Anna Nicole, By Lori Precious


I don't want to talk about Lori Precious' infamous butterfly project, the one in which she created mandalas inspired by stained glass windows and executed through the medium of iridescent butterfly wings, the one that was followed by the Damien Hirst vs. Lori Precious controversy. I wont talk about that here. You can read about it elsewhere.

What I want to talk about is her Starlets project, in which she recreates the obituary photos of starlets—in gossamer. She says:

In Los Angeles we're surrounded by beautiful women whose ambition is to be a star. Beauty is so abundant that it becomes commonplace and disposable. In my new series, Starlets, I've recreated some obituary photographs entirely from butterfly wings. In the cameos of these women in their final role, the butterfly wings represent the fleeting nature of beauty and glamour. Around each butterfly portrait is a kaleidoscopic mandala of delicate wings and debris that captures the story of the starlet's life.

With her collection of starlets, from Dorothy Hart, a 1940s starlet, to Anna Nicole Smith, Lori Precious is provoking thought about the way that we value prettiness and beauty and symbols of such—whether they be butterflies or women. She calls to mind the way that both are chased after, the way that beauty can be as ephemeral as time measured in lepidoptera years, how there is always so much more than meets the eye.

I find that very interesting. I thought you might too.




Shimmer
By Annette Marie Hyder
From The Consequence of Wings (On Angels and Monsters and Other Winged Things)

I toss my hair at
spread my arms to
the day.

I want to butterfly
from one moment
to the next
unfurl my proboscis
drink deep

have you 
see through
the Ezekiel lenses
of my wings

make
you gasp
at my arrogance
in flinging
all those colours
(shimmer, shammer, hold me)
back in Sun's face.


Link to the butterfly book I'm reading right now:
TheDangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals,Collectors and Conservationists, By Peter Laufer, Ph.D.

Other Links of interest
Lori Precious Website
Butterfly Symbolism
The Butterfly Effect
Butterfly Facts