Hey there! today is the day that marks the beginning of the biggest project ever on Icon Art Marilyn! Its the crowning piece in the collection of the works on here, and was made possible by the lovely Dita Whip! Sounds good? Then keep reading!
Transformations is an original photo project that reaches out to make three simple but wide spread statements about the power of transformation and make-up, with the help of wonderful, willing, nice, supporting and amazing volunteers, a drag diva in a constant rush, some wigs, lots and lots of effort and of course make up. These three points quite frankly are the following:
1. Make-up is empowerment. It is a weapon for people(!) everywhere to change their appearance if they wish to do so, to highlight their features they are proud of or to totally transform what they might not like about themselves. For whatever purpose. It helps people to find inner strength, boost self confidence levels, helps to discover beauty on their own terms or to even learn that they are beautiful without make-up. It neither is just a female thing as well as it is no sign of weakness or lack of personal strength or self confidence to wear it. Make-up mostly is not worn to feel beautiful for others, but often to be beautiful for oneself. Make-up is a weapon and shield at once. It is powerful in its ability to change and as a product in itself not a bad thing. Make-up turns into something bad when society puts its expectations, standards and ideologies onto it and its usage. Which brings us exactly to point two.
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| Putting on is easy, figuring it out to is a little more difficult. |
2. Make-up is a tool of societies suppression of individuals, women and
men. With the general idea that make up is for women, and women only
(Thank god we developed a little over time in that matter!) and that
women basically are expected to wear it and men to not, make-up
definitely seems like a tool of mainstream heteronormative and
misogynistic power structures. Advertisements promoting unrealistic, abnormal
and crazy beauty ideals, body shapes and skin colors are there to get
(especially) women to buy more make-up, keep the cycle going, and make
millions of the insecurities created by those who produce make-up. Women
are expected to be pretty, for a man, for society or just to be
recognized and valued. Many still are raised to be pretty instead of
smart. Make-up is part of a misogynistic, sexist and objectifying
society that after more then 4000 years of recorded history still has it
hard to treat women equally. Besides that we should raise one further
question: Why shouldn't men wear make-up?
These first two points have basically outlined that make-up is a double sided blade. A weapon for the good and a butcher knife for destruction. Make-up in itself has no bad or good side. But the use of and thinking about it makes it ambiguous. Which brings me to my third, and ambiguous in itself point:
3. Make up is hard work and fun at the same time. It requires learning, skills and good ideas to get make up right. If not done carefully contouring turns into clownturing, mascara into mockscara and eyeliner into cryliner. Not to speak of self tanner who most of the times looks like Doritos seasoning! All of that is crowned by closed pores, rashes and the high cost of good make up. But, on the other hand make up is fun. Fantasies can be created, gender can be blurred, creative creations brought to life and dreams can be fulfilled. But always remember: Beauty comes from within. No matter how pretty you are. If you shoot the bird on being a real bitch you might look as ugly like an elephant trampled on you and you have been hit by lightning at the same time. Looks might count but shady is not a pretty attitude!
The question of course now is how I want to communicate these three aspects of my work in whole. Besides giving them to you in this post the main work actually are pictures. So the project basically is a picture project that documents transformations of anyone willing to participate into an exaggerated form of beauty by the use of drag or drag related make up. The pictures I will post as part of the series throughout the fabulous first anniversary celebration of Icon Art Marilyn are meant to be conventionally beautiful but as well to show the work that has gone into them, the absolute fact that that much make up and beauty is unnatural and that it is a true transformation as the volunteers basically not really looked like themselves after the transformation. As well as my comments on this, I asked each participant to tell me how they felt during the transformation, what their thoughts were on their look and how it felt to pose in front of a camera to take the pictures. And if nothing after all, the work shows that each and every one of the volunteers, may they be male or female, gay, straight or bi, they all are truly beautiful, with or without make up.
Of course I have a list of people to thank for that. These would, first and foremost, be the volunteers that gave their face and at least 2,5 hours of their time to me, and were willing to undergo "minder plastic surgery" aka. tons of make up. So thank you to Natalie, Anna-Lena (Nena), Jill, Lisa D., Franziska (Franzy), Laura, Steph, Sally, Matty, Michaela and Lisa. And to those of you who have been asked to participate, but not yet appeared on the blog or who's make up I haven't done yet, let me ensure you that I will make you over. Because I intend to try to continue the series after the celebrations for the first anniversary have ended. Another thanks would go out to Zoee G. for inappropriately laughing while I made over a volunteer, but still being a great drinking buddy to spawn my ideas! Cheers dolly!
So I hope you guys look forward to the first "Transformation" coming tomorrow! Se you then!
XOXO Dita
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