Miley's continued controversy: Art or Inappropriate?

Miley Cyrus is huge. If you pay any sort of attention to mainstream media there's no escaping her. She's all over the place right now. I'm over twice her age and don't follow her, and I know who she is.

Apparently Miley, daughter of country music star(?) Billy Ray Cyrus, just shot a spread for Vanity Fair, and one of the photos featured is causing quite a controversy. Said photo, by famed photographer Annie Leibowitz, shows Cyrus glancing into the camera, her bare back showing and her body only covered by a blanket.

The controversy bubbled-up because Cyrus is merely 15-years-old, and some are questioning whether this is "art," or simply a young girl being taken advantage of. This spread comes on the heels of "questionable" (I use this term loosely; what others consider questionable, I typically do not) photos of Miley that have appeared on the Internet.

As with situations such as this I tend to keep my personal opinion out of it; however, I am a fairly liberal person...and not a parent...so my feelings on the matter might differ from many others.

Here's the photo from Vanity Fair:

What are your thoughts on the situation? Do you think this photo is inappropriate, given Miley's age? Or is it simply a tasteful art shot? I'm curious to know....




<>Social Citizen<>

A crystal ball?

A few days ago I introduced a new series called "Found on Flickr." Last night after a long night of helping my friend celebrate her recent birthday, I went to grab a late-nite bite to eat at Denny's. Yes, I said Denny's. You know you've been there before; don't judge me.

While "Found on Flickr" is a Thursday feature, I saw a photo opp at Denny's that was too interesting to pass up. Plus it wasn't found on Flickr but taken by yours truly:

Can you guess what this is a picture of?

In front of the lens

I've been getting into looking at photography lately. Pictures fascinate me, particularly when presented in an artistic fashion. This is probably because I've been more active blogging over the past few months. I'd like to get more into taking pictures myself but I don't have the greatest camera, and don't really have the money to go out and buy a new, fancy one. (Maybe I'll get one for my birthday.)

Earlier this week I started thinking about this, and tell me if you think it's a stretch:

Photography just may be the very first form of social media. Maybe not social in the way we think of it today, but consider it.... As defined by Wikipedia.com:

Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words and pictures. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning, as people share their stories, and understandings.

Photography is a thread to technology.
It definitely sparks social interaction.
It certainly tells stories and creates understandings.

To honor the art of the first form of social media, and to accompany my "Music Monday" series, I'm adding "Found on Flickr." Even though I'm not the biggest champion for Flickr (I think there are other photo hosting sites that are way more user-friendly), it is the largest and has the most stock to choose from. So every Thursday I'm going to feature a photo I think is interesting, weird, beautiful, etc. I will surely give credit to the account/author, and hope it will open others up to the beauty of photography.

Here is the first in the "Found on Flickr" series, taken from lifedeathpeet's photostream: