The other day Geoff and I went and had a look at Top Arts 2007. Top Arts is a Victorian collection of the best VCE Artwork. I find the exhibition (I’ve been several years in a row now) pretty inspiring – and in a small way kind of freaky, most of the art is done by those younger than me. I am a huge fan of ‘Chad’ (featured left) by Sophie McPike.
See the rest of the exhibition here.
My little sister is doing VCE and does some fairly amazing stuff with charcoal/pencil. She’s been looking at portraiture, nudes etc. Perhaps she will make it into Top Arts next year.
This week in the news was the controversial Annie Leibovitz – a photographer I do admire – for her photographs of Miley Cirus. I personally think it’s a absolutely beautiful portrait… It is art.
It does however draw attention to the line between appropriate and not. Miley Cirus afterall is only 15. I wonder though, would it be looked at differently if it were a painting? How much does the subject influence the finished piece? Once we freeze the frame can we ever disassociate the actual subject from the art? But then… I guess it’s portraiture, so it’s entirely the point NOT to seperate the two.
Part of the problem is that people have lost the ability to see young women who are famous as innocent. Maybe that’s most interesting thing about the whole situation.
I must say though, if I had a 15 year old daughter, I don’t think I’d be all that comfortable with a picture like that, particularly for public consumption. Its innocence depends far too much upon who is looking.
The most hypocritical thing about the whole controversy really, is that every news outlet has been splashing the photo everywhere they possibly can at every opportunity… and some of them have been trying to make it look a whole lot less innocent than it could be.
I like the picture. it took me a little while to figure out it was hAnnah montAna and when i did i was like, yeah maybe thats a bit too….hm.
But the big deal in the media, i think, comes from her being a disney tween princess – an example to younger girls.
yeah, like Paul, i probably would have issues with my daughter posing in this fashion – and the whole world knowing BUT i would also have issues with profiteering off my daughter’s childhood – and stretching out my dwindling career (Miley’s dad plays her dad in her tv show).