"Sorority Girl" art exhibit
 

I just read this really interesting article in the local Athens, GA newspaper about a new photography exhibit that opens today. A new art professor at the University of Georgia was unfamiliar with Greek life, so she decided to make it the subject of a series of photographs.

Article:
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2...pes-greek-life

I found this to be the "best" line of the entire article:

Even though she was never Greek, I think Jones understands more than most (from what I can tell from this article and the few pictures I've seen). This entire line kind of sums up the "from the outside looking in, you could never understand it.. from the inside looking out, you could never explain it" thing.

Here is a link to the actual portfolio:

http://www.kellykristinjones.com/#/s...ct/portfolio/1

I agree. To me, it proves that sorority "girls" are just like many others in the same age group. NEWS FLASH!

From the article, I don't think she was going for a unusual insight or beauty. To me, and let's remember that all art is subjective, she was mystified by the entire sorority culture, and decided to see if she could dissect it. Instead of seeing a bunch of beautiful, spoiled girls, she saw the actual women behind the letters. I'd love to see the whole exhibit.

I think that's the point of it. You're Greek, so you understand that we're "just like everyone else." Most people don't understand that.

Ditto. I think my favorite image (of the few I've seen) is the main one that's highlighted in the article. The SK is laying in what normally might be perceived as a "sexy" pose, but she's in shorts, a Sigma Kappa t-shirt, and running shoes. Right above her on the wall is a composite, with all the young women dressed the same. That image alone says a lot, IMO, about perception vs. reality, and how sorority girls can "pull a 180" between recruitment and everything other day of the year.

Yes, art is subjective so there are no right or wrong answers. Personally, I see girls who look sad, lonely, bored and unhappy. I also see subliminal messages in some of the photos.

Take the one of the girl holding the cat. Poor kitty's leash is short and being held so tautly. Does that represent being confined and choked? What about the girl in the gold dress with her hand bent backwards against the wall? Is she pushing away from sorority life -- her expression says she doesn't want to go to whatever she's all dressed up for. And the three "sisters" on the sofa? They look like they'd rather be with anyone but each other.

I would probably benefit greatly from captions.

I saw the expressions more as a push back against the constantly-smiling sorority girl image--and most "neutral" expressions make people look unhappy.

None of these photos evoke much of any emotion. Then again, I'm no expert. I just don't feel anything while looking at them.

What was that picture with the non-opaque tights and leopard undies sitting on a rather ugly bedspread?? I'm sorry, I don't get what that has to do with sorority life. That isn't how sorority girls (or any sane women) dress...girls didn't even walk/lounge around the house like that. I'm just really unimpressed with this. It's mostly pictures of sorority girls wearing normal day clothing and staring blankly at the camera. Also, the girl with the cat on a leash isn't a typical sorority thing either. I've never seen anyone walking their cat around campus, so I'm not sure why she wanted a picture of that.
As someone who goes to this school, in a sorority (not in these pics, thank goodness), I feel like this doesn't represent anything about sorority life at all, and doesn't provide a new insight into anything. It's just some lackluster photographs. The only one I think is decent was the girl in the teal SK shirt.

What some of us have found problematic with the photos is that this is a missed opportunity to show universal themes between NPC and NPHC sororities. At said school, even if the two communities don't mingle, there is some universality to the artist's statement in regard to the "constructed" personalities, for example "pretty girls" and "divas."

But that's secondary to the overall complaint that many of us have had with the exhibit. As others have said above, it really doesn't impress when it comes to technical merit. It seems as though the images were shot either on a point & shoot camera or on the automatic settings of a digital SLR.

In fact, some of the images are vaguely disturbing. Specifically, the image of the young women in the shorts on the sofa, beneath the composite, is reminiscent of the Calvin Klein CK jeans ads of 1995.

It's a cool idea for a project for sure, but I was hoping for something more provocative. The photography is pretty blasé.

I agree completely, this was an enormous missed opportunity. A shame too, since the idea is compelling.

I loved the idea when I read about it but was rather "meh" when I saw the photographs.

One that stood out for me was the one that appears to be a sister or maybe a rushee with her mother. Maybe I liked that because I'm going to have daughters going through rush in the future.

Also, I liked the one that just showed a girl's hands holding her ADPi Badge and guard. I liked that her nails weren't freshly manicured and she had a small scratch on her wrist. Just little things like that make a person seem more "real" to me. Of course, the big, ol' Rolex on her left hand made her seem a little more "out there" but maybe it was her dad's or something.

Also, regarding the girl in the leopard undies and pantyhose. Did anyone notice that she had a snag on the back of the pantyhose? That was kind of endearing to me. I remember during rush my sisters and I would always look as perfect as we could on the outside but at any given time someone had a hidden snag, a sundrass strap that was safety pinned into place or a scuffed shoe that we just colored in with Sharpy pens!

The photographs said to me "sad" and "lonely". Neither of those words would describe the collegiate experience of any sorority woman I've ever met.