Final Reflective Evaluation.

This project is an exploration of British beauty pageants that originated from a fascination with child beauty pageants. I found myself reading increasing amounts of articles and people slandering the pastime that had recently become a fad in Britain. I agreed with some points to an extent but couldn’t help wanting to defend them alongside the supporters as many of the comments came from people who’d never been to a child pageant but were making judgements based on what they’ve seen in the media. These assumptions created the basis for my project.

Work by Susan Anderson, Meghan Peterson and Lisa Wiltse forced me to realise that simply documenting their narrative was not enough to base a project on as the same thing had been done by many others which my lecturers and peers agreed. I decided it would be beneficial to focus on all pageant culture rather than limiting myself, this would allow me to get an insight into more pageants.

The first pageant I photographed was Miss Motor F1, it helped my understanding of the performance side but it’s the view that the public already has. Photographing Miss Rugby was a completely different experience as I was allowed backstage access so I focussed on behind the scenes. There was a lot I still didn’t know about pageant culture which led me to interviewing beauty queens on their experiences and responses to the negative press. To my surprise, not many of them desired to defend pageants as they had such favourable experiences that they didn’t care what anyone else thought. This enlightened my understanding, I realised that my project needed a stronger reason, once you look past the surface, pageant culture can be positive.

Feedback from Jon Levy changed the way I thought about presentation as well as proposing my biggest dilemma. A topic this wide could not possibly be presented as a limited selection of images especially as the aim of the project is to provide an insight into a new society, I needed to find a way of combining all my images into an artefact. Taking inspiration from collages I discovered that building a mosaic proved the best way for me to present my entire expedition, the overall image would represent the majority view on pageants but as the viewer looked closer they would see tiles documenting in more detail. Making it a more interactive experience, I recorded some audio at Miss Tiara for children creating a soundscape that people could listen to whilst viewing the mosaic. Listening to a child pageant whilst viewing images from an adult pageant complements each other as the audio is lively and the mosaic is a busy image so it almost seems overwhelming, pageants are overwhelming so that’s translated in my presentation. The audience will be immersed into pageant world using the soundscape and large mosaic at eye level creating a personal connection.

This project has required me to overcome challenges, which have made me realise how much I’ve grown as an artist over the past three years. This project will expand as I photograph more pageants throughout the UK and with it being a rising trend, I’ll be making larger mosaics exploring deeper into the culture. It has spiralled a long shot from my initial idea but I’m pleased with the way it’s developed into something completely new.

Pageant Soundscape – 2nd Try.

This is my second draft of my soundscape from Miss Tiara UK.

I’m quite happy with it as I only changed some volumes, and trimmed a little off in places that lag on due to the contestants song choices.

Supportive Text – 2nd Draft.

BBP : British Beauty Pageants by Genea Elizabeth Bailey.

 

As of 2013, there are 45 widely recognised beauty pageants taking place in the UK, over double of those 5 years ago. Said by photographer Zed Nelson “beauty pageants, once banned as “Spiritual Pollution” are now held across the country”, the UK has caught American pageant fever and it’s spreading, noticeable by the rising number of negative articles and judgmental documentaries. This project aims to explore the British beauty pageant circuit by travelling to and photographing the major pageants including Miss Rugby, Miss Motor F1 and Miss Tiara UK with the hopes of challenging the public’s stereotypical attitudes often swayed towards the thoughts of the media about this secretive and somewhat obsessive culture.

These contestants, male as well as female, old and young are judged on their physical appearance but the events are about  much more. Long gone are my preconceptions of the beautiful blonde bimbo being objectively leered at by judges and audience, the new beauty queen is one that’s educated, cares about politics and has high career goals as well as being extensively glamorous. Once crowned, the job of beauty queen includes being a role model to children that aspire to be pageant royalty, an event organiser and an avid charity worker. Whilst they do compete against each other, just like with any other sport or hobby the community is a kind and supportive one and it isn’t often that there will be a sore loser or winner.

At first look, it can seem surreal and odd but society does have a tendency to dislike the unknown. Interact and immerse yourself in this mosaic and soundscape showing a variety of images shot and audio recorded at pageants across England.

On behalf of the British beauty queens: look closer, there’s more than meets the eye.

Reflective Summary.

I started off this project with only one goal in mind, to explore the world of child beauty pageants due to my recent obsession with the documentary “Toddlers and Tiaras” , I didn’t know what I wanted to say about them, I only know that I wanted to document my fascination. After researching them further, I found myself reading increasing amounts of articles and people slating the pastime that had recently become a fad in Britain. Although I agreed with some of their points to an extent, I couldn’t help feeling a need to defend them alongside the supporters as many of the people commenting on the negative articles had never been to a child pageant but were making judgements based on what they’ve seen in the media. This feeling created the original basis for my project, I needed to go and find out what child pageants actually entailed and my images needed to show a realistic narrative allowing viewers to form their own opinions on the matter.

