Women and Antiquity | Preservation and Censorship | Air France Madame Inspires Inquiry

Model Katia Andre is lost in history, styled by Annabelle Sangin in ‘Lumière Soir’, with art direction by Giorgio Martinoli. Photographer Rocio Ramos [IG] explores the relationship between upscale women and antiquity for Air France Madame. / Makeup and hair by Emilie Plume

Liberation, Truth and Censorship

A major topic for creators to wrestle with in the now is the relationships among imagery, content and message. America is always more conservative than France in its interpretation of just about any topic, and ‘cancel culture’ is thriving on the left.

The same San Francisco school board that voted to destroy a depression-era mural ‘The Life of Washington’ by an artist Victor Arnautoff, a Russian émigré and a Communist considered by many to be left of Bernie Sanders, voted this week to rename 44 high schools including Abraham Lincoln High School.

San Francisco schools named for historical figures, including Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, as well as current ones, like Senator Dianne Feinstein, are set to be renamed. If right-wingers were taking this action, liberals would be outraged.

To the best of my knowledge, the students themselves haven’t been seriously interviewed about their own views on this string of destruction of history action. Nor have the residents of the school districts whose tax funds are supporting these efforts.

AOC is neutral on certain of these new initiatives, although I do not support the total negation of America’s offensive, brutal and discriminatory history. My current focus is trying to understand the core arguments of the other side — which seem to be based on “see no evil” and then one is released from its impact.

Note that AOC is not neutral for one minute on the proper place for America’s Confederate monuments — and it’s in museums created to house them. But to banish Abraham Lincoln besides? That sounds like a total loss of artistic independence to me and mind control of another vintage. I believe individuals within the same group want to tear down the famous monuments in DC as well — including memorials to Jefferson and Lincoln.

Business and Brands Must Wrestle with Liberation’s Demands

My point is to remind creatives that censorship comes in many forms, including on the left. Both as individuals and as collective members of cities and cultures worldwide, correcting wrongs must be balanced against censorship and mind control.

This challenge will permeate our fashion photography, editorial content and branding and marketing initiatives. We are standing on a slippery slope, and it’s incumbent on each of us — and brands, businesses — to wrestle with these issues on the front end as we move into 2021.

At least for me, a global perspective will probably be more balanced than America’s alone, as our conservatism rears its head when you least expect to be confronted by it. The last four years have taught me that I know nothing. ~ Anne