Photo-wars

Justin, at Chicken Yoghurt, sympathises with the photographers who’ve withdrawn, ‘for commercial reasons’ the picture they took of David Cameron and Boris Johnson back in 1987. He’s had his copyright breached too, recently, very annoying he finds it.

Apparently there were fears that Labour planned to use the picture — no, not the one Justin took, the other one — for a political poster. Withdrawing the picture seems a bit pointless, since it’s always open to Labour to have an artist recreate it, as have Newsnight and The First Post. And, as the latter suggests, under Gordon Brown’s leadership, Labour won’t have to worry about the Tories retaliating with images Tony Blair’s Oxford days.

I don’t know about Blair’s making rude gestures at the camera — though the BBC’s suggestion that ‘It is also possible he was playing “air guitar”‘ sounds wildly improbable, to put it mildly; the fact he just looks such a twerp would surely have been the greater cause for concern among his present advisors.

Technorati Tags: Blair, Cameron, Student Photos

Chinese ‘Gaudy Art’

From The First Post (mildly NSFW)

Wang Qingsong makes spectacular photographs, which often involve a number of naked models. As in Archeologist, in which Qingsong himself ‘unearths’ people who are “dead in mind and soul” as a result of living in a “desires-infiltrating society” (watch footage here). China Mansion, which measures 12m, depicts a party in which Chinese people mix awkwardly with westerners. It represents modern China, which embraces foreign influences, sometimes to negative effect. Both images are typical Gaudy Art – a movement which began in response to the onslaught of consumerism in China. Elaine Hake

Boing Boing: Photo of president stepping on 9-11 US flag

Boing Boing: Photo of president stepping on 9-11 US flag
Monday, September 11, 2006
Boing Boing’s comment:
“To paraphrase George Orwell: “If you want a vision of the future, imagine a shoe stamping on a symbol of freedom – forever.” (Photo from Reuters) Link”

War on Terror photoshoot

Hmm. Italian Vogue (flash slideshow) have marked the anniversary of 9/11 by publishing what Boing Boing call both ‘mainstream TSA porn’and ‘State of Emergency,” a most disturbing fashion pictorial shot by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia, September 2006. Models: Hilary Rhoda & Iselin Steiro’

Not sure I’d call it ‘porn’; it certainly seems inspired by the late Helmut Newton, though.

The images have been scanned to a livejournal page; one of the comments there, from ‘guineverefaye‘, is the somewhat cynical

‘lmao THAT’S realistic. Cops these days are more likely to escort any attractive white woman out of the building and gently open the politce car door for her. The models did a good job though.’