I woke up early this Sunday morning, with the summer's tropical sun beating down on my face (and you wonder why I sleep wearing an eye mask). I threw my forearm over my eyes, trying to shield them from the unrelenting rays, to no avail. My eyes were burning. Not surprisingly, considering I went to bed for the third or fourth time this week, having not washed my face! Bad, bad, bad the residual mascara clouding my vision, reminded me as I forced myself out of bed.
Squinting from the glare of the bathroom's vanity globe bulbs, not only was I greeted by eyes smudged with the offending evidence, but by gaping pores as well. Ugh. It was so early, but I could not fathom returning to bed for another hour or two, with my skin in that condition.
I cleansed my face and treated it to Queen Helene's Egg Yolk Masque.
A goddess-send! Stuff works like a charm!
While I waited the prerequisite fifteen minutes it takes for the stuff to harden and suck out all the impurities that coagulated underneath my skin's surface. I brewed some coffee and vegetated for a spell, before dusting off an old short story to be edited and posted on Coffee Rhetoric's sister blog.
Fifteen minutes up! I rinsed the hardened masque from my face and followed up with some Joon Dead Sea moisturizer. My face feels about ten pounds lighter now. It's amazing how the outside elements can do a number on the skin, in a matter of 24 hours. It's important to wash before bed. I'll probably fall asleep in the near future not having done this, yet again, however.
Anyway, here I sit- skin freshly cleansed and sucked clean, coffee'ed up- being counseled by the sweet sounds of Miles, Regina, and Billie. I'm still grappling with the trials and tribulations of life, but I actually feel a lot better. Not as broody. I'm quite docile and calm, actually. My current state has prompted me to ponder and share a noteworthy item...
About two days ago, I was watching Good Morning America while readying for work. They interviewed renowned L.A. based photographer Jill Greenberg, who has a current exhibit on display at the Paul Kopeikin Gallery
on Wilshire Boulevard entitled End Times. Apparently Jill's exhibit, which features crying children, has caused quite an uproar... because of the method she used to get some of the children to sob.
She basically invoked the feeling of anguish (or of a tantrum) by presenting the children with something, usually a lollipop, and then took it away from them for a quick minute, to capture their shock and alarm at having their sweet treat seized from their sticky little paws. One critic (perhaps the most vocal) and photography aficionado blogged that Jill- (who, herself, is a mother of two children and often uses her daughter as a subject)- is a "sick woman who should be arrested and charged with child abuse" Others opined that she was being exploitative and mean. Jill says that the parents of these 35 or so children were closeby the whole time, and the trauma of having their candy taken away, didn't last for very long. She said that some of the children cried on their own accord, because they didn't want to leave her photoshoot, and others were simply agitated upon arrival and didn't need to be prompted to cry.
Jill also responded during another interview,
"I have a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and she cries for no reason, a hundred times a day. It's normal. Maybe getting kids to cry isn't the nicest thing to do, but I'm not causing anyone permanent psychological damage. ... Some would just cry for no reason—my daughter did that; she didn't like standing on the apple box I used for a platform because it was a little wobbly. Some just wouldn't cry at all. For all the kids I worked really fast. We would book 12 or so for one day, and see who we could make cry. At the end of the day I was not in a good mood. I don't like making little kids cry."
I'm not a parent myself, but I honestly don't think Jill Greenberg did any harm to her tiny subjects. I think that parents, particularly mothers, tend to overreact where children are concerned. And understandably so. Jill's methods toward making her artistic vision a success may've seemed harsh, but considering she's a mother herself, I'd be willing to bet she knew what she was doing, and the parents of these models were closeby and felt comfortable enough with her vision, to let her do it.
I don't think crucifying this woman is warranted. Photographers exploit subjects and put them on display all the time. I've viewed many exhibitions where the impoverished and smiling faces of children from third world countries at risk, and victims of war are prominenty displayed by award winning photographers. Is this any better? Isn't it fair to surmise that many(if not all) art forms are exploitative in some way, shape or form?
I'd be willing to bet those children wont be traumatized from their experiences serving as Jill's models. I'm sure she returned the lollipops in addition to offering them comfort and gratitude, after she got her shots.
