fig.: Felicia Webb 'Backstage at the Paul Smith Women fashion show, London, 09/13/2002; from the photo series Champagne & Curlers'. Photo: (C) 2002 Felicia Webb. The photo of the team of professionals working on the makeup of a model gives a nice impression how the glossy runway looks are created behind the scene. British photojournalist Felicia Webb is one of the contributing artists/documentarists at the exhibition 'Beauty Culture'. Themes of her social researches with the camera are for example eating disorders.

Female photographers' views on sweat and blood behind the catwalks

From 21 May to 27 November 2011, UK photojournalist Felicia Webb and US photographer / filmmaker Lauren Greenfield are part of the exhibition about the definition of feminine beauty 'Beauty Culture' at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles. Other contributing photographers are Bert Stern, Herb Ritts, Man Ray... to name a few.

Documentary filmer and photographer Lauren Greenfield views the fashion and beauty world from the perspective of a social researcher and combines for her products techniques of art and journalistic documentary; such as in the video 'Fashion Show' below. Her documentary film Thin (HBO, 2006) about the psychology of eating disorders is Emmy-nominated and won the Best Documentary Award at the London Film Festival. Lauren Greenfield's new documentary 'Beauty Culture' with interviews with photographers, models, historians and beauty professionals premiered on occasion of the exhibition at the Annenberg Space for Photography. The documentary is produced as a guide for exhibition-visitors to the culture and cult of beauty.

"BEAUTY CULTURE encourages a social dialogue about the allure and mystique of the pursuit of female beauty, as well as the cult-like glorification and multi-billion dollar industries that surround it." introduces the Annenberg Space to the exhibition, where visitors are invited to get interactive and upload their 'faces' from offline to Facebook annenbergspaceforphotography.org

Additionally, the Annenberg Space for Photography invites to lecture series, where fashion, beauty, pop culture photographers, editors speak about their experiences and perspectives on photography's role in the definition of beauty.

The video shows 50 runways in New York, Milan, Paris of the Spring 2010 collections in a film collage by Lauren Greenfield. The film 'Fashion Show' is made of moving images, photographs taken by Lauren Greenfield and mixed together in a playful use of split-screen technique. She combines the pictures of the unapproachable beauty scenery which can be seen by the viewer in front of the stage of the catwalk and the reality behind the scenes. The video changes from glossy fashion images of people and 'airbrushed' faces - who are representing the fascinating, perfect world in the media, to portrays of the same people in their vulnerable moments. Music by Fol Chen 'The Longer You Wait'.

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