Lady Justice decides...

Judgement on the roads of indulgence I choose to travel down - 071312

I am currently working on a few art series of photos and collages.  The first is on my objectification of women (more on that at a later time).  The second concerns the justice that is coming upon me, my gender, my race, and all of humanity in the next half century as epitomized by Lady Justice. 

I visited Dublin Ireland in July 2006.  One of the interesting things I saw was their statue of Lady Justice (see photo at this link).   What do you notice is different about her?  No blindfold.  I guess justice is not blind in Ireland.  She got me thinking about that iconic statue that is present in so many cities, states and countries.

Lady Justice - Las Vegas - 0717

Last year we discovered the Lady Justice statue in Las Vegas.  To be fair, she isn't in the courthouse, but at a law office building near the courthouse.  I love how her sword is almost as tall as she is.  You can't tell from the photo, but I would guess she is about the height of the average woman.  As for the pose and extreme drama of her stance, I will let you make your own observations.

After seeing the Las Vegas Lady Justice, and all the other Lady Justice statues I've looked at,  I am starting a series on how justice will pass judgement on the sins of the list I mentioned above - me, my actions, my gender, my race, my sexuality and sexual decisions, my transgressions,  my country, and all of humanity.  In this new series I plan to have different models play the role of Lady Justice.  She doesn't always have to bare a breast, be a woman, or be blind folded.   The Lady Justice must though be passing judgement on something I feel must be brought to trial.

I believe all of the personal, group and humanity areas that I listed above are going to be judged soon for what we have done.  Beyond my personal things, someone will have answer for the transgressions against women, other races, differing sexual orientations, religions, cultures, economies (the creation and treatment of the poor), and earth as an environment.  These can be as personal as my decisions, choices to as grand and global as genocide, oppression, environmental destruction and war. 

The top photo is my first such attempt at capturing Lady Justice in judgement of me and my personal decisions and choices I made.  It isn't finished, but I am liking the mood.  Special thanks to Fae for giving me the perfect expression I needed for this image.  Any feedback is appreciated.  You can click on the image for a larger view of it.

As for judging - here how one man judged and sentenced Lady Justice.  Back in 2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft was offended by the Lady Justice statue he had to see at the Justice Department that dared to have an exposed breast.  He had her covered up.

Abarth ad translation - fantasy and fanaticism

Abarth ad still

Do you feel lost thinking that I could be yours forever?

In yesterday's post, Gender and Sexual Dynamics, I posted a video for the Fiat 500 Abarth.  In the post I mentioned wishing I knew what the woman (played by Romanian actress/ model Catrinel Menghia) was saying, but felt afraid that by knowing, some of the tension and greatness of the ad would fade.  My curiosity got  the better of me and I looked it up.  Below is a translation.

What are you looking at? Uh!?
What are you looking at?! (slap)
Are you undressing me with your eyes?
Poor guy… you can’t help it?
Is your heart beating? Is your head spinning?
Do you feel lost thinking that I could be yours forever?

Those last three lines are brilliant, in my mind.  They tap into the male's (at least this male's) psyche and think about fantasy/possibility of "forever".  I need to remember though Carla's cautionary words she shared in her comment about the dangers of being a man's fantasy girl.

He doesn't have a clue who you really are. Indeed, you don't exist. You are just the stand-in for a dream and had better stay that way. You are so right. In reality, your competition is a car, a job, the guy's mother or religion, whatever. 

Abarth ad still

After reflecting on this a bit, I have to think about fantasy.  I believe fantasies can be healthy, beautiful, inspiring, and needed.  Sometimes my fantasy narrative was the only thing that kept me going in the roughest parts of my life.  What I worry about is when fantasy becomes fanaticism.  It is funny how those two words are so similar in spelling.

Fanaticism - "... a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause or in some cases sports, or with an obsessive enthusiasm. Philosopher George Santayana defines fanaticism as "redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim"; according to Winston Churchill, "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject". By either description the fanatic displays very strict standards and little tolerance for contrary ideas or opinions. In his book Crazy Talk, Stupid Talk, Neil Postman states that "the key to all fanatical beliefs is that they are self-confirming....(some beliefs are) fanatical not because they are 'false', but because they are expressed in such a way that they can never be shown to be false." - Wikipedia (bold emphasis mine)

When I read Carla's blog post that started all of this, she wrote of the sexual troll's in both real life and the pixel forest or internet.  These guys only focus on the sex and not the person they are interacting with.  I am wondering if part of their problem is that they have lost the ability to differentiate between fan, fantasy, and fanatic and are lost in their uncritical zeal, strict standards, and little tolerance for contrary ideas. 

Abarth ad still

Gender and sexual dynamics.

Joshua Tree National Park - 122011

Blog friend Carla wrote a great post about sexual aggression titled, Holiday and Everyday- STRANGE.  Her post elicited many comments on the subject and made me reflect on the power of sexual dynamics and the self.   As a response, another blog friend, Cyranos posted a personal and very well-written post about internet perv trolls titled, Orcs, Trolls, and the Culture of Sexual Othering…  Like Carla's post, it generated many reflective and well written comments.  I highly recommend you read them both.

I wont really elaborate more than what I wrote in the comments sections of both posts.  I think we all have varying scales of sexual aggression and behaviors.  We all can be the bad boy, choir boy, perv, slut, skank, angel, demon, dominant, submissive, aggressive, passive, studly sexual beings.  We use these for both sex and power.  Sometimes we want to command, other times we want follow.  I know I can see all those characteristics in myself and probably use them for different purposes throughout life.

"Sex. In America an obsession. In other parts of the world a fact."

- Marlene Dietrich

I really like the new (to the US) Fiat 500*.  I checked out the US website and was drawn instantly to the new Fiat 500 Abarth, the sports model. There is a video (see below) for the new Abarth.  At first glance I thought it was sexy, objectifying, and funny.  After reading Carla and Cyranos's posts, I find it much more complex and contextual in regards to my reflections on their posts.  I would love to speak Italian and know what she is saying.  My question for all of you, who has the power?  My thoughts on that are below the video.

Abarth Video


Ok, now you have watched the video, who has the power?  In my mind, he does.  It is obvious she has it at first, but in the end, she is just a representation of the car in his mind.  She doesn't exist.   The erotic symbolism of the frothed milk foam is one of the most blatantly sexually suggestive elements I've seen in any commercial.  It can represent anything from his dominance to his premature ejaculatory issues (maybe I am being to Freudian and have to remember that sometimes frothed milk foam is just frothed milk foam).   **What are your thoughts on this bit of advertising?


*Italians design and build the sexiest and most passionate cars in the world.  Their cars are not known for reliability and great function, but who cares.  You feel safe and secure in a German car and sexy and alive in an Italian car.  Choose whichever makes sense for your needs.

** I am very happy to see the European advertising influences coming to America.  Europeans are not afraid of sexing things up.  It reinforces the Marlene Dietrich quote.