Vogue gave an invitation to 33 contemporary female artists to create a portrait of a woman they found outstanding and were inspired by. The portrait was to be placed a blank Vogue Paris cover and displayed in an exhibit at Musee de la Monnaie Paris.
The artists and women that were displayed in this exhibit were from a global variety, from America to France to Africa and India. Some painted starlets, musicians, and even their own wife or mother.
The artists used their own styles and techniques to portray the women.
“The selection of artists reflects the freedom and breadth of expression that this project champions. Geographical and cultural representation was also a criterion, as well as gender balance”
The task for the viewer was to first look at the Vogue cover before them, and try to recognize who the portrait was of, before reading the description. For some, it was quite apparent who it was, and for others- not so easy. Many of the portraits were of outstanding woman, who I did not know about- so it was a great learning opportunity. I was also able to discover more details about the women I did know about.
The goal of this exhibit was to support feminine abilities and creativity with the theme of making women artists’ creations visible through exhibits and events. This was the second installment of the ‘Artistes à la Une’ exhibit, and will not be the last. These Portraits will be sold for auction at Christie’s, with the proceeds going to fund a future program in Mexico. The program will be organized by UN Women, a sector of the United Nations that focusses on gender equality and the chance for every woman to live up to her full potential.
This exhibit was definitely inspiring and empowering; it showed that every woman has a different chance to show her femininity and strength. Some show it through motherhood, some show it through their careers. Some are powerful women in politics, others are actresses or singers. Everyone has their own story to be told, all women vary and have different backgrounds and experiences and should have the ability to tell that story and have it be seen. This collaboration was the embodiment of a peaceful protest- changing the way the world works one step at a time… giving women the space they deserve, to have their work seen, and their stories heard.
Here are some of my favorite portraits from the exhibit, see if you can figure out who it is?
The final portrait was an interactive one. On one side was the portrait of a saint, and on the flip side was a portrait of a veiled woman. The viewer was able to choose which side they identified with and insert their head into the open space, becoming the muse of this portrait. This was my favorite portrait of them all because I found it to be a very uplifting message to all women.
Here are the answers, and some more portraits!
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Quote from Exhibit Description. All photos taken by Naz Bokhari.
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