After viewing the work of Susan Anderson, Meghan Peterson and Lisa Wiltse I came to the conclusion that simply documenting the narrative of the child beauty pageant was not enough to complete this project as the exact same thing had been done by so many others which my lecturers and mentors Jonathan Worth, Jon Levy and Graham Macindoe agreed. Following this I decided it would be a good idea to focus on pageant culture as a whole rather than limiting myself to the children as it would allow me to photograph and get an insight into more pageants.

The first pageant I photographed was Miss Motor F1 in Birmingham and I believe that this developed my thinking, I was constantly on my feet thinking about different compositions and how to use the lighting to my advantage and I was pleased with the images I got. This gave me an insight on the performance side which was more than I knew previously but wanted to find out more. By sheer luck meeting Devon Mayson who actually turned out to be runner up Miss Coventry that I was able to photograph my second pageant, Miss Rugby. This experience was very different to Miss Motor F1 as I was allowed backstage access so I attempted to focus on a behind the scenes perspective. This set turned out to be very successful and I was able to get the photos I wanted of the contestants getting ready nervously in comparison to their confident and elegant composure on stage. From this I realised there was a lot I still didn’t know about pageant culture which led me to contacting several beauty queens for interviews on their experiences and responses to the negative press. To my surprise, not many of the women desired to defend their hobby as they had such positive experiences that it didn’t matter what anyone else thought and if they wanted to make negative judgements, at least experience them first. These interviews enlightened my understanding, after this I realised that my project needed a stronger motive which I created from my new opinion, once you look past the surface, pageant culture can be a good thing, the community is very supportive, you don’t get sore losers and they aid confidence increase.

At this point I received feedback from Jon Levy and Graham Macindoe that changed the way I thought about presenting the project as a final piece. Jon told me that a topic as wide could not possibly be presented as a selection of 10 images especially as the aim of the project is to provide an insight into a new culture. If I truly wished my final to be an explorative documentary, I needed to find a way of combining all my images into one larger artefact, for which he suggested a storyboard. I set out to find another way of combining multiple images and decided to create a mosaic, which for me was perfect as the overall image would represent the majority view on pageants but as the viewer looked closer they would see tiles documenting them in more detail. To make it a more interactive experience, Jonathan Worth suggested at the next pageant I record some audio to create a pageant soundscape that people could listen to whilst they viewed the mosaic. The next pageant I photographed was Miss Tiara UK, my first child pageant which I was eager to make comparisons between America and ourselves, adult and child. At first I believed that listening to a child pageant soundscape looking at adult pageant images would clash then I realised that it produces an interesting contrast yet they complement each other with the audio being quite busy sounding as the mosaic also has a lot to take in so it almost seems overwhelming, pageants are overwhelming so I tried to translate that in the way I presented my work. My final project is a mosaic A0 size, as it needs to be big enough to view the individual tiles creating the narrative and I also thought making it roughly life size would be a nice touch so the viewers feel a connection with the woman in the photo. Alongside this my soundscape will be playing through a set of headphones on a loop, my supportive text explaining the context behind the project and my personal thoughts next to QR codes linking back to the key interviews I did with beauty queens on my blog as I believe it’s also important to appreciate their views as well as my own.

This project has presented me with many challenges technically and creatively but I’ve been able to overcome them thankfully which has made me realise how much I’ve grown as an artist over the past three years. I see this project expanding as I photograph more pageants throughout the UK and with it being a rising trend, I’ll be making larger mosaics with more tiles exploring deeper into the culture and recording more sounds. It definitely isn’t the project it started off as several months ago, but I’m pleased with the way it’s developed into something worthy of exhibiting. I’ll say the project is a success when it reaches someone and opens their mind to the possibility that pageants might not be so bad.

Printing Final Image.

Unfortunately, I finished my pageants project a few days late due to my birthday celebrations meaning that I’ve only been ready for print since Friday. However when I emailed as many printers as possible on Friday, they returned my emails on Monday saying that they’re fully booked for degree show season making it difficult for me to receive my work on time.

Thankfully, I didn’t give up hope and kept trying until I found two lovely digital printing companies in Coventry, www.digitalart-studio.co.uk and www.foundrygraphics.co.uk which quoted me extremely reasonable prices [far less than I was expecting to pay at a high end photo lab such as the print space and metro imaging that were completely booked] for printing in large format and mounting onto foam board. At first I was a little unsure because they looked as if they were not fine art photography photo labs, but poster printers but once I had spoken to both companies on the phone, they assured me that they use fine paper and a good printer and were able to complete my task to exhibition standard. Unlike digital art studio who currently only stock 200gsm, foundry graphics uses 265gsm matt paper which is pretty thick good printing paper so I’ve chosen to go with them which is great because I’m really not a fan of gloss and it may cheapen my mosaic’s appearance as well as reflecting too much light when hung on the gallery wall.

