AD Buster: Relish

This image is an advertisement for the Italian clothing company, "Relish."  It is meant to evoke thoughts of sex and excitement to the viewer. There is also this idea of a man seducing a woman or dominating her. In today's society, there's still that notion of men being in control, and many females think it's sexy. In this particular image, the message is to make the viewer want to feel sexy by wearing this brand. Though the police officers are shown to be molesting these women, the fact that these models look beautiful in the clothing is the point of presenting the image this way. I would say the target audience is women in their 20s and 30s. This type of fashion advertisement leaves out the elderly generation and young children because the "sex sells" message is heavily brought into play.

The original photo had the brand name "Relish" written across the top next to the "R" logo. The slogan at the bottom says "relish.it." I chose to replace the world "relish" with "rape" at the top to provide a very literal meaning to what this image says to me. Instead of changing the word at the bottom, I left it to say "relish.it" to support the word "rape" in the altered image. I chose this word because the way this composition was presented leads me to believe, as a viewer, that these men are about to take advantage of the women. They are the "bad cops." It is a very violent photograph, which is why the brand's name "Relish" is ironic, and the reason I left it at the bottom right corner. Sometimes I feel like fashion photography condones violence for the sake of selling a product, so I thought creating a new message of "relish rape" would explain the negative feelings most people would have after seeing a photo like this.

To me, this photo does not lead me to think about buying outfits. All I see is a violent scene - and that was the message I wanted to emphasize by choosing the word "rape."

Personal Photography - The Body

            "My life is a Runway of Fashion"

"Journalist on the Run"

"Beauty. Strength. Creativity."

"Bare with the Comfort of Home"

This photographic presentation is a personal evaluation of myself and the things that define me as an individual. There is a common expression that refers to people “wearing many hats” – indicating that there are multiple characteristics that represent them. I chose to use feet as the symbol for how people have different “shoes” or interests that portray who they are. All of these images are close-ups because I wanted the focus to be on this particular part of the body. The feet all appear to be in movement to show that my life is always changing. In terms of photographers, I think my photos closely resemble what Lorna Simpson did with her “Necklines” photos, but just from a visual perspective.

I chose to start with a pair of high heels because I feel that this best represents who I am and who I strive to be. Pumps are also an important symbol of self-importance and how one tries to look a certain way in society. For me, high heels have a much greater meaning. Fashion is a major part of my life, in the sense that I am working toward a goal of having a career in the fashion industry as a magazine writer. The text “My Life is a Runway of Fashion” is used as a way to describe that my mind constantly revolves around everything fashion-related, especially when I’m writing blog posts or articles for local publications.

The pair of flat shoes is combined with text that says “Journalist on the Run.” In the literal sense, these are not running shoes, but they are practical shoes. As students, many of us can identify with the fact that we cannot wear the most glamorous shoes while we attend classes. This is part of the meaning behind this photograph. But for me personally, being a journalist requires that I look professional. On a daily basis I attend classes while juggling a job at the school newspaper and working at my internship. If I’m on campus, I cannot wear heels – but it is practical for me to wear comfortable shoes that still appear professional. These shoes signify that I’m always on the run, so I try to do it in comfort and in style.

“Beauty. Strength. Creativity.” refers to my past and my present. I used to be a ballet dancer and it required discipline and strength. In society, we also see dance as a beautiful art form. For this particular photo, my feet symbolize hard-work and how I still exercise my mind creatively through artwork.

The last photo shows that home is where I feel the most comfortable and free. I don’t need shoes. I can walk around barefoot with no one to impress upon. The idea of “bare” portrays that I can strip away my stress and just relax when I go home.

Documentary Photography

On Saturday, I attended the Melanoma Walk at the University of Arizona Cancer Center - North Campus. I was able to capture a celebration that showed emotion on people's faces and the excitement in their body language. This is what I wanted my viewers to see. In a place so crowded, there were such specific facial expressions and body movements that anyone could miss without documenting it in a photograph. In real-life, you only see a swarm of colorful shirts and signs, but in a photograph, you see the story that lies behind each person's facial expression.

There were 32 teams assembled at the event and each team wore their own color to represent someone in their group who had melanoma. People of all ages gathered to support the awareness of skin cancer. The event was filled with very happy individuals who were living life to the fullest. Even though it was a cloudy day, the celebration continued - and there was only positive energy. People were united in a fight against melanoma and supported the awareness of a prevalent disease.

I feel that viewers who would be most impacted by the images are people who don't have melanoma or were unaware of the fundraising event. Looking at the images without prior knowledge makes for an interesting viewing perspective.

- Michelle Weiss

NOTE

The images are slightly larger on my personal blog if you want to view them there.
http://michellephotos242.blogspot.com/

Perspectives

Lighting

I chose the "lighting" element in order to explore how light changes an image. I used a flashlight as my source and I was able to create a very different look every time I moved my light source. I was pleasantly surprised with how a few of the photos turned out because the shoes became much more visually appealing to look at at. Without the flashlight, the images were not as striking. The light helped make the black color appear much darker and richer.

Composition

I chose the "composition" element to play with different ways of photographing my object, while leaving it in the same place. I began by propping one shoe on top of the other as a compositional design. I decided to leave it in place and take photos by moving around the shoes. No matter what I angle I chose to shoot from, the shoes appeared to be in a completely different place, which was an interesting discovery for me because I never moved them. I think the images looked more artistic by using the "composition" element and creativity.