“The situation into which the product of mechanical reproduction can be brought may not touch the actual work of art, yet the quality of its presence is always depreciated.” (Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," Section II)
The Mona Lisa (Leonardo Da Vinci, circa 1503) (and its circulation in popular culture) is illustrative of Benjamin’s argument regarding the status of the artwork in the age of mechanical reproduction. I’ve posted an image of the original painting along with one of its more recent cultural manifestations.* Describe one way the meanings associated with the original painting effect the product being sold. Provide one example of how the ad’s use of digital technology changes the meaning of the original (for instance, in this ad, how do we interpret her famous smile?) Comparing this advertisement to the Mona Lisas made by modern artists of the Dada and Surrealist movements (Below Marcel Duchamp, L.H.O.O.Q., 1919), what does the ad suggest about our society’s ideas and beliefs about beauty?
*The text at the bottom of the ad reads: “Pantene Time Renewal. Restores age-damaged hair.”
In the original painting you can see the Mona Lisa is smiling. A smile. She’s not smiling for any particular reason. Yet it’s still beautiful. Now when looking at the ad it’s as almost their making fun of the original. Changing and altering it to make it more modern. Her hair in her time was natural and beautiful. In our day and age though it’s considered flat and boring. Pantene took the painting and digitally changed her hair to make it full and voluptuous, because in our time beauty is more important than anything to some people. By changing her hair it actually changed the meaning of the painting. Now she’s smiling because she has beautiful hair. It’s no longer the original painting that it was. The meaning has been taken and changed to fit our time. Not only is her hair changed but the color has been enhanced, in the photo. Making not only her hair more beautiful but also the whole photo itself.
ReplyDeletePossibly one of the most famous paintings in the world, Da Vinci's Mona Lisa has fascinated many for years. The smile in the original is the most argumentative aspect of the painting. During the time in which it was painted (1503-1506), the look in which is portrayed in the painting is one that was very common for the period. The advertisement that was digitally edited clearly goes off the flat, straight, looked at in modern times boring hairstyle. In the reproduction they have increased the size of Lisa's hair, made it wavy, added more color, and made it more full. Going back to Lisa's smile in the original; it is unknown why she is smiling in the portrait, but in the advertisement it is obvious that her smile is because of her new, full, restored hair.
ReplyDeleteLHOOQ was painted in 1919 and added a mustache and beard to Mona Lisa in order to make the gender appear ambiguous. With the small addition of the facial hair, Lisa could in fact be mistaken for "Larry". In modern times, it is seen as taboo for women to have any kind of facial hair. Though in the time of LHOOQ, men sometimes appeared very feminine, and vice-versa. Comparing the Pantene ad and LHOOQ, the differences in what is seen as beautiful, or even accepted, is quite different.
In the original painting of Mona Lisa you see a young, unidentified, beautiful woman giving a little smile, almost as if it was a smirk, back at you. The painting offers an almost very mysterious aura about it, especially since the painting was cropped and the rest of the background has been destroyed. None the less, the type of portrait this resembles was very standard for the time that the Mona Lisa was painted in.
ReplyDeleteWhen looking at the Pantene ad you can see how our modern times have been regenerated in this famous painting. We no longer accept our natural beauty, but artificially render our hair and almost every aspect of our natural selves to look better. Mona Lisa now has full hair with a lot more 'volume'. This is a trait in today's advertisements that seem endless. By altering one aspect of ourselves, as in this advertisement being the hair, you can completely change the person as a whole. The Mona Lisa looks more modernized completely with her new hair and is almost glowing compared to the original. Her famous smile goes from innocence and a more natural beauty to something similar to a 'damn I look good smile'. It seems as though it was inevitable that even the great Mona Lisa could not give in to the trends of beauty products that are in many societies today.
In the LHOOQ version, a beard has been added. Since it comes from a time long ago, it does not alter our concept of beauty and still is beautiful. Often times males dressed or appeared just as feminine as females themselves in the times of Mona Lisa. Although this may have been acceptable back then, there is a very strong line between male and female beauty today in our culture.
In the turn of the century there was a change in the art world. Photographs and cinema were beginning to transcend paintings and classical forms of art in value and profit. In this time period, artists were questioning the value of art. In 1919 Marcel Duchamp made the L.H.O.O.Q., which took a piece of art that was considered sacred, and made into a message that represented the change in ideology that the world has undergone and is undergoing. Connotatively, the picture represents the loss of value and sacredness of paintings done in the past as well as the cultural view of beauty. Due to the age of mechanical reproduction, our westernized cultures appreciation of beauty in women has changed drastically, making a stricter criteria due to the comparison of women that an individual is forced to witness on a daily basis. In the time when the Mona Lisa was painted, the woman was just a woman, but in the turn of the century people started to interpret the picture as ambiguous or manly. The Ad for Pantene with the Mona Lisa having beautiful and shiny hair also represents this change in society as well as in our epistemology. The ad suggests that the criteria for beauty in society has changed. Mona Lisa’s hair change represents the change in the value of certain aspects we view as beauty such as healthy and thick hair and bronzed even skin. The ad suggests that in order to keep up with our change in cultural beauty, we must buy their product.
