Bears repeating!
Also, let’s stick closely to topic, it really helps preventing tangents and drama.
Also, let’s stick closely to topic, it really helps preventing tangents and drama.
Last edited:
What do y'all think about the Balenciaga SS23 & Adidas collab "teddy" controversy?
- Thread starter MooMooVT
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Clearly you didn’t understand my sentiment at all. Artists make as much money as they need to keep being artists. Typically their priority IS NOT flying around on private jets and being in board rooms and having multiple villas. Not saying there isn’t money in the ART BUSINESS. Clearly dealers make millions of dollars a month in trading to many billionaires. And have fun doing it. But the artists themselves? Nah.
I agree. Because of the ad and their other subversive ideas I actually plan to buy more of their goods. Apparently unlike the other fashion houses at least their team can do sociopolitical commentary better than anyone else.
If folks want to toss their Balenciaga goodies to the curb please DM me and I will gladly take all of your Balenciaga collection via post or FedEx
Sorry YSL.
And clearly YOU didn’t read all my posts correctly. I made room in each of them for outliers.
and what about all the fashion designers out there also not living the life of a jet setting millionaire? Why is their fashion not art according to you?
They don’t work for Balenciaga making billions of dollars for the company, do they?
And that’s exactly my point that you just made. It’s always about the money.
So are you saying that fashion can be art as long as its not that of a large fashion house? What about the artist who keep large art galleries and dealers afloat? Billions are exchanged in the art world. Are they not truly artist? What about artist who get hired to work for campaigns for these companies? Are they not artist anymore because they illustrated an ad for lets say Gucci?
Sorry but your sweeping statements, generalizations and standards are confusing.
I typically find people who insist they know what art is never actually do know what art is its just what they think it is. Can anyone truly even say what art is or is not?
With that I am moving on from this conversation as its not on topic at all.
Thank you for the very kind words!! ♥️Thank you for sharing your experience and I am deeply sorry that it happened to you. It's heartbreaking and it leaves so many wounds. I think that is why we are so passionate about the topic. If one has been sexually abused or works with victims of sexual abuse (which there are so many different expressions of it) we can see the writing on the wall. Wishing you all the best
Agree, this is totally off topic. And again, even tho I prefaced many times above, these are all my opinions. We don't need to agree.
The point is, all of this is about money. Everything. Do you think Balenciaga would "apologize" if they thought this might not affect sales? Of course not. When we say, boycott or "let's hit them where it hurts", we aren't talking about telling them we don't think what they produce is art. They don't care about that! We are talking about SALES.
So in that vein, a bad controversy for them isn't about their "artistic reputation". It's about their bottom line....SALES.
Re whether the thread topic (child with bondage bear) has artistic merit (I’m not going to debate whether fashion advertising is an art form) Aside from its subject matter, divorced from its subtext, (which many would find impossible to separate out), I would say that the image has a flowing narrative, definite point of view, deliberately staged and decent composition, and is very polished. (I’m a visual artist who has sold a large portion of my work in the past, mainly prior to pursuing other unrelated career objectives).
A lot of art is found in reproduction: prints; photos; series. . . I certainly cannot determine what is definitively art and what isn’t. Certainly some artists are more commercial than others. And, it goes without saying that many fine artists were terrible people with questionable taste and morality.
The ad’s edgy quality and artistic polish might be what people in the future remember about this image.
A lot of art is found in reproduction: prints; photos; series. . . I certainly cannot determine what is definitively art and what isn’t. Certainly some artists are more commercial than others. And, it goes without saying that many fine artists were terrible people with questionable taste and morality.
The ad’s edgy quality and artistic polish might be what people in the future remember about this image.
Perhaps one day we’ll move past edgy. Edge requires constantly moving the line. What’s the next edgy move now that we’ve mainstreamed the sexual exploitation of children? Animals?
I so wish you didn’t! Hugs back to you! ♥️
Thank you so very much ♥️@Suzil & @Shelby33 & @SakuraSakura I am so very sorry and sending wishes for healing and comfort to you all
I agree. One can be edgy and challenge the cultural metanarrative without wounding others. Some might say, "no child was harmed in this ad." Maybe they were not immediately wounded physically, but once we start introducing the idea that children belong in sexual messages, expressed in their different forms, we are systemically hurting them short and long-term. No one ... I mean no one should sexualize a child. That has severe, long-term, and deep psychological consequences. When society sexualizes children, it harms them greatly. We are all sexual beings and we express it in different ways. Balenciaga can be edgy in challenging the sexual metanarrative, without involving children.
Not sure if I understand what you are saying LOL, but I think in every culture or in every cultural setting, there will always be someone challenging the main message (whatever the message is). And I personally believe there is something healthy about it. It creates dialogue, challenges people's thought processes, and it helps us to think critically about things. I am not a religious person under any circumstances, but I do think the idea of "loving your neighbor, as you love yourself," concept should be applied. And here, in this context, children are our "neighbors." We have to protect them and love them, instead of placing them in a context that might harm them. And some may debate what "harming others" might mean. To me, it is pretty clear. But we all hold different values and that will affect they way we perceive life and make judgments about what we see and how we behave.