Plastic Fantastic

Observe. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit.

www.ishotkatemoss.com

Dog Day Afternoon

In celebration of National Dog Day (no! we are not calling kate names), I wanted to highlight one of our favorite August submissions to the www.ishotkatemoss.com collage - this from a one Ms. Kristin Barbato:

When we emailed Kristin she told us the tail (let's see how many bad dog puns we can get into one blog post): "During our walk, my French bulldog, Titus, was drawn to the sticker of Kate affixed to the base of the lamppost. Despite being mostly blind, he walked right up to her and after a few contemplative sniffs, decided the best way to honor her presence was to relieve himself right on the picture. Unfortunately due to my convulsive laughing, I was unable to get the camera ready fast enough for that photo op. But I did manage to get his satisfied expression afterward."

So rather than spending your hard-earned bucks on something involving kate (really who needs more clothes, perfume, magazines, lipstick, cigarettes, apparent sex appeal or champagne coupes?) go and adopt a dog or donate to a local shelter. Instead of throwing away $s on heels, teach a pup to heel. Buy a dog treat or toy for your favorite pooch and revel in the joy of slobber.

Phew, got through that without referencing doggy style ...

Observe. Sit. Slow Down. Roll Over. Shoot. Fetch. Submit.

www.ishotkatemoss.com

Let's nip this in the bubbly

NEWS OF THE DAY: kate moss has collaborated on a champagne glass molded from her left breast

We scoured the on-line "press" to find and share some comments in response to the latest kate announcement - which iskm hates to admit but it seems as though it is being fairly widely covered ... slow news day (ISIS/ISIL, ebola and Ferguson MO obviously are all old news). iskm will spare you comments with Dolly Parton beer keg and Pamela Anderson soup kettle references but have selected a few we found insightful ...  

• Amrita: What? Errrm, why? OK then, now I'm going to use my breast to shape an earthen pot. 

Well Amrita, the restaurant where kate hosted her 40th birthday party have collaborated with British 'artist' Jane McAdam Freud - yes, that would be Lucian's daughter and Sigmund's great-grand daughter (no comments about cigars please) to make a mold of her left breast to turn into a glass in tribute to the supermodel.   

• Hugo: The original Champagne coupe is fabled to be modeled on Marie Antoinette's breast in the late 18th century ... Kate Moss has provided a modern update on the design. Or, it's just a shameless marketing ploy for big wigs; to smile as they titillatingly raise a glass to their lips?  

That is correct Hugo ... the story goes that the first champagne coupe - a wide-rimmed champagne glass - dates back to approximately the time of Marie Antoinette, when the first ever version was supposedly modeled around the French queen's left breast ... hence why it's kate's left, not right boob being immortalized. I have not been able to confirm whether Marie Antoinette's mold was pre- or post-guillotine.
Though this myth has been debunked, there have been very real drinking vessels based on famous ladies' chests e.g. in 2008 Dom Perignon created, with the help of Karl Lagerfeld, a serving bowl inspired by model Claudia Schiffer's breats. By a quirk of fate, it just so happens that apparently there is also a coupe based on Lee MIller's breast (some kate fanatic must have read the last iskm blog entry and been inspired!)

• VK7: Kate Moss is happy to be associated with Marie Antoinette, a woman who lived in luxury off the poverty of people starving ...

C'mon VK7, let kate eat her cake ... she explained: ''I was excited to participate in this project - what an honor to be alongside Marie Antoinette - she was a very intriguing and mischievous character …" 

• Rae Claire: First time I have seen Marie Antoinette described as "mischievous." Naughty girls rule!
• Hugo (commenting again): Disappointed not to see some illustrative shots of the mold-making process.  

kate continued: "... champagne is always associated with celebration and happy occasions and I had fun creating this beautiful coupe.'' If you would like to sample some bubbly a la kate, the coupe along with a bottle of 1995 Oenothèque will set you back £2,123 (approx. US$3,500).

• Asherware: The super rich and privileged sure do live in la-la land. 

The restaurant describes the so-called coupe as an "intricate abstract design reminiscent of Art Deco symmetry which, when held at an angle, shows a beautiful curvy shape."  

• tomuchthought: A toast to Kate's 'curves'! I'm sorry ...where are they?? 
• louise: I mean yeah, this has definitely been photoshopped ...

Furthering this conversation, 'journalist' Nancy Mattia states on people.com within the Great Ideas section: "We wonder if Moss’s overlooked right boob will be staging a protest."  
Oh Nancy ...

You want insightful and thought provoking analysis, I refer you to spraycan and des:

• spraycan: Whose left testicle did they mold for the shot glasses?
• des: Great idea. I am going to use my tackle to make a double egg cup holder ... Might put me off my breakfast
  
  

  And, yes, that is the profile pic for Des ... 

  
  

  All this got us thinking, who are the boobs in this latest sorry ordeal? 

  As we fell to the ground in fits of laughter while reading such observations and struggling with such deep thoughts, another comment came to the fore:

• Kate'smate: Boob down, bottoms up. 
  
  
  A bottle of bubbly for the first person to send a submission to www.ishotkatemoss.com, taken through, or involving, a coupe glass. 
  
  
  Observe. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit.
  www.ishotkatemoss.com

A man, kate and some rays

As the sunshine streamed through window panes here in NY, I walked past super glossy images of kate from the fashion publishing press and was struck by the fact that a natural course of solarization was hitting my eyes ...

An example of Man Ray's work

Solarization is the phenomenon in photography in which the image is wholly or partially reversed in tone (so that dark areas appear light or light areas appear dark), if either the negative or the photographic print is exposed briefly to light during the processing procedure.

Lee Miller solarized by Man Ray

The technique was made famous by Man Ray after it was accidentally discovered in his darkroom. The story, as I understand it, was that while Lee Miller was assisting Man Ray a mouse ran over her foot during the exposure of a negative. Startled she screamed and turned on the light, completely forgetting about the work she was doing. In hopes of saving the prints Man Ray quickly turned off the light and tossed the images into the fixer. This exposure interrupted the process causing a dramatic aesthetic effect and rather than discard the pictures, the result was savored and then perfected through numerous experiments seeking to control and harness the technique's beauty.

Given the reaction to Plexi Glass Tears/Les Larmes de Verre iskm thought more honoring of Man Ray was in order, using transparencies (yes, they still make slide film) to see what could be created naturally with just a few photos and some summer rays. As a result, the following images have recently been added to the www.ishotkatemoss.com collage:

And just like Man Ray ...

Observe. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit.

(well, he never submitted, but we wish he had!)

www.ishotkatemoss.com

Rejection ...

... from an important and subversive photographer I greatly respect, after sending an invitation to add his voice to the www.ishotkatemoss.com collage, particularly relevant given that he used to be - in his words - part of fashion's "swirling narcissistic world":

"to give notice  whether  symbolically negative or positive is to signify…….  my comment on the property is not to.,,,,, so it is significant that i remain in the   outer banks of concern,,,

                                                                        the answer is no…."

We here at ishotkatemoss, of course, agree that this (our) "culture", as represented by kate - its apparently inextinguishable flame - requires no form of validation.

Using what is put in front of us continually in order to create a message through interpretation of her, the work of those that use her and the way we see the ever-changing representation of her and us (as participants, consumers and viewers) is the point.

By not shining a light onto it, iskm is scared that only the supposedly positive signals are sent out into our ever looking world. So while I completely respect the individual's decision to not signify, someone has to hold up the carnival house of mirrors ...

An original, unadulterated image of kate as shot by Corrine Day

Observe. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit.

www.ishotkatemoss.com