Sunday, December 20, 2015

The Dark Side?

It has been a big week, and as things calm down, we should take stock of kate's role in our awakening. You see, The Force even extended into the realms of kate and fashion ... or did kate extend into the realms of Star Wars?
Little short for a stormtrooper! Image from Mac Lewis Creative in LA
Kate or the Clone Wars? Image from Luis Mejia Ubidia in Lima, Peru
Can you see her calling someone a "scruffy-looking nerf herder" when she gets off her flight?

Observe. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit.
May kate's Force be with You.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Photographer Series #25: mariashotkatemoss


Maria Sheila Miani lives with the history of fashion in Milan. She studied to be a fashion editor in both Europe and the US, has had articles published in Vogue.it and Vogue Italia magazine, and works for Italian blogger and fashion designer Chiara Ferragni. Maria also comments on her perception of fashion and the industry through her own art projects.


Maria's "But first let me take a selfie"
As soon as I came back from LA, I decided I wanted to reach an audience of people who share my interest for fashion. People who feel fascinated by this world, who are inspired but do not necessarily want to be a fashion designer. Therefore, I began creating personal projects, not just for my own sake, but to share with others.


iskm: How would you describe your art practice?

Maria Sheila Miani (MSM): Liberating and personal. Each of my art projects are born by ideas that I have while walking on a streets, cooking, reading. From an idea, I try to express something bigger, a feeling or a perception I have of the world.


iskm: Can you explain your Is Art in Fashioninstagram project?

MSM: Is Art in Fashion is a a series of collages. I select a famous painter (Van Gogh, Picasso, Salvador Dalì, Manet), select a number of his works and then I pick a fashion model and I insert her in the various paintings.

Kate & "Still life with melon and peaches, 1866"
iskm: How did it come to start?

MSM: One day I was doing my daily walk in my city, Rome, and I saw a poster advertising an exhibition of the famous French painter, Henri Matisse. It showed a table with a bowl of fruit and I thought that it would look cool if I put a model in the painting – a collage! That is how it started.


iskm: How do you choose the source artist and art?

MSM: First of all I pick an artist. Usually I try to choose one that interests me in that particular moment, either because I have recently studied the artist or because I see an exhibition of his work. If I feel more connected to the artist, I understand better what he wanted to portray and therefore I can choose which model to insert. I research his style, in which century did he live, to better understand his background and then select 10-15 of the artist's works.


Kate & "Portrait of Lady Gonzales"
iskm: And the choice of model? How/why do you choose the model and the artist to pair?

MSM: I always try to pick a model whose features are completely in contrast with the kind of people that are in the paintings of the artist. For instance, for Gauguin’s works, which portrait exotic women from a very primitive lifestyle in Tahiti, I chose to use Daphne Groenveld as the model. Her features are completely the opposite of Gauguin’s kind of women. She is pale, blonde, has huge lips and bambi eyes. In most fashion editorials she resembles a Barbie doll and wears very expensive clothes. For Vermeer’s paintings, which are set back in the 17th century when women wore very modest clothes and behaved in a very reserved manner, I inserted Gisele Bundchen, the most famous Brazilian model whose lifestyle is all about yoga and sports. She also has an incredible body that fashion magazines love to photograph in swimsuits and short dresses.


Kate & "The Absinthe Drinker"
iskm: How do you do then create the collage?

MSM: I open every painting in Photoshop and begin inserting various pictures of the model, each from a different editorial. I usually insert 3 to 5 images, the ones where the model seems to be interacting with the painting, before I find the one that best suits.

iskm: What was the initial pairing? How long before you came to use kate?

MSM: The project began with Lily McMenamy and Matisse then moved to Kate Moss as soon as I finished the first series. When I began the project I was living in Rome, and I would be working in my sitting room, where we keep the television. I would see Kate Moss daily, during tv spots.


Kate & "Parisienne study of Ellen Andree 1874"
iskm: Why kate with Manet?

