Hmmm…. I see your point there.
I stand aside…and will not refute but concur.However, consider this: Since this is in fact a Vivienne Westwood ad, representing a designer who, for the most part, has established a career and image revolving around the impetus of pissing people off, does any of this surprise you? Furthermore, the fact that this ad is donning the flashy signature, “GOLD LABEL,” makes it all the more kitschy and insulting sarcastic.
photo via ohbliv.tumblr.com
I wrote a much longer post, but accidentally closed the tab so here’s my truncated version.
I hate this photo
Here lies a generic fashion photo full of stupid cliches. We have an ad or an editorial for Vivienne Westwood Gold Label, featuring a seemingly makeupless african woman in an art deco meets victorian in a 60s daring cocktail dress silhouette but with gold fringe filling where the bottom of the traditional dress would sit and with a bra like piece over the breasts with similar fringe that give it a corset feeling. The model is holding a Chinese type 56-I AK47 clone with an underfolding stock. ( You can tell it’s Chinese and not Russian or Yugoslavian, Bulgarian, Romanian, etc by the machining gas block, the color of the furniture, the general machining of the receiver and the bluing of the metal. However it bares strong resemblance to an egyptian rifle, especially in the wood, the holes in the gas block are the only way I know for sure that it’s chinese) and translucent white tights under black patent leather tie up windy tie flats.
This is meant to evoke both to hardness, the rugged masculinity of the weary African rebel or militiaman. As the eye floats down we meet this mess of an art deco victorian corset lamp and tights with ballet slippers, this is supposed to imply delicacy, fragility, damselhood. And the fusion of these elements is supposed to make you think about the fluid nature of gender, the role of women in society, beauty in rough unadorned objects. But it doesn’t. It evokes some noble savagey ideas in the stylist/art director/whomever staged this shot. “Ahhh the exotic beauty of the afrcian woman with her closed cropped hair in your corsetdress… just wait for it… HOLDING AN AK 47! Brilliant!” But it isn’t, it’s shit. She looks neither strong nor dainty. Seems more like an actor playing a child who’s holding an unfamiliar toy. This photo, with a more appropriate model and a better gun for the idea, could have been wonderful, even leaving the pose and lighting the same. Give Sasha Pivarova an FN P90, or an m14 in polymer stock with picatinny rail and huge glass, or an Israeli fal, a martini-henry, an over under shotgun or even a south korean airburst grenade launcher, and you can express a huge scope of ideas that people who don’t even know about guns will understand, based on the silhouette and balance of the gun alone.
Guns and women have become a cliché in several senses, the ‘hot chicks,’ usually with unusually unexpressive faces, (maybe in hiding their fear of the unfamiliar weapon, or the standard facial disposition of the photographer’s girlfriend) in bikinis, posing with various kickass guns. This is trash, these are always trash, never have any redeeming value, at least not to me. They feel like rape porn, where the girl is aware of what’s happening and has ‘consented’ but the entire experience makes her feel exhausted and horrible.
The second category is more of a 1A. Photos of some nice looking girl holding guns for someone’s photography portfolio, usually uninspired, occasionally alright. The problem here is neither photographer nor model seem to even understand the gun as anything but an abstract object, which is what leads to the overwhelming dullness and occasional neat moment.
The third category is real models with real photographers. These have incredible potential, with guns that exist to compliment or contrast any partcular aesthetic, a bit of research and time spent helping the model get comfortable can create a beautiful and rare scene. (see the tumblr pictures of the model dressed as kid playing indian holding 70s vintage shotgun and pistols, you’ve all seen them, and this isn’t even spectacular, just a very nice execution) However, photographers who live away from places where guns are plentiful and easy to get ahold of may only have experience with guns through videogames and movies. This is where disastrous disgusting cliche phortos are born. I had a lot more pictures and more words and now I seem to be repeating the same thing. I guess I just want to say, if you’re going to use something with such strong symbolism as a prop, do some research and make sure it’s appropriate and fitting with what you want your photo to mean or be. Fuck the lazy bitches who made this photo. Sorry to everyone else for h aving to see the quick unillustrated less eloquent version, maybe I’ll fix it later
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