“Smile Culture ” (Reflection on Photography of Oleg Duo ) [Brandon Russia Tour Participant? - Interpretive Photography Series #1 ]
Not sure how AI came to this
(That Oleg somehow made our list
Of artists who came years ago,
That modern Russia we might know).He’s much too young, but, what the heck,
Let’s look at him, perspective get
On body-image – quite the view
He has on subject (to me, new):As gay, he said gay men were hard –
His inner conflicts, by and large
Revealed themselves, got in his way –
Said point of view was not as “gay”.He’d seen some old Victorian pics
Of folks at death, and he was hit
Not by the custom of such art,
But “facial views” – gave him a start!For him, they said, “Just smile as fake
As we your picture-photo take”;
“Smile culture” of this century
Was plain as day for all to see.Not so for folks in days gone by,
In pictured-life, or when they’d died –
“Be as you are, or feel today,
Not in some Instagramic way”.He figures it was from the ads
To sell folks “stuff” – though folks are sad,
They forced pretense at “Happy”, “Rich” –
His art arose because of it.He airbrushed off the gendered-stuff;
Made skin quite pale, so just enough
Was seen in vacant eyes, fake ears,
To show true life, ’neath hidden tears.Thanks Holy Spirit for this.
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