MSM: Kate Moss and Manet together are invincible. They are both considered rebels.Manet is the father of Impressionism, one of the most important art movements that completely changed the perception of art and its relationship with reality. Even more, Manet lived in a century when women were obliged by society to behave, to wear a certain type of clothes and had limited possibilities. Kate Moss instead is a rebel, a rock and roll woman who would never follow these rules.


iskm: In your opinion, has kate also “changed the perception of art and its relationship with reality”?

MSM: I guess you can say that Kate Moss image has been reproduced so many times that she belongs to a mass media culture. It was natural that somebody would use her image to transform it, and if this person is an artist, then to create art. Especially in the digital era, when you can find tons of images of such a famous person, it is easy to take these pictures and make them yours. Kate Moss managed to create a universe around her, made of her lifestyle, personality and career path. People feel drawn to her because she has made her life memorable. I, as an artist, can see so many different aspects of her in her pictures that it is almost natural to create something out of them.

Maria's "Love Doesn't Hurt, but Betrayal Does!"
iskm: One of our favorite pieces from the series is Manet's La Muerte del Torero. Why did you use a kate playboy image for this collage?
MSM: When I chose Kate Moss from Playboy, l could see a connection between the dead torero on the floor and her, on the ground too, with a very intriguing expression. To me, in that collage, she seems worried but at the same time she has a killer-gaze. She just killed her lover, you betrayed her, and her look seems like she is about to do the same to you, if you will tell somebody. This is how my imagination works, this is how I create my collages.

Kate & Manet's "Nana, 1877"
iskm: You always reference the source artist as “he”? Have you ever worked with a female source artist? If not, why not?

MSM: I am using painters that date back to many centuries ago. I studied the history of art, and until the last century, it is really hard to think of a famous female artist. To me, it is not only to know the name of the artist, but I want to know their life and what they wanted to express through their art.

iskm: And you refer to the models as “her”. What about male models?

MSM: I won’t wait to use a female painter to insert a male model. I have not used them yet because the male fashion has become popular only recently. I can think of many famous male models, but very of them have a strong image as female models such as Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell or Coco Rocha.


iskm: You have used kate in other series - you had an image of her within your legolize-fashion series. Can you explain this project?

MSM: My Lego project consists in making a Lego version of the fashion world. I began by doing magazines covers, because they are so iconic and recognizable. However I recently began doing fashion campaign too. Gucci, the fashion brand, contacted me to make me be part of the second series of #GucciGram. Therefore I lego-lized their Fall 2015 campaign.


iskm: Life imitates art! How do you see the work relating to the “Is Art in Fashion”?

MSM: Both works are an expression of my imagination. Even more, it's how I like to relate to the fashion system. I believe it is a very fun and creative world from the surface but it is actually made of hard work. Which is the ingredient of my projects.

Kate & "Luncheon on the grass"
iskm: Which photographers/artists would you most want to most see involved in ishotkatemoss?

MSM: I am in awe of many artists. I think that I would really like to see how Darcel Dissapoints creates Kate Moss with his style. What I like about him is that he created this figure, and managed to create and entire world of real characters.


You can see more of Maria Sheila Miani’s imagination at www.mariasheilamiani.com and on instagram @mariasheilamiani.

And just like Manet and Maria, you too can Observe. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Stalking

From a "fan" social media account, recently posted security camera footage of kate at the supermarket ... now in the public domain. 'Why?' you may very well ask ...
A better question, however may very well be 'Why do we look?'

Big brother observes. So Slow Down. Shoot. Submit.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Unibrow

We recently received two fun submissions to the ishotkatemoss collage.

The first, from dancer Macy Sullivan, drew on illuminati eyes and set the course for the unibrow thread ... the second, from actor Daniel Pettrow, illustrated the power of the single brow and got us singing 'Tears of a Clown', once more:
As our mirth abated, we pondered the power of the unibrow. This drew us straight towards a true icon, artist, visionary and feminist ... Frida Kahlo, who once wrote:

"I wish I could do whatever I liked behind the curtain of “madness”. Then: I’d arrange flowers, all day long, I’d paint; pain, love and tenderness, I would laugh as much as I feel like at the stupidity of others, and they would all say: “Poor thing, she’s crazy!” (Above all I would laugh at my own stupidity.)"

