The paintings of Kevin Ledo deal with our perceptions of ideal beauty that is often portrayed in fashion advertising. Mashing Prada with Medieval Christian iconography Kevin has shown us “The Guiding Light”, or his latest show at Station C in Montreal. via coolhunting
Do you think these works critique beauty standards, or reinforce them?
I’m not being sarcastic here, I’m really wondering. I’m sitting on the fence myself.
While as a series I think they make a strong statement about beauty ideals and the fashion industry, I can’t help but think of how the works will look individually, and on whose walls they will hang. At the end of the day, each painting on its own seems to uphold – even celebrate – the skinny fashionistas more than it lambasts them and the shallow definition of what beauty is.
Maybe I’m wrong though.
I think I agree that when viewed individually they lose some of the critiquing power that he is going for. I feel that in this case you have to keep in mind the concept and be familiar with the source work. It would be nice to see these along side the religious iconography and the fashion spreads.
That’s something that I always struggle with when making a series. I *always* feel that the strongest statement is made when the works are shown in their entirety; when the series gets broken up and the paintings (hopefully) make their way off into the world and other people’s lives…well, some of them surely lose all of whatever meaning the exhibition imbued them with. That being said, sometimes they are able to evoke much more (and many different things) than I ever intended.