All bent on uniting... By Pierre, Nathan, Nicolas & Fanny

The picture above is a Benetton commercial from 1996. The Italian fashion brand is famous for its punch-in-the-face ads which are probably the cause of its worldwide fame.

We are supposed to believe that the human hearts came from people of different race. The hearts are identical, meaning that, whatever your colour, we are all the same, inside. The politically correct message is that we should not judge people on their colour as, deep-down, we are all alike...

This picture was made in order to make people react. It seems to have achieved its purpose, as we are writing an article about it and spreading this picture ! However, does it make us want to buy an over-priced jumper ?

Sweet death... By Alice, Bénédicte & Lucile

Who is driving the "hirst"?!

This is a photo of a jolly human skull made of drugs or sweets. It is very colourful, just like a Mexican Day of the Dead sugar skull, not morbid at all. The background, in contrast, is abysmally dark...

Is Death laughing at us because we naïvely think medicine is going to protect us from the inevitable? Or is this image saying that death is "sweet"?

Princess problems... By Marilou & Mégane

This picture of gorgeous Anne Hathaway is taken from the movie “The Princess Diaries”. She’s sitting on a oversized golden chair which looks like a throne.  She wears a beautiful beige and golden dress. She seems to be at a lose end. Boredom is probably the biggest worry a princess can have...

Every little girl wants to be a princess. Disney fuels this desire by telling the story of a princess who overcomes the difficulties in her life with true love. Each woman wants to find a prince charming and live the same life as in the Disney stories. But real life is far from a princess's life because of all the lies, difficulties with money, problems at work, complicated love, etc. Although it is a little girl's dream, all women carry on believing in this eternal dream...

Cocorico! By Anne Sophie & Floriane

This is a black and white picture, probably from the 50s, of the famous stylist Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, better known as Coco Chanel.

She is sitting on a bench, looking over her shoulder.

She is posing, and seems to be proud of what she has become.

She is wearing black with white jewels, several long pearl necklaces and big bracelets.

She behaves like a man as she is wearing a hat and she is smoking. This is typical of Chanel.

This self-made woman - from rural Auvergne! - revolutionized the fashion world by cutting her hair, and her skirt, short.

She's a fashion icon, and she knows it... 

Bad taste... By Mégane & Marilou

Article on the photographer

This baby is sitting down. We see only the upper part of his body. He’s alone and in the foreground. He has got blue eyes. He is wearing a nazi uniform. He’s got a moustache like Hitler’s. His hair is slick, just like Adolph's. He’s smiling and seems innocent...

The image is shocking since a baby, symbol of innocence, has nothing to do, normally, with the evil we associate with Hitler. Is the photographer saying babies are not innocent? Or that babies can also become evil? Or that Hitler was also an (innocent) baby once?

Is this perhaps a parody of an Anne Geddes photo? Anne Geddes uses babies in her pictures, she wants people to say “Oh, he's so cute!” Geddes uses babies in all sorts of situations, she "plays" with them as if they were dolls... There's something creepy about her pictures.

The photographer of this picture is surely mocking Geddes' “art”. She wants to shock and provoke a reaction in people’s minds; Should we use babies in this way, by putting them in silly costumes or bizarre situations? The photographer, using black humour, highlights the "bad taste" of Geddes' work...

Geddes photos... 

Which way up? By Lucile, Bénédicte & Alice

Wordpress

 

This is an unusual situation in an usual place: just under a bridge, which is dark and a bit dirty. It is a bit nightmarish; reality is lopsided here... The photographer confuses us.

What is the link between the handsome young people, the clothes, the bridge’s darkness and the brightness in the background? Why choose this place to take an advertising shot?

The potential customer is young, a bit of a "rebel". The ad is "different", with artistic pretensions, just like the potential customer.

In the world of this ad, "smart" people are reactionary, and the "stupid" are rebels with imagination who wear Diesel. Their world is out-of-joint with boring reality, symbolized by "standing up" in another dimension...

The photographer was obviously inspired by Philippe Ramette's work:  Video on Ramette's art

What about you, do you like this ad? Is it "art"? Does it make you want to buy Diesel clothes? Comments please!

Hands... By Anastasie, Madeleine and Agathe

This picture shows us that we are all the same... but all different! Indeed, these hands are of people from numerous cultures, ways of life, nationalities, and we can see big hands, small hands, old and young, meaning various ages and experiences. Everybody in the picture is putting their hand up to show common humanity, peaceful intentions, solidarity. These hands are a symbol of optimism for the future and the world...

Can you think of handy titles for these photos?!