The madness of the world seems to reflect in kate. We position her as an icon, an artist, a visionary and - believe it or not - even sometimes as a feminist. Some have analyzed this in interesting and certainly valid ways (e.g. see Daisy Buchanan's interesting take on the representation of kate on her 40th birthday, and her influence, "I don't think Kate Moss is an icon") and ishotkatemoss challenges you to google "kate moss feminist" and not feel depressed by the amount of time and energy spent on debating this topic in academic settings ...

We quite simply think of the idea of kate, in many ways, as a false idol.

As such, we pondered how this could be reflected in the context of our project. Why not simply do what Macy and Daniel had done, using the power of the most important unibrow? So we did:
Shortly after posting this image on instagram we were reminded of where the unibrow first becomes embedded in the childhood psyche ... Bert, from Bert & Ernie!
 
From "The Muppet Show: Connie Stevens (#1.2)" (1977):
Ernie: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Gee, it's really great to be here. Right, Bert? Bert: Ah, I guess so.
Ernie: Oh, what's wrong, Bert?
Bert: Well, I mean, I feel funny being here, this is a big TV variety show, you know?
Ernie: So?
Bert: I'm no performer.
Ernie: Oh, Bert. A suave, sophisticated showman like you, Bert?
Bert: Oh, sure, sure. I know you. You're gonna keep on saying I'm suave and sophisticated, and then when I start to believe it, then you're gonna say how pointy head I have, and how floppy arms I have, and how dull I am, I know you.
Ernie: Bert, you must admit, though, Bert, that the head up there is a little bit pointy, Bert. And you must admit that the arms are a little bit floppy and soggy, Bert. And Bert?
[pulls off Bert's nose]  

Ernie: The nose is still loose Bert.
Bert: Cut that out!
Ernie: Oh, I'm sorry, Bert, here. There you go, Bert.
[puts Bert's nose back on his face]
Bert: See what I mean? I mean that old loose-nose joke is funny on Sesame Street, but this is big-time, Ernie. I mean they're expecting an act or something.
Ernie: Hey, Bert, wait a minute. You can do an act. All you need are the clothes Bert. Come over here, Bert! Step right here, Bert!


Why not? We can use the detachable nose, get Bert the clothes and use another iconic unibrow?

Bert: Ernie, why must you always humiliate me?
Ernie: C'mon, Bert. Somebody has to play MaMa, and you lost the toss.
Bert: Oh, well, just get it over with.
Bert: Ernie? Ernie, come here... did I just make a complete fool of myself?
Ernie: [patting Bert's shoulder] Absolutely, Bert.
Bert: Take me home. I feel terrible. 


Observe the Unibrow. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Photographer Series #24: jenshotkatemoss


About 6 weeks ago, ishotkatemoss featured kate inspiredculinary delights proving the point that ‘plenty tastes as good as skinny feels’!

Through this exploration, we stumbled upon the work of Jen Allanson, for whom we sent hungry eyes, as we looked longingly towards a berry dessert. Upon further exploration, we found that there was a great deal more that met the eyes, and stomach.

Jen Allanson runs a training and development business in Liverpool, UK. When she is not doing that, she heads to her studio in an old dock warehouse, which she shares with more than 20 artists, and creates a wide variety of drawings, prints, assemblages … in between taking photographs and also creating political and societal commentaries, captured under her catch-all of ‘Blah’.

Jen told me that once she was likened “… to a puppy seen, constantly stopping to sniff and look at everything. I am excitable, a little unruly and largely unmanageable. Well, we liked what she was managing to do in her unmanageable way in the 'Kate Moss Eyes on Food' project and thought it was worth delving into Jen’s practice and ideas …
 
iskm: How would you describe your art work?
Jen Allanson (JA): I make art to help me make sense of the world. It’s a mirror. So, I’d probably describe my artwork as autobiographical in that its most often this is what I saw, this is how I felt, this is what this is means. In the case of the 'Kate Moss Eyes on Food' series of collages it was simply this is something that made me laugh.

