so just a little bit ago, i decided to check out fakingfashion to see if they had put up any new editorials. and lo and behold, they had.
namely, the somewhat controversial vogue italia "oil spill" editorial.
while i had seen a few images from it previously, this was my first time looking at the editorial in its entirety, and to say my opinions on it are… mixed is putting it mildly.
this editorial is horrifying. i’m just putting that out there, since… well, it is. while it is glamorizing the gulf spill in some regard - it’s a fashion editorial, for eff’s sake - it is bleakly, starkly horrifying in a way that highlights and intensifies the horrors of the spill itself. i do not live in a place likely ever to see the effects of that particular spill, nor have i had much intellectual contact with it save via the internet and news articles. but fuck if i didn’t have a visceral reaction to that spread. which is where i come to the whole “mixed emotions” part of this post.
regarding this editorial as a piece of art? it did exactly what it was supposed to do. as an artist myself, i look at it and think “holy shit.” it evokes intense emotion and debate, both in regards to the editorial and to the event itself - which is, in my opinion, one of the most important things art can do. but the timing of the release of this editorial, which was not released a good time after the catastrophe but rather while it was still occurring - well.
it’s a bit tasteless, to say the least. it's a bit tacky.
so yeah, i’m a bit unsure as to where i stand on this.
discussion? i feel like that could only be a good thing. let’s talk about it, guys.
