slideshow presentation |
FIRST PLACE Award Winner
Judy Cooperman / USA
VISIONS OF BEAUTY
research and documentation of the "beauty culture" |
Artist Judy Cooperman proposes a photographic study of women responding to the contemporary "beauty culture". She poses questions that each women must come to terms with within their own personal identity and manifestation of their femininity.
The artist expresses concern about the expectations and realities of these standards to create doubt and confusion, especially for young women. With current beauty standards quickly moving towards radical altering and recreation of a woman's physical identity, the artist intends to bring awareness to the choices women make and the reasons behind them.
Cooperman's work is the research and documentation of this subject . . . posing questions and provoking reflection.
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Jury Comment by Donna Blama
If we are lucky, we can experience with another, the simple act of adornment and decoration. The number one choice in the competition allows and invites us to witness the intimate sacred atmosphere of creating beauty amongst and for our selves.
This is a photographic portrait of an intergenerational moment where we can observe the symbolism in lipstick, the characteristic pose, and the vitality of the colour red, all part of the brave act of aging with our contemporaries in a world that is enamored with youth.
Trust, an incredible sense of trust, and a deep bond are manifest. The subject is safe and in kind hands.
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Artist Statement
I began my study by photographing real women attempting to come to terms with these pressures. They are not posed but caught in what is usually a private activity. My first series of photographs, “Altered Women,” examines women who have changed their appearance either by temporary and minor adjustments of their appearance or more radically through plastic surgery. In my next series of photographs I looked at women in their senior years who, although living in a restricted and confined manner, nevertheless also continue to succumb to images of beauty.
My photographs are in color and enlarged to force the viewer to confront the images directly. In this way the photographs have a sense of immediacy, capturing a moment in time and the reality of the experience for these women. The process is no longer seen as an entity where the focus is on the final product. Rather, we truly see what women do to alter and reconstruct themselves.
I am currently working on a number of projects that continue to explore these issues.
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