Since the 1990s Kate Moss is the paragon of beauty. Her style is copied from girls all over the world. Peter Lindbergh took this photograph in 1994. Maybe she stands in front of a stable or a shelter? In her overall she looks like a farmer or worker.
This portrait is a fashion statement and not a documentation of the American West like Richard Avedon’s girl. But both girls look like somebody from the countryside. Maybe Kate Moss´ expression is more impressive, because we are more used to look at her in commercials and advertisements. However it is only the background information that makes the difference between these two portraits. We have to believe that the subtitle is telling us about the person. Certainly we can take a closer look at the picture to find evidences of posing or artificiality. Even though we can scarcely distinguish illusion and reality.
Cindy Sherman is a perfect example for considering the substance of an image. She is always questioning herself in her portraits. She appears in various roles to find out about prejudices and female prototypes. Sherman is a master of disguise and costumes. If we did not know, that she is the one on the picture, would we realize it? The artist became famous for her “Film Stills”.
Her pictures are composed masterpieces, but I do not think that this makes her photographs less true than others. She is still telling a story. Maybe it is not an authentic one, but one who is transmitting a message or a feeling.
Sherman is always caught in a moment of action. Some picture could be an excerpt taken from a Hitchcock movie. You always feel the suspense: What will happen next? Who is the girl waiting for in the lonely outback? Is she expecting her lover or her murderer? What does she do there? But we do not need to be afraid, because the camera is with her.
Lauren Greenfield and Rineke Dijkstra convey the impression that they show real life. They portray young girls in their self-conflicts and process of self-discovery. These girls are mostly concerned about their bodies and their appearances. They are confronted with thin models and digital picture manipulation. Girls compare themselves with other girls and successful models in magazines. They do not want to be ordinary, but they also refuse to be too different than others.
If you look closer at these portraits then these questions arise: Am I beautiful? Does somebody admires me? Does somebody love me? Who am I? Who do I want to be? Do I satisfy my requirements?
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