Jen's first 'Kate Moss Eyes on Food' collage

iskm: Why food? Why kate moss?
JA: The first 'Kate Moss Eyes on Food' collage was an accident. I was in a business hotel in a Northern UK town cutting up a glossy magazine while watching tv. In the paper-cut chaos that ensued Kate Moss’s eyes ended up on a picture of some stuffed mushrooms. It made me laugh. I could still recognise her even when she was just eyes on food. I scanned it and sent it to a couple of friends who thought it was funny too. So I made a series, posting them to a Tumblr gallery (beginning May 2014) and sharing them with friends via social media.

iskm: How did people react?
JA: I got a great response. People sent me more pictures of Kate Moss through the post (all the collages are physical, cut paper collages). I searched ebay and bought clippings and collected magazine pages. I hadn’t realised there were people out there who collect and sell clippings of celebrities.

iskm: And where did you get your food images? Are they all locally sourced?
JA: The food pictures came from all sorts of places - food magazines, photography magazines, old cookery books.
iskm: How many collages did you create?
JA: I made around 60 collages over the course of a couple of months. 46 made it onto the site, the others I haven’t fallen in love with yet (I may never). I continued making them until I ran out of steam and something else captured my attention (collecting shopping lists from supermarket trolleys, to be honest).

iskm: We also spotted that you also used kate’s eyes on non-food images, such as the picture of the horse. Was this something you began exploring beyond the plate?
JA: The horse picture came from a vintage copy of Paris Match. Horse meat is eaten widely in France and there had been a recent ‘horse meat in our beef’ scandal in the UK. It’s bizarre where we draw the line between food and friend, so arbitrary.

iskm: Do you see this work as being a broader social commentary?
JA: I can’t pretend 'Kate Moss Eyes on Food' is a serious (or even semi-serious) art project. So there really aren’t any sensible answers to any ‘Why?’ questions related to Kate Moss Eyes on Food. I think it would be disingenuous of me to make some up. I was just the conduit through which this particular idea passed. I’m just the medium. The message is whatever you choose ;-)
 
iskm: When we found your work on Tumblr, the latest post was from January 1st, 2015. Did you stop making pieces for the series?
JA: It’s funny, but at the time I was making the collages Kate wasn’t much in the press/media. She’s had a renaissance in the glossies, but my interest in the project has waned now, so I just spot her on the magazine stand and think ‘Ah, of only that had been out when I was scouring the world for pictures to cut her eyes from!’ … I still have a stash of Kate’s paper eyes, so I may make more in the future, if the mood takes me. 


iskm: Yet the last time we visited the tumblr site, we saw two recently added images. Are you continuing the project?
JA: The new collages have certainly been sparked by my going back to visit this project at your prompting. So yes, there may be a few more to come …

iskm: Which photographers/artists would you most want to most see involved in ishotkatemoss? 
JA: Probably David Shrigley. His work is irreverent and funny. It serves as a reminder that life, and art, shouldn’t be taken too seriously. 

More of Jen’s enjoyable work can be seen at: www.jenallanson.com and, in addition to her collages being added to the ishotkatemoss collage, you can see the 'Kate Moss Eyes on Food' series at katemosseyesonfood.tumblr.com

Going to go get a bite to eat now …
Observe. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Boo

It all started innocently enough, when we discovered this image of Diego Alberto Torres-Galvan, a.k.a. "Senor Dee Dee", two weeks before halloween ...
... then this image, with penmanship we greatly admired, by Keturah Shields:
We wondered, could we find - and post on instagram - a different kate moss inspired skull each day all the way through until Halloween? And here is what we came up with:
Found on Simply Sarie's blog ... we called this "The living dead"
"Mossy Moss" by Maxime Angel Starlin
A model issue, submitted recently to the www.ishotkatemoss.com collage by Leah West


Also found on Simply Sarie's blog ... definitely highlighting that smoking is not sexy
Batter Up: this illustration, submitted to the www.ishotkatemoss.com collage by Julien Lemoine, was posted in honor of the NY Mets World Series appearance
Masks: a brilliant piece piece from Andy Picci, a young dandy artist whose work we hope to highlight on the blog in the near future
"Death is life": from French artist SEEL, interviewed for Photographer Series #22, and who uses skulls in much of his work
Transparency: from Haneka Leigh, who has submitted numerous wonderful artworks to the www.ishotkatemoss.com collage
And then we were going to finish the series on a very disturbing note, when we found this image with the all-seeing, scary, overbearing kate, posted on instagram with skull emojis:
Daphne B. and her family
Trick or kate? Boo!

