THE CHAMPAGNE INCIDENT

Around about this time last year, the infamous image titled 'Break the Internet' was published on the front cover of Paper Magazine.

 

 

I would prefer to not write about this particular Kardashian on my personal blog, however this image does spark an interesting topic.

 

This image is not original in anyway. In fact this is essentially a duplicate of Jean Paul Goude's original photograph of Carolina Beaumont taken in 1976. A photographer famous for his abstract and vibrant images of models such as Grace Jones.

 

 

The image taken for Paper Magazine is photoshopped. However the original image of Beaumont is totally unedited, as technology at this point in the 70's had not yet advanced to the use of photoshop. Although  Beaumont's figure does look unnatural it is refreshing to know that this image is unedited and 'real life', whilst Jean Paul's image of Kim has been played with and distorted to create an unnatural body type.

 

This abnormal figure was spread vast and wide across social media, consequentially meaning that it was exposed to people of all ages, including young children. This then gives the rise to the debate of whether edited images such as these should be available to the public, as they create such an unrealistic image and ideal for women.

 

Another interesting topic surrounding this image is it's history. Goude took inspiration for his original photograph from a unique individual named Saartijie (Sarah) Baartman. A woman who was exhibited in freakshow attractions throughout the 19th century, due to her abnormal shaped posterior. And also a woman whose remains where preserved years after in a museum to entertain vistors, until the her body cast was finally removed in 1976 after many complaints from feminists. This was the year also which Jean Paul Goude's original photograph was taken.

 

 

The question that could be asked here is whether Goude using Sarah Baartman as inspiration for both images could cause racial issues to surface if people exposed to these images knew of his true inspiration for these editorials? Because not only are both images creating unrealistic ideals for women (particularly the latest image featuring Kim Kardashian) but it is also 'copying' a body image of a black slave who was paraded and displayed as a showcase due to her body deformity and suffered public humiliation in both life and death.

 

Before our lecture this week, I knew nothing of the history surrounding this controversial image, and it sure does rouse many topics for debating, many of which I have not covered fully in this post.

 

I hope you have enjoyed reading, as I certainly have found it interesting learning and researching about the history of Sarah Baartman and Jean Paul Goude himself.

 

Until next time,

 

- A