Another love-themed post! What do you think of these pictures by photographer, Marta Soul? I had bookmarked these a while ago and just stumbled on them again and love them more then ever. The series is called "Idilios" which Marta says is the Spanish word for romances, and in them a red-headed protagonist (at least I feel she's the protagonist) smooches a wide-variety of men in settings and costumes that perfectly capture the moment. They're sort of like peering into a movie still at the "happily-ever-after" moment, or at least that's what you might think if you only saw one!
In her analysis of the series, Marta says:
The kiss is the main act and the only one, a symbol of the stereotyped romantic situation. Immediate satisfaction is found in the kiss. It begins and ends the entire narrative scene and is the iconographic element of the image. What the red-headed star of the series does is consume that moment as fully as possible
Yes, it is all about consuming. The man appears as the woman’s partenaire: he is just one more element, not a co-star, and therefore he changes with the setting. The action is dehumanised to some extent by this reiteration of instants that give priority to light, luxury and form over emotions. Constant renewal seems to be the only path to reach our ideal, which is perhaps more in line with an advertising slogan than with any other belief.
The reflection in this work originates in trying to understand how we integrate our emotions into a consumer lifestyle in which everything has to be attractive yet has an expiry date because there is a constant search to change for something better.
Not perhaps the "happily-ever-after" we first imagined - but a series of perfectly styled surroundings that overtake the human connection at the center of the frame. The fact that these perfectly styled surroundings also happen to be the best sort of mid-century only adds to their appeal in my book (and reminds me that Mad Men is coming back soond!)
If you're liking this - check out more of Marta's work on her site - or read her interview with My Modern Met about this series.
