What Happened to the Body-Positivity Movement? | HUR Reads
By Wim Langedijk for HURS
What Happened to the Body-Positivity Movement?
HUR Reads is our definitive shortlist of the most prominent articles from around the web.
By HURS Team
1
Sigourney Weaver Has Us All Fooled: She’s Really Quite Silly
Writer Kyle Buchanan speaks with iconic actress Sigourney Weaver. Weaver is starring in the new Avatar movie, which releases on December 16, and in Call Jane where Weaver plays an abortion-rights activist. The one thing that stands out from the interview is Weaver’s sense of humor. Buchanan and Weaver discuss her past roles, the current stage of her career and politics.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Writer Ayanna Dozier sets the perfect scene in the first paragraph: “In the era of the selfie, what makes a portrait photograph significant and collectible? Thanks to social media, we are inundated with numerous images of ourselves and others; photography is no longer the special, exclusive skill it once was. Some collectors might ask: What does a portrait artist offer that our smartphones cannot?” Dozier speaks with Roger Szmulewicz, the director of Gallery FIFTY ONE, who’s presenting two solo exhibitions by contemporary portrait photographers Harry Gruyaerts and Mark van den Brink.
ARTSY
With the noughties and nineties aesthetic returning, with it we’re seeing a resurgence of the celebration of thinness. The body-positivity movement might not have had the impact we all hoped for. Writer Michelle Santiago Cortés names fashion brands as an example – who often want to capitalize on seeming body positive, without actually extending their sizing. Cortés writes: “The case of Miu Miu’s miniskirt is a perfect example: While Paloma Elsesser wore it on the cover of i-D, the brand does not actually offer the skirt in her size and had to make one custom for the shoot.” Moving back into the past when it comes to body positivity is a dangerous thing, and Cortés’ paints a not so pretty but true picture of what’s happening around us.
THE CUT
An in-depth profile on conceptual artist Jenny Holzer. Over her five-decade career, Holzer’s main focus has been on the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces, from advertising billboards to projections to large-scale installations. Writer Kelly Crow profiles Holzer through the eyes of her friends and colleagues alongside a deep dive into Holzer’s past.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Who doesn’t want Ebay tips from designers and tastemakers? Writer Monica Khemsurov speaks to seven individuals about their favorite Ebay finds, their saved searches and top tips to find the best. From 1980s flatware to a Gio Ponti Pirellina lamp.