12 comments
i think as well, that it s not a big deal. people overrate sadness and pain and crying altogether. matter of factly i think we can learn a great deal from children, who cry when they have to cry and laugh in the next second. emotions wash through them like rain on a sunny day. that's more healthy than actually pushing it away all the time. grown ups think it s a terrible thing to do because when they cry it is a serious issue: so much has to happen until they cry. i cry a lot and often because something is so beautiful or wonderful. it s a simple means of expressing emotions. i think everybody should reread the 'Little Prince' by Saint Exupery and shut the eff up already!!! ps where did you buy the egg youlk thing???
Hi Jay Jay.
I agree. Children tend to have the purest emotions.
They are also the most honest little people.
I've been emoting quite a bit lately. My attitude has been all over the map. Don't know how I feel about that, since I'm usually in control of most of my feelings. I am quickly learning, however, that the stoic, tough girl facade only lasts for so long, before it disintegrates. It works in some instances, and cracks and shatters during others. Some situations overwhelm the toughest, most unwavering personalities, myself included.
P.S. You can get the Egg Yolk Masque at any beauty supply place... like a Sally's Beauty Supply. It's only like two bucks! Or simply go to Drugstore.com and look up some of Queen Helene's products. I love the masques!
What's the big problem, children cry...alot. It's not that they cry, but how it's dealt with that matters most. I remember a client used to just let her child cry and would never comfort him. I just thought, "He's going to hate you when he's old and even he won't know why, or why he feels alone."
It's no different from when you manipulate a child into smiling.
I'm sorry, "child abuse"?!!??!?!?!? Because the kid didn't get its lollipop?!?!?! OH GOOD LORD.................. I understand the critic wasn't saying it was the act of removing the lollipops specifically, rather the act of making them cry, but yeah, they cry ALL THE TIME, IT'S WHAT THEY DO........pfft
some people seriously complain about EVERYTHING............
People need to get a life...child abuse?? please!! give me a break, I take candy from my daughter everyday, when she wants to eat it before dinner, and she cries EVERYTIME! what's the big deal? DO I need to go to Jail for that?
@ Daya - exactly! it's because of people being SOOOOOOO CONCERNED over upsetting children that they're turning into little monsters!!!!!!!! I'm not saying spanking is appropriate - I don't think there's EVER a need to lay a hand on a child - but if you DISCIPLINE THEM YOU WOULDN'T NEED TO ANYWAY!!!!!!!!!
ARGH. Gets me SO mad. I work with so many moms who are TERRIFIED of upsetting their kids, and these kids RUN THE FRICKIN' HOUSE! The parents do what the KID says!!!!!!!! if I ever tried to pull that crap with MY parents, I wouldn't be here today! LOL! AND I must mention - my parents never ever hit me! they didn't need to.....just that LOOK, THAT LOOK....*shudders* LOL
I don't understand why people are getting so up in arms over the way the photographer got the children to cry.
Yes, it might make those parents looking outside the perimeter of the situation, cringe...
but like I mentioned before, photojournalists and professional photographers exploit their subjects all the time, so what Jill Greenberg has done and the way she went about it actually, nothing new.
Would these same critics be so apt to criticize her if she were doing things in reverse, coaxing her subjects (w/ said lollipops) to smile, whilst they were distressed and crying?
The parents of these children were present the whole time. I'm sure they wouldn't've agreed to the shoot, if they thought she were being cruel and abusive towards their little ones.
Some photojournalists who go to third-world countries, coerce some of the children there to smile for the lens, by giving them lollipops, candy, and other sweet treats! I think they no longer allow this over in Dakar?, I believe...
You have to give them MONEY if you want to take their pictures!
Shit, me too Brandon.
I used the Mint Julep Masque last night, as well.
I also have the mud mask, the honey Vitamic C peel away mask, the grape one, there're a bunch of Queen Helene's tubes lined up in my bathrooms cabinet. hahaha
Also have the cocoa butter scrub. :o)
I don't think it was a big deal. It was candy, something children really don't need anyway.
I love Queen Helen's mask. I thought I was the only one who noticed instant results.
@Beauty in Baltimore: Queen Helene's masks are nothing short of amazing! hahaha. Particularly during these hot summer days, when the pores get clogged with the nasty elements.
SpiN said...
It's no different from when you manipulate a child into smiling.
it's interesting that you say that and I agree. similar to what jayjay said about people making a bigger deal out of sadness and tears than they need to. what's the difference? laughter/happiness or crying/sadness. they're both natural emotions.
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