Some pinup artists are skilled,
sophisticated and patient enough to add a
little technical challenge to their work -
the mirror.
While looking for
pinup twins a month ago, I found myself
eyeing another pinup art practice - the
mirrored pinup. I haven't managed to find an
essay about the appearance of mirrors and
reflections in a painting (let me know if you
got the inside story via comment or
email 
), but I gather it’s an
interesting research subject. In pinup
art a lot of the profound meaning is
shallowed out to eye-candy. I’m hoping
to find some insight into the mirrored
pinup.
Showing Off All Assets
As I said, in
most pinup art, the profound possibilities of
meaning are usually shallowed down to simple
efficiency. In most cases, the pinup will be
either facing the viewer, or with her back to
the viewer and the mirror is there to show
all the pinup’s assets - front to back.
Even with Elvgren, who was much less
reviling, this is the case:
The Narcissist
Another way to
not make a profound
statement with a mirror is to have the mirror
face the pinup. This way there are no
overwhelming reflections to be made. Plus it
gives the pinup model a legitimate setting to
frolic and be flirty. On the other hand this
does say something about the human condition,
when confronted with its pretty self in front
of the mirror. Interestingly enough, the only
images, I found, of the women in the painting
indulging in their own reflections were
painted by female pinup artists (Pearl Frush
and Joyce Ballantyne, respectively).
Looking at you Looking at Me
In many
cases, the mirror will only reflect the
pinup’s face. It’s interesting to note the
different expressions our glamor girls adopt,
when they realize they’re being watched.
Annoyed
Familiarity
Shocked or Mildly Surprised
The Hidden Self Portrait
Diego
Velázquez did it and
Jan van Eyck did it before him, but today
we look at Hajime Sorayama’s very unique
pinup mirror. Sorayama is one of the most
profound pinup artist, centering his art
around more hard-core fantasy of forniphilia
and BDSM culture. This image is very loyal to
the fornophilic state of mind, while the
ornament is in the center of the image, it is
only on ornament (this feeling is enhanced by
the fact that the two women look like a mold
replica), the real subject of this image is
the hidden self portrait. Sorayama has found
the perfect way to incorporate himself in his
art, without disturbing his devoted viewers,
who expect something specific from him.
Something Out of the Ordinary
We’ve
seen the “typical” stuff up until this point,
now let’s take a look at the odd and the
bazar:
I may be wrong about
this one, but it seems to me this flirty
blond is actually pointing the mirror at
the viewer. Could it be a wink of the
eye from Enoch Bolles?
This piece is either
lazy or vampiric, take your pick
Something about this piece is very
introversive, I don’t believe it’s a pinup at
all, even though I found it as part of Kevin
Clark’s collection on The Pinup Files.
I left the most bazar for last - a piece of
Nazi propaganda, dropped from planes on to
American soldiers, during WWII. This is just
the illustration,
check out the
cynically cruel short story attached to
the original.
Reflecting on pinup art,
Tags: Through the Looking Glass,
pinup artists, mirrors, mirrored pinup, WWII., Nazi propaganda, Enoch Bolles, Kevin Clark, being watched, self Portrait, glamor girls, Gil Elvgren, pinup assets
