Karin Bubaš

Recently I began compulsively watching episodes of The Hills and was struck by the show's mastery of the fabrication of melodrama from commonplace situations. The whole production is so shiny I could not look away. Apparently I am not alone. I found these pastels by Karin Bubas while browsing art blogs today.

Lauren Crying, chalk pastel drawing, 9.5" × 12.5", 2009

Heidi Pouting, chalk pastel drawing, 9.5" × 12.5", 2009

Audrina with Tears, chalk pastel drawing, 9.5" × 12.5", 2009

Spencer, chalk pastel drawing, 9.5" × 12.5", 2009

Source here

One night I was so moved by the same moment depicted above (Heidi Pouting) that I took a photo for later use.

Heartbreaking.

Valerie Belin

I first came across this series by Valerie Belin in Face: The New Photographic Portrait. I was struck by the perfection, beauty, and isolation of the images. She used new faces from Parisian modeling agencies. These works are a departure from a previous series in which she photographed extremely realistic mannequins. Info from the Michael Hoppen Contemporary website. I love how she makes you question whether or not the figures are real. When I saw these I knew they were only because I recognized the first model as Lucien Thomkins because he was becoming successful as a model.

Camilla Akrans for Sisely

It's interesting that this was merely another test shoot for the model but Ms. Belin was making art. Actually there is probably a similar (perhaps smaller) crew involved in her process and in the making of a fashion image.

^I really wish this could be part of my life.

I wonder if Lucien uses Belin's photograph in his portfolio. Would the clients respond to it as art at the castings? The multiple functions of an image is a fascinating and sometimes frustrating aspect of photography.