Oh, Annie Leibovitz and Vanity Fair... Really?

[starvinbohemian]

Oh, Annie Leibovitz. I know virtually nothing about you, but every time I turn around you're at the center of some controversy. Whether it's because you've done a ridiculously racist photo shoot or an inappropriate Lolitaesque portrait of a fifteen-year-old...

And now THIS. Granted, she did not write the article for Vanity Fair's List of This Year's Up and Coming Young Actresses. But she did shoot the pictures, and all racism issues aside, the picture is literally so white that I cannot see it! I'm not being facetious when I say that the combination of such pale actresses and pale dresses on a white background burns my eyes in a way akin to staring into a light bulb. I had to read the article to realize that I was already familiar with all but one of the featured actresses due to the fact that the actresses have had their (already) white faces whitewashed by Photoshop beyond the point of recognition.

But just in case I was in the mood to feel annoyed at something beyond the fact that I've been robbed of the eyesight necessary to view what I'm sure are lovely photos of my girlcrush, Amanda Seyfried-- HERE, HERE, and HERE are articles addressing the disturbing lack of diversity in the young women spotlighted as "up and coming" this year. My burned retinas stand in agreement that there are certain actresses of a, shall we say, darker pigment than those listed that are notable omissions, such as Zoe Saldana, Freida Pinto, and Gabourey Sidibe.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to blindly locate-- by way of feeling around what I hope is my medicine cabinet-- some eye drops.

Comments

[arisingstarlet.livejournal.com]

Ok, while i am not excusing her for her questionable taste, Anne is an artist. You don't have to like the art she produces, but its still art. Vanity fair doesn't have to run those things as the cover (unless they want publicity....which i am assuming they do). And its not liked she picked the actress's or anything. The white washness of the picture is actually a style vanity fair reproduces over and over in their spreads, and is a style of hers as well.

Also the whole whitewashed thing is as old as the fashion industry itself. I think its weird that people are just coming around to this. Its a well known fact that its harder for African American models to grace covers of magazines, Tyra aside.

[starvinbohemian.livejournal.com]

The white-wash style hurts my eyes. What's the point of art if I can't see it?

Personally, I think an artist should balance their art with a certain sense of responsibility (i.e. taking into consideration if something is going to be racially offensive), but that's just opening us up to a long, college-style ethics argument. ;)

I don't think anyone is just coming around to this criticism, but I like the idea that people are finally getting called on the horrible things they do.