. There are designers that consider the environmental and ethical factors of fashion such as Katharine Hamnett- Do more people need to take this into consideration? Slide 23:  As well as designers interested in environmental factors there are photographers interested in this too. Fabrice Monteiro is an example of this. The subject matter to his work is very similar to Meisel’s, although he planned to make people aware of this and wasn’t just responding to what was happening in the world around him. Another difference is the levels of waste from the shoot. To create the dresses for the whole of this series Monteiro collaborated with costume designer Jah Gal, making them out of the waste that was already at the sites. This proves that fashion photography can be done without damaging the world around us. Slide 24: What do I want to answer within my essay?

• Is all fashion photography political to an extent? • Is it ethically right to take images of politically charged issues? For

example disasters such as the oil spill? Is this just unsympathetic? • Are photographers planning on causing heated discussions or do they

have another agenda?

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