Observe. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit. Scream!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Bag Lady


Recently discovered this image on instagram on a user's public profile:
ishotkatemoss particularly liked the fact that the instagram user had taken the image of someone's commercial photograph of kate, which had been intentionally pixelated via the application onto the tote, in a way that distorted her face due to the weight of the bag.

As such, we posted the image, with the following statement in introducing the photograph: 
"Bag lady from @vanportrait, who was having dinner with a recycled kate in Vienna "
 
In addition to the grand total of 15 likes (yes, believe it or not, we reach at least 15, count them 15 people a day!), which surpassed the number of likes from vanportrait's original page, we received a statement from @vanportrait:

vanportrait: I did not submit my print for this page. It is a very limited piece of my private collection @ishotkatemoss

We found this comment truly fascinating in the context of our project, digital image distribution and the conversation about photography and image making, for a variety of reasons:
1. The photograph is a digital image, not a print
2. The photograph is not limited. It is a digital snapshot that has been added to an instagram account, which therefore makes it readily and widely available on numerous other platforms (websta, gramfeed etc)
3. The image is not 'private' in any way that one can define the word 'private'
Furthermore, and probably even more striking, is the fact that the user had taken an image of a commercial photographer's image and was apparently unwittingly appropriating it for their own limited private collection ...

It raises the very valid questions, yet again, of where does one's ownership of images begin and end? How does this play out in our newly minted digital age of image sharing, specifically when the user chooses to add images to their public, easily accessible and widely promoted feed?

There has been a great deal already written by people far more versed in the legalities of instagram, facebook, twitter and other platforms appropriating others images for their own gain so we will let you do your own internet searches and deem the appropriateness of sharing images on a sharing platform ...

However, we did feel it worthwhile to respond to vanportrait and attempt to engage in a dialogue around important concepts and constructs:

ishotkatemoss: Thanks for the comment @vanportrait. We are having a non-commercial conversation using distorted and altered kate images in the public (not private) domain. The images, and the associated comments, form a dialogue for how we see the state of the world, image making, photography, art, fashion, life etc. Your comments are duly noted and will be included in the project. Please feel free to visit www.ishotkatemoss.blogspot.com

And here we are ... the world keeps turning and photographs keep flowing, including many unnecessary representations of kate. We continue our conversation which may make little difference, but gives us and some of our audience an outlet to be creative in this maelstrom of images.

So please continue questioning, observing and slowing down before shooting and submitting to the barrage. 


Sunday, October 18, 2015

Is hot

It's Sunday, strike while the iron ishot ... do your laundry and call your Mom!
An image from @74family
Observe. Slow Down. Iron. Shoot. Submit.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Dali's lips?


'You young things are too easily persuaded by the touch of lips' ... until the pout is revealed in the doubly reflected darkness of a stormy night in a broadway shop window:
Observe. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Photographer Series #23: ryanshotkatemoss


Ryan Oliver is a Bristol based artist whose collage/photomontage works have been exhibited throughout the UK and also have been featured in numerous publications. His current practice examines the visual language of high fashion and lifestyle periodicals. 
Oliver's 'Untitled', photomontage/2015
- an example of a recent non-kate collage

He looks at the ideas of beauty and perfection being “constantly scrutinized, cut from the original context and juxtaposed with strenuous misalliance”. His creations facilitate a dialogue between the innuendo laden visual languages of fashion imagery with pornography. He does this very effectively by exchanging something implicit for the explicit. 

Ryan has stated, “I derive great satisfaction from abducting imagery aimed at the consumer and inverting the content to communicate divergent views ... my work confronts fashion's covenant of eternal youth; tumorous flesh, death and grief are imposed as rebuttal".



