Beauty is often found in its purest form– a hidden waterfall, the smiling face of a child, the soft wrinkles of a grandmother’s hand.  But other times, perfection is manufactured and beauty hides a darker truth.  In his ColorSafe series, Los Angeles artist James Rieck spins the glossy glamour of 1960s and 70s catalogue models into a look at social contradictions happening then and now still.

 

Rieck takes the ubiquitous catalogue model poses and reinterprets them– painting them in such a hyperrealistic way that they take on a now too-glossy, unreal quality.  In pairs, one light skinned model, one dark, the figures wear the same brightly colored and patterned fashions of the day, similar smiles on their cropped faces.  The playing field seems oddly leveled– equality, acceptance and coexistence seemingly achieved.  But there’s an underlying tension.  The dark skinned figure usually slightly behind the lighter or somehow leaning in to her counterpart.  Subtle, but there.  Equality in idea, but not in reality.

To see more of James Rieck’s work, please visit his website.

All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via It’s Nice That.