If you thought cobalt mascara and shoulder pads qualified as “extreme” beauty, think again. A new photography exhibit in Milan called “Extreme Beauty in Vogue” takes viewers on a journey through “the many faces of beauty” via a collection of iconic images taken for Vogue. Among them: Women with snakes and bees crawling across their faces, a 2002 image of an emaciated model hunched over a diner countertop (“Dream Cream”) and a model whose face has been suffocated with a leather football (the creatively titled “Football Face”). And I don’t even know what to make of “Sweetie (A)”.
Not all of the women portrayed are thin - there is a nude portrait of an overweight lady, but I don’t get the impression it was shot with the intention of promoting acceptance of larger body types to Vogue readers. Maybe I’m wrong.
Take a look and tell me what you think. Art?...or subtle images of violence against women?
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