For this module I knew I wanted to link back
to the same area as in my dissertation, and professional frameworks module. I
wanted to do this, as beauty and make up is what I am currently most interested
in. I wanted to find another take on the idea of beauty, and the role and
relationship it has with women. I wanted to target my own age group as my
audience, and get insight into what they think about the beauty world.
I had a few ideas in mind to start with, but
none would have enough to create a full project with. They were more things I
was interested in, rather than something that had substance. I started to
research into feminism and what beauty viewed beauty as. I looked at the roles
of women, not just in the beauty sense, but also in the role of women in the
home. This then moved on to the idea of self. I have never been comfortable
with self-portraiture, or anything very personal. I was able to capture a shoot
of myself putting on make up in front of my own mirror at home. Being at home
and in my own environment made it more confortable and easy to do. I researched
into a few artists; my favorite was Laurel Nakadate, who captured herself
crying for 365 days. She was brave, and her images were raw and personal,
something I couldn’t do. And even though I ultimately felt ok about the images,
I wouldn’t feel happy enough to display images of myself in the exhibition.
As my work developed, I looked at the more
un-beautiful side of beauty. This is where my waste product shoots came into
the project. I liked the idea of making something that is basically used
rubbish, into something more pleasing to the eye. I found myself enjoying
looking deeper into things, and the meaning behind it. It further developed
after a tutorial, when I was asked how I felt about make up. I knew how I felt,
and wanted to know if I was similar to other girls my age. Taking out the
research was great for my developing theme. I learnt that girls my age really
do rely on make up to feel better, with the word ‘prettier’ being used a lot.
This is how I decided on the name for my project. It summed up the project,
showing that all these things I have shown, ultimately make someone feel
prettier some how.
I moved onto to shooting more in the studio,
with models and make up artists. I used them to display both, the need to look
your best all the time, and the idea of transformation, the main theme in my
work. My research into Richard Brilliants book Portraiture, showed me things
about the subject I hadn’t thought about before. Things like the idea that
self-portraiture artists may not always depict themselves how they actually
look, they will modify their image to how they wish to be seen.
The series contains 10 white-framed
images, showing the process and transformation of the young woman using the
make up. As well as two mirrors to allow the audience to look at them selves,
and ask how does the way they look, make them feel? The images are shown
together in a series but can also show the concept individually. I wanted the
images to be strong, and powerful enough to stand-alone. The strong lines made
on the face, go back to my research into Native American war paint, ad the idea
of protection.
Over all I am happy with the outcomes of
this project. I feel I gathered enough research to help me form an opinion, and
I was able to get across my ideas. I want people to question the images, not to
look at them and know what is happening straight away. I would like to add to
the make up looks in this project in the future, and further research the relationship
women have with make up in general.