In the following excerpt - taken from an interview for 'East London Line', March 2011 (conducted by Angus Spawton-Rice) - Ryan spoke as to how he came to such ideas, giving context as to his kate work we explore with him:

A section of 'Girl with pearls',
photomontage with sellotape/2010
I began to work with collage when I studied illustration at university, where, the fulfillment of a given brief was the only concern. After graduation, when liberated from the constraints of an illustrative mindset, I expanded my practice. High fashion/lifestyle periodicals became my primary resource from which I scoured for and salvaged my imagery. During this laborious process, the visual language of fashion photography/advertising became apparent, beauty/perfection and sexualisation being the two constants. Due to my close proximity with this material I became concerned with the position of women regarding image and representation. Collage is the perfect medium for such a rebuttal. Collage by its very nature is disparaging of its source material; a destructive gesture of cutting and slicing a pre-existing image, only to be redeemed by the perpetrator, as he or she sees fit. It is a response and is countering to what was presented originally.



iskm: Why Kate Moss? Is she a primary source for you in this confrontation?

Ryan Oliver (RO): The pieces that I submitted (to ishotkatemoss) are samples taken from various periods in my practice. Kate Moss has never had preferential treatment in my studio. I select models/images on aesthetics (posture, gaze, colour, tone) and the capacity to communicate a new dialogue. However, Kate Moss is an icon and I am conscious that her inclusion affords a work gravitas that an alternate muse would not.



iskm: How many works have you created using kate?

RO: I've created four images using Kate Moss, all of which are collage with no other means of manipulation. I'm terribly traditionalist when it comes to collage/photomontage; scissors and a glue stick is all I permit myself.

'Death Moss', photomontage with resin finish/2012

iskm: How/why did you select the source images that you did for ‘Death Moss’?

RO: With ‘Death Moss’ I began with multiple black and white images of the dead and their grieving relations, sourced from ‘Bizarre’ magazine. My intention was to juxtapose these with a high fashion image of a model to contrast vitality and beauty worship with necrosis and bereavement. 



iskm: And why this specific image of kate as the source?

RO: I chose this image of Kate Moss, which would become ‘Death Moss’ not simply for the physical ‘scaffold’ for which I could impose mortality but the seduction of the sexual gaze. Whilst initially conflicting, this amalgamation has transformed Kate Moss into a succubus, an ‘angel of death’, hence the title ‘Death Moss’.


'Kate (shame series)', collage/2013

iskm: You impose harsh, powerful and confronting imagery against the backdrop of modern ideas of beauty in order to ‘confront fashion’s covenant’. Do you feel that you need to make people uncomfortable in order to get the message through today? 'Kate (shame series)' as an example is far more understated. Is there a role for subtlety in this conversation?

RO: My work is initially constrained by the source material I can acquire. I endeavor to appropriate the imagery honestly to create aesthetic and contextual interest, sometimes subtly and sometimes less so. I can’t imagine considering anything too risqué and would never personally censor my work. I am a firm believer that offence is taken not given.
 

Oliver's 'Untitled-6 (marriage series)', photomontage 2009

iskm: Where do you find the line drawn between pornography and fashion? As an example, are you challenging (or emphasizing the lack of) this line in your Untitled-6 Kate collage? 

RO: There is of course a difference; pornography is explicit, sex is the product. Fashion imagery (to varying degrees) is implicit, using sexuality to incentivize. ‘Untitled 6’ is a mirroring of the posture, gaze and sexual ‘availability’ that is present in the language of pornography and fashion imagery alike.

In an earlier interview I mentioned that I invert content to communicate divergent views. This is the essence of collage. As The Dadaist Hugo Ball expressed, "For us, art is not an end in itself ... but it is an opportunity for the true perception and criticism of the times we live in." Over the past two decades, the use of increasingly explicit sexual imagery in the media, especially in consumer-oriented print advertising has become almost commonplace. Sex sells. I don't suspect much will change in the next ten, twenty years.



iskm: Which artist/s and/or photographer/s would you most want to most see involved in ishotkatemoss?

RO: I would really like to see what the Chapman brothers or John Stezaker would contribute; the Chapmans for their particular brand of irreverence and Stezaker for his economic yet masterful form of appropriation.



In the meantime, we can certainly continue to be challenged by Ryan’s own irreverent, appropriated imagery by viewing more of his collage work at www.ryanoliverart.com



Observe. Slow Down. Shoot. Submit.