Muscular men with shiny, hairless bodies suffer pretty, ecstatic agony in the poses of saints, sailors and sinners. A kind of femininity that is more feminine than any female appears in many of their photos. In the Pierre and Gilles photos, make up is not equated with a mask. It is the point of each figure. In this surreally pretty world of glitter and glam, there is no face without make up.
Every image is saturated with throbbing colors, especially blood red and lapis blue.
By capitalizing on popular culture's obsession with the paraphernalia of Mexican , Indian and Ancient Greek religious icons, they turn the focus of the images of saints from divine to earthly love. By doing so, they emphasize how the love of beauty has become a religion. The next couple articles will be a little more polemical, with no pictures, unfortunately. You amaze me with your interesting topic, Christine. Jerri For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Christine Hamm's Contemporary Art topic, please visit the Discussions page .