Lets Get Real

The Valley of Mexico, José María Valesco, 1875

To me, the brilliance of the Mexican painter José María Valesco, was partly due to his independence. He was able to think on his own and through his paintings convey his thoughts and feelings, which were different from the modern artistic trend. At the time most landscapes were romanticized and made to look more perfect than they actually were. Valesco did not buy into the idealization of art; he felt that the true beauty and character of Mexico lay in reality. 

                             

This take on the portrayal of reality reminds me of Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. For years movie and television screens and print media have shown tan, skinny women with impeccable skin and hair to be not only the ideal but the norm.  The purpose of Dove’s campaign is to fight against how the media portrays women. Through commercials, short videos, magazine and billboard advertisements Dove rejects the idealized illusion of beauty. Dove counters the distortion of reality by revealing the insane process of procuring these ‘ideal women’ and by displaying and celebrating women of all shapes, sizes, and colors.

Like Valesco, Dove is not in the business of making things seem like something they are not, rather they show the world reality and urges it to accept reality and prize it, because it is real, tangible, and ready to be experienced. It can be found in your backyard or just outside of the city, not just on canvas or in a magazine. Dove and Valesco’s intent isn’t to discourage anyone with the ordinary-ness of the world, but rather to rejoice in the natural beauty of the world, to be content with what is available and not long for something impossible. Valesco was trying to say that Mexico didn’t need changing. It it was different it wouldn’t be mexico. Dove declares that all women are beautiful, and that flaws and imperfections add to the beauty of a woman.