The Pin Ups

The Pin Ups, is a re-examination of the pin up model, in particular the celebrated commercial artwork of Gil Elvgren from the 1930’s-to 1970 (Martignette, Charles G., Louis K. Meisel. Gil Elvgren, The complete pin-ups; Cologne, Germany: Taschen, 2008)

I am drawn to the paradox of the originals: while they portray women as silly and foolish, in any role other than as a vessel containing the formula for ultimate male pleasure, the coquettish gaze and coy smile are also suggestive for her potential manipulative power. Inserting myself in the drawings and dressing the part in what became a pictorial autobiography unfolding in the present, provides for me a way of telling a story that has always been told and continues to be told by others, both men and women. This project was an attempt to investigate how to place myself in relation to this retelling of old ideas. Coming of age as a woman and specifically as an artist during a certain period of feminism, I find myself uncomfortable in a world where feminism seems a quaint notion. This project was a place to perhaps seek some refuge, temporarily, from an environment in which I find myself at odds.