GALLERY SUBMISSIONPASCAL TRÉSOR LOLA

DIGITAL IMAGERY AS MEANING AND FORM

[1]

[3]

[2]

The Presentation of Self.

Pascal T. Lola My Relationship With Technology.

Digital Imagery has had many positive e!ects on

society; however, an issue that is still prominent

today is the way digital imagery has a!ected the way

people de"ne beauty. Women are constantly trying

to measure up to a certain ideal of beauty and it can

be hard and almost di#cult to keep up. The

technology used to beautify women in the media is

only getting better, so are the digital and make up

artists. On the other hand, the average woman is

feeling the pressure and either struggling to accept

her body image as is or is investing time, energy, and

money in maintaing the de"ned idea of beauty.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

has a center dedicated to women's health and one of

the areas they focus on is body image [1]. According

the website, "women are constantly bombarded

with "Barbie Doll-like" images. By presenting an ideal

that is so di#cult to achieve and maintain, the

cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of

growth and pro"ts. It's no accident that youth is

increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an

essential criterion of beauty. The message we're

hearing is either "all women need to lose weight" or

that the natural aging process is a "disastrous" fate."

Digital imagery as used to portray women in media

a!ects not only how women view themselves, but

also how men view women.

Women have played a central role in

advertisements for decades. In 1885, W. Duke

& Sons included trading cards with sexually

provocative women in their cigarette

packaging. This led Duke to become the

leading cigarette brand by 1890 [3]. A century

later, this trend has continued, raising a need

for awareness from groups such as the

National Organization for Women. A more

recent article from USA Today talks about KFC

attempt at selling its new sanwich [2].

According to USA Today, KFC recruited female

college students to carry advertisements on

their buttocks to promote their new "Double

Down" sandwiches. KFC marketing chief John

Cywinski says it's an e!ective way to catch the

attention of young men (Horovitz)."

The ad industry has turned women into

objects with little di!erentiating

characteristics from the items being

advertised. A lot of advertisements today are

rampant with sexually suggestive themes

depicting women alongside products

yearning to be sold. More than often, women

in advertisements have no particular

connection to the product being advertised.

The woman serves as a product herself to

attract the attention of the potential

customer.

One would wonder why the women in

magazines and advertisements look so

$awless. These women often seem to have

little to no physical "imperfection"--with

perfect skin, hair, breasts, lips, eyes, teeth,

buttocks, and etc. The women happen to

be the few percentage of the world's

female population meeting the standards

for beauty as de"ned by society, and

portraye by media. Thanks to the wonderful

skills of photographers, make up artists,

graphic artists, and software applications

for providing airbrushing techniques that

makes such "beauty" possible.

DigitalAirbrushing involves using a

software tool to edit any "imperfections" or

unwanted objects out of an image.

As an article in the popular UK-based

newspaper, The Independent, put it, “In the

end, whether we understand – or indeed

trust – the mindset behind photographic

post-production, the fact remains that

almost every image in glossy magazines,

billboard campaigns and newspapers is

doctored in some fashion before it reaches

print [4].”

People Magazine Beautiful People of 2007 [1] Burger King ad [2] Airbrushed image by Glenn Feron [3]

Digital Imagery as a Material of Interaction Design

Beauty.

[1] Sherly Nields. "People Magazine 2007 Most Beautiful People: Scarlett Johansson." Online image. People Magazine. Icon International. 1.17.2011. <http://www.people.com/people/package/gallery/0,,20193583_20036560,00.html>.

[2] Lucas Zaiden. "Check our new chicken salads." Online image. Ads of the World. Shutterstock. 1.17.2011. <http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/burger_king_light?size=_original>.

[3] Gleen Ferron. "The Art of Retouching." Online image. Glenn C. Ferron Portfolio Site. 1.17.2011. <http://www.glennferon.com/images/Ads/margkingblue.jpg>.

[1] "Body Image: Loving Yourself Inside and Out." Women's Health Information Center. O!ce on Women's Health in the O!ce of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services., 22 Sept. 2009. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. <http://www.womenshealth.gov/bodyimage>.

[2] Horovitz, Bruce. "KFC Pays College Women for Ad Space on Buns." USA Today. USA Today Magazine., 22 Sept. 2010. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. <http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-09-22-kfc22_ST_N.htm>.

[3] Porter, Patrick G. "Advertising in the Early Cigarette Industry: W. Duke, Sons & Company in Durham," The North Carolina Historical Review v. 47, no 1 (January 1971).

[4] Walker, Esther. "Pixel Perfect: Why You Shouldn't Believe Your Eyes When It Comes to Those Glossy Images." The Inde-pendent. 16 May 2008. Web. 16 Jan. 2011. <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/pixel-perfect-why-you-shouldnt-believe-your-eyes-when-it-comes-to-those-glossy-images-829196.html>.

images

text

The Presentation of Self.

Digital Imagery as Social Mechanism

Our faces represent us in ways our names or other physical attributes can not. Our faces give us

life. Our faces make us human. Both machine and humans recognize us by our faces. And it is

through our faces we see the world around us and experience life; making us the unique

individuals we are.

image taken by Pascal Lola. 03.06.2011. Bloomington, IN

image taken by Shad Gross. 04.11.2011. Bloomington, IN

Self Portraits & Identity in the Digital Age

This is a portrait of me clothed in electronic artifacts. This image metaphorically represets both my

love for technology and my dependence on it. Each one of these items plays an important role in

my life, some more critical than others.

My Relationship With Technology.