Takepart's Photoshopped Masterpieces

[changeling67]

From the webpage

We’re sure all of you have seen the parodies of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Mona Lisa” that went viral lately all over the internet. The version of Mona Lisa taking a selfie, or the one who over used make-up, all of them try to make us think about how our society has evolved.  In a world where beauty means skinny, weight-obsessed women who alter their natural features as much as they can, takepart decided to do a series to highlight how much the concept of beauty has changed over the years.

Takepart is a popular website with the mission “to inspire and accelerate social change by connecting content to social action”. After working for years in this field, their photo editors have seen it all: tucking tummies, contouring jaw lines, enlarging eyes and lips, brushing out cellulite, even full-out head swapping. Everyone wants to reach perfection when it comes to the way they look.



There have been many discussions and worrying about the media’s portrayal and obsession with an unrealistic and unattainable beauty standard. What is really crazy is how much retouching viewers don’t even notice. Even an image that looks “natural”, if featured on a website or in a magazine, have no doubt – it has definitely been retouched.



Takepart took a digital liquefy brush to the painstakingly layered oils of some of the most celebrated paintings of the female form, nipping and tucking at will. The result is shocking – the essence, the romance and delicacy of the paintings have vanished. There’s nothing poetic about a skinny body with a tiny waist and huge breasts – beautiful women aren’t perfect.



(Source - http://www.daily-art.com/takeparts-photoshopped-masterpieces/ - Accessed 05/07/14)


For full interview - http://www.daily-art.com/takeparts-photoshopped-masterpieces/

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Well, it isn't news to anyone re airbrushing etc., however as a species, we predominantly experience our environment through our eyes.  We will not continually remind ourselves that the modern-day models/celebrities are airbrushed to perfection. Unconsciously, humans tend to copy what they experience - monkey see, monkey do.  Is it any wonder that women of all ages unconsciously struggle for perfection in today's society?

Not that painters painted what they saw - I am sure the sitters expected a certain amount of artistic licence. And how do the Master's fair?  Not particularly well.  Degas' redhead looks like she has watching one too many Pro-Ana sites; Botticelli's Venus with a non-existent waist and a massive rack looks obscene rather than exquisite; Modigliani's original brunette may have looked *ahem* 'burly' in today's eyes - however, the altered version has 'Disneyfied' the sitter and has given her Anime eyes and an unconvincing rosebud smile.  It steals the sensuality of the painting and devalues Modigliani's passion as a painter.

Comments

[bluegerl.livejournal.com]

Aren't these hideous! I really felt slightly nauseous looking at the nudes... eeeuughh. just not RIGHT.... they all look starved... anorexia nervosa.

And it is so awful for people these days. Girls either go to such dreadful lengths to try and copy or else give up and live on bad foods and get enormously fat in compensation. It's dreadful.

I wish the catwalks would go in for women that had boobs that bounced and bums that rotated and that neat little pad of fat just below the navel... IT'S NECESSARY FOR CHILDBEARING!!!! the stretch you know! (which you might well!!!)

OOOh dear me. for reassurance I shall go and stand in front of my mirror... I'm slimming back to ME!!! the big goodlooking body (only it's a bit wrinkly now here and there, but not THAT much)

At least I do have echoing in my mind... 'Heyyyy. You're all one woman aren't you?' said in a marvelling happy anticipatory voice!!!

Hehehe.

[calico-pye.livejournal.com]

It is interesting how fashion has changed - some classical artists paint women as men with apple-shaped breasts or pyramidic. I just feel that the media ideal has more influence now than it has ever been. Thankfully, there are some franchises that like to represent women with realistic shapes (the 'Dove' advert immediately springs to mind), but they are the exception rather than the rule :-(

[bardcat.livejournal.com]

Delightful!

[calico-pye.livejournal.com]

I like Modigliani's painting best of all, but mostly because of his story and the relationships he had with his sitters :-)

[j-flattermann.livejournal.com]

Isn't it weird ? I wonder who preferred the slimmed versions? They look abstruse to me, somewhat twisted, not quite right.
However, it is true that today's women are struggling to get their bodies into shapes of quite unnatural form. But, saying this and thinking of those women depicted in their original shapes, just think what they were looking like when dressed again. Squeezed into corsets of whalebone.
I think it is truly a human thing. Even the ancient Egyptians were deforming their bodies for cosmetic reasons. Just think of those deformed skulls from bandaging, or the Chinese women and their crippled feet.
We were, are and always will be nutters!

[calico-pye.livejournal.com]

Whalebone corsets - that takes me back to my grandmother's age group. It looked a torturous piece of kit, no wonder women would swoon and need smelling salts - talcum to get it on, scissors to get it off.

I think you are right - we can be nutters in regards to our looks. All it takes is an influential figure to deem a new supposedly perfect form and off we go again - with plastic tits and jumbo lips etc.

[bethnoir.livejournal.com]

the shrinking women are scary, make them go away! People always want to look different to how they naturally look, but I guess with cameras everywhere there can feel like there's more pressure these days. I'm more concerned about the denial of ageing. Women have to 'fight' ageing as if it is somehow unacceptable to grow old and show that experience on your face/skin or hair. It might not be very cheering, but everyone is going to get old or die trying so why deny the reality?

[calico-pye.livejournal.com]

I agree with you re the denial of age. It is a shame that age is seen as a negative process. I can't say that I love wrinkles on my face, but I adore the character and wisdom of other people's faces.

[bethnoir.livejournal.com]

well I dye away my white hairs, so I have vanity about ageing myself, but I do resent the idea that I should strive to look younger than I am. I want to go straight to old lady wearing purple stage and miss out the whole trying to confuse people into thinking I might be anywhere between 30 and 60!

[calico-pye.livejournal.com]

Think you have hit the nail on the head - I would just like to be doing 'alright for my age' and that mostly means dyeing my hair. I think I wouldn't rally bother to do that, but I would like to remain in employment and they judge women far quicker than they do men in that respect.

I have noticed that even men (mostly newscasters) are dyeing their hair more and more. What is so wrong with age/wisdom/respect?