I’ve said when I get a chance, to go and visit them in store to give them the files and check out the quality of work myself, so I’m going in on Thursday and they’ll have everything printed and mounted for me by Tuesday which is a day before we have to start installation at the Lanchester Gallery.

Love Me by Zed Nelson.

This is definitely my favourite photo book exploring beauty ideals and cultures. The entire series is definitely worth looking through but in this post I’m only sharing his pageant photos from this series. The supporting text says it all so I’ll let the images and text speak for itself. To view the series click here.

“Beauty is a $160 billion-a-year global industry. The worldwide pursuit of body improvement has become a new religion.

 

We live in a society that celebrates and iconises youth, where the old, the aesthetically average and the fat seem to have been erased from the pages of our glossy magazines, advertising posters and television screens.

 

The promise of bodily improvement is fuelled by advertising campaigns and a commercially-driven Western media, reflecting an increasingly narrow palette of beauty. The modern Caucasian beauty ideal has been packaged and exported globally, and just as surgical operations to ‘Westernise’ oriental eyes have become increasingly popular, so the beauty standard has become increasingly prescriptive. In Africa the use of skin-lightening and hair-straightening products is widespread. In South America women have operations that bring them eerily close to the Barbie doll ideal, and blonde-haired models grace the covers of most magazines. Anorexia is on the increase in Japan, and in China, beauty pageants, once banned as ‘spiritual pollution’, are now held across the country.

 

 

‘Westernising’ the human body has become a new form of globalisation, with ‘Beauty’ becoming a homogenous brand. The more rigorously our vision is trained to appreciate the artificial, the more industries benefit. The current standard of beauty feeds the fashion, cosmetics, diet, medical and entertainment industries, with the homogenisation of appearance becoming part of an increasingly globalised consumer culture.

 

But who creates this culture? However much we may confidently point the finger at certain industries, we can’t deny our own tacit, albeit culturally conditioned, involvement. Like it or not, we are judged, and judge, by appearance. Perhaps we are obsessed with the way our own bodies look because we know how instinctively judgemental we are of the bodies that we look at.

 

A recent scientific study reported that we make decisions about the attractiveness of people we meet in the space of 150 milliseconds. This superficial appraisal has profound implications. Those we consider most beautiful not only find sexual partners more readily but studies also show they get better jobs and more lenient treatment in court.

 

 

We have created a world in which there are enormous social, psychological and economic rewards and penalties attached to the way we look. Can any of us honestly say, ‘I don’t want to be attractive’? Don’t we all want to be loved? But have we been brainwashed into believing that in order to be loved we need smaller noses, bigger breasts, tighter skin, longer legs, flatter stomachs and to appear ever youthful? Where does it end?

 

The body has, in a sense, become just another consumer purchase. Everyone can, in the spirit of our age, go shopping for bodily transformation. Banks now offer loans for plastic surgery. American families with annual incomes under $25,000 account for 30 per cent of all cosmetic surgery patients. Americans spend more each year on beauty than they do on education.

 

As our role models become ever younger and more idealised, we are so afraid of aging that the quest for youthful preservation generates an almost pathological obsession with our bodies. As we align our sense of self-worth with self-image, the psychological and emotional consequences are tortuous. The one thing we do know for certain is that our body will always, in the end, betray us. – Zed Nelson.”

In 1920 American women were finally recognised as legitimate citizens when they were given the right to vote. In that same year the first Miss America pageant took place. Katie, age 9. Winner. Universal Royalty Texas State Pageant. Texas, USA.

Contestant, Universal Royalty Texas State Pageant. Texas, USA.

 

Miss Southampton. Miss England competition. Leicester, UK.

In August 1993, a 21-year-old woman from Soweto was named Miss South Africa, becoming the first black woman to win the title in the 37-year history of the pageant. Finalist. Miss South Africa Competition. Sun City, South Africa.

Tavalera Bruce maximum security women’s prison annual beauty contest. The prisoner judged most beautiful is crowned ‘Miss Penetencaria’, and wins a 14-inch colour television, an electric fan and cosmetics. Belkis Estrella Maldonado, 31. Contestant number 9. Sentence: 4 years. Drug smuggling. Rio, Brazil.

 

 

 

Libyan Beauty Pageant by Muir Vidler.

Click to view the entire series.

Copyright Muir Vidler

Copyright Muir Vidler

Copyright Muir Vidler

Copyright Muir Vidler

 

Copyright Muir Vidler

“Never complain, never explain” – Muir Vidler

I couldn’t find any information about this series on the website. However I did find a lovely interview with him which can be read here.

What I like about these photos is how un-glamorous they are in reality, even though they are documenting a beauty pageant which is traditionally known to be quite glitz and girly. They present an interesting contrast to the other beauty pageant projects I’ve seen so far and it’s refreshing to view [even though I'll always have a soft spot for the typical pageant documentary].

There are also some interesting comparisons between war photography in this series but I’m no war photography expert so I’ll just leave that there.