ReplyDeleteThe Mona Lisa is one of the world’s most renowned works of art. When Da Vinci created it he wanted to show the beauty of the subject and he succeeded greatly at that. When Pantene uses the painting in their marketing scheme they want to show that the Mona Lisa is more beautiful with their product on her scalp. Just by digitally rendering her hair transcends the original meaning of beauty from being based solely on the woman herself, to the quality of her hair. The company takes Mona’s once mysterious smile and implies that her voluptuous new hair-do is the reason for her happiness. This ad diminishes the original in a way by suggesting that the Mona Lisa has room for improvement. This day and age everyone seems so concerned with the way society wants us to look, that we change ourselves to fit the norm. The Mona Lisa’s created by more modern artists show us that beauty is more than just skin deep, or mustache deep in this matter. It shows us that society’s ideas of beauty are constantly changing as the years go on.
ReplyDeleteAs Nick said the Mona Lisa is perhaps the most easily recognizable painting in the world. Like most people viewing the Mona Lisa, the first thing that catches my attention is her ambiguous smile. You ask yourself if this smile is a look happiness, hidden sadness, polite disgust, so on. This question adds a mysterious quality and aura about the painting.
ReplyDeleteIn the ad the focal point is shifted from her intriguing smile to her photo-shopped shiny voluminous hair. When looking at the ad we immediately think of the original and the difference between the two. In some way the ad is an improvement of the original in the modern sense of beauty compared with our notions of beauty ideals in the 14th century.
The ad changes the meaning of the original because it is impossible to look at the ad without thinking of the original work. The ad does have its own aura about it, but to me it is one of commercialization and in some way it cheapens the artistic value of the original.
While the shampoo ad attempts to enhance the beauty and femininity of the Mona Lisa, Marcel Duchamp’s version masculates it with his penciled in mustache. However Duchamp’s version is called LHOOQ, which when spoken phonetically reads, “she has a hot ass”. Both remakes suggest a very superficial idea of society’s beliefs about beauty.
The original has always been the poster child of "deeper meaning within simplicity," with people left and right trying to critique the subject's feelings and gestures. This carries into the Pantene ad by sort of giving the impression that there is more to this woman than meets the eye, and this product can help bring it out. Both this advertisement's intent, as well as the original's, helps the conterpart's meaning to meet its own fruition. The original creates this sort of feminine mystique that carries over into the reproduction, while the reproduction, in a way, emphasizes the beauty of the original and increases its appeal by making it relatable to the modern-day woman. Yet, one could also say that the reproduction in fact decreases the unique appeal of the original by giving the message, "You can be like this, too." By making it relatable in this way, the original becomes almost less mysterious in itself. The idea behind the image becomes as transitive, or more accuately, reproducible, as the image itself, due to the reproductive capabilities of today. The ad suggests that our society values rich color, buoyancy, and vivaciousness regarding beauty, while the original suggests that things valued during that time period were simplicity and modesty. In my opinion, both suggest that the greatest beauty is held in an individual's overall attitude and the way she carries herself.
ReplyDeleteThe Original Mona Lisa is really a virtual representation of an idea of beauty depicted by a society. Not only did Da Vinci want the world to see his version of beauty, but he also wanted to show the world an example of a woman’s natural beauty. The manufacturers used this particular painting to help get across to the consumers that even though Mona Lisa is already beautiful, with the help of Pantene's product, they could be even more beautiful. The meaning behind the original Mona Lisa has long been a topic of debate. Some say her smile is a sign of the times. In the era that this painting was created, the episteme was that portraits consisted of somber looking subjects. This painting has a aura of mystery due to the unexplained smile on her face. Using digital technology, Pantene has given that smile new meaning, sexy hair makes you feel sultry and that emotion will come across to those who see you. Questioning our current society’s views of beauty, I wonder what future generations will see in our art. As represented by the Pantene ad, and by Duchamp’s version, beauty a clear sign of the times. What society considers beautiful will change and future generations will undoubtedly poke fun at what we consider beautiful art. What will they think of pictures of Britney Spears hundreds of years from now… and how will they change that image to fit their beauty ideals?
ReplyDeleteElton Rogers- 808
ReplyDeleteThe original Mona Lisa gives off a very mysterious aura. The famous Mona Lisa “smile” often leaves onlookers puzzled as to the situation the painting is representing. In the reproduced Pantene version the mysteriousness is lost by the restoration. The brighter vibrant pigments of her skin and hair reveal more modern day attractiveness as if the model used for the painting was fresh out of the 20th century.
The Pantene ad goes one step further as to remove the subtle veil that encapsulates her hair in the original. When you compare this to the surrealist movement painting the hair in the Pantene ad seems free and shows volume. This translates to our present day acceptance to beauty. It is also exemplified in the fact that the Pantene ad’s Mona Lisa has smooth, dark, and hairless skin. When juxtaposed to the surrealist painting with the beard and mustache, it shows our preconceived ideas towards physical beauty.
Although many times we seem to give a bad reputation to a reproduction of original artwork as advertisements, it is important to remember that art is found in many different mediums. Although one may say that the Mona Lisa’s value is depreciated through the Pantene advertisement I would argue differently. Benjamin himself wrote, “Opinions are a private matter. The public has an interest only in judgments.” Although the Mona Lisa is in a different art form in the advertisement, it’s the authors own work and therefore retains its own unique aura.
The Mona Lisa is globally recognized as a "work of art", a phrase which typically alludes to great beauty. In the ad,the product is being used to beautify even a work of art, which seemingly says a lot for it's capabilities. The original meaning of the Mona Lisa is unknown and that's really been the main draw of it; her smirk gets mentioned a lot in relation to the painting's mysterious aura. The new, digitally enhanced ad, though, solves the mystery: she is smiling over her lush, flowing locks (courtesy of Pantene) and healthy bronze complexion. I believe this suggests that in modern society beauty isn't looked for so much in the meaning behind/inside people. That socially, it really is what's on the outside that counts.
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