A rant on photoshop, nudity and modern art

This baroque painting from 1615 by Paul Reubens shows what he imagined Venus to look like. Is that what she actually looked like? We don't know. But artists have always made their subjects look more beautiful- according to whatever the beauty standard in their time was- than they actually looked in real life. Not very different from photoshopping or wearing make-up, if you ask me. 
Yet people are outraged about Kim Kardashian-West being photoshopped AND naked in her Paper magazine cover. Idealising the female body is not modern phenomenon, neither are butts, breasts, nudity or being famous for "no reason". All Marie Antoinette did, was being born into a good family, getting married off into a good family and wasting money, yet she still is a much quoted and admired icon.

I'm not a fan of the Kardashians TV show, because I their lives aren't interesting to me. But Kim took a man's betrayal of her trust and turned it into a multi million dollar business. She's not especially original, not talented or inspirational, compared to some other women, but she's a business woman, and her looks are selling well because she knows how to use them. Kim Kardashian is honest, clever, naked and yes, she is a mother, too. Many are acting like seeing your parents int the nude will ruin your life- when fact is, that your parents have witnessed you coming into this world covered in blood and goo, and then took care of your shit until you were able to do so yourself. At some point you might return the favour. Loving your family members includes seeing and caring for them at their most vulnerable times. But, coming back to the Paper magazine cover- does Kim look vulnerable, scared or exploited? Not if you ask me! It seems like she's having a great time, enjoying her job and feeling good in her skin. I can't imagine North, or any of her future children being ashamed because their mother chose to appear oiled-up and empowered on a magazine cover. As a feminist, I can only encourage women to feel beautiful and empowered, whatever size or shape you are, and to teach these values to your children, too. 
What we consider art is constantly changing. So get your issue of that damn magazine just for the sake of it, one day it'll be worth something.

6 questions with Yasitha Amarasinghe, Photographer

Yasitha Amarasinghe is a Melbourne based photographer. Having worked with this talented individual before, I suggest you take a look at his portfolio here and follow his instagram @yasithaphoto.

1. When did you get your first camera?

The first camera that I'd really consider my own was a 5 megapixel Sony Cybershot. It was my family's first digital camera and we bought it to replace my mum's broken film one because we were travelling to visit family in Sri Lanka. I'm still amazed at how many photos I managed to stick onto a 32 megabyte card back in the day.

2. If there was one piece of advice you could give to your younger self, what would it be?
Stop trying to please everyone. And stop trying to be everyone else.

It's really hard to get caught up in, not only the photographers that are around you, but also the photographers that you idolise. I wish I could go back and just tell myself that I needn't worry about trying to be too much like James White, Patrick Demarchelier or Lara Jade - that I should just focus on my own style, no matter how much that changes.


3. Where do you like to photgraph the most?
I don't really have any particular place that I like to shoot mostly. I do like travelling to different places and photographing while I'm out of my comfort zone though. It really pushes you to be a little more creative and not to fall back on things you already know.

4. Name some sources of inspiration or motivation behind your work as a photographer
I actually really, really love cinema and video games. The art direction and framing that some directors use to visually tell a story is really different to the way I feel some still photographers view things. There are very few photographers that I've seen who've translated a moving visual story into a singular frame, but Joey L, for example, is one such photographer where some of the frames he takes make me feel like I'm watching a short clip out of a documentary, even though nothing's moving.

5. 3 items you would take to a lonely island
Ah, that would depend on where the island was - I hate the heat, so can we make it like a temperate one? I'd go with my PlayStation, my camera and Bear Grylls. Gotta be prepared somehow.

6. If you could change one thing about the world we live in, what would it be?
People taking things so one sided-ly, then jumping to conclusions. That's probably not a word, but people need to realise that everything's a spectrum of grey - agreeing with one aspect of something doesn't mean you disagree with others. I'm a bit of an idealist though.