When I heard the title “American Beauties“, I expected something really different to what the exhibition was like. I thought of harmonic pictures of landscapes in the West or beautiful buildings in cities. The first time I noticed that the pictures in the exhibition would not look like that was when I did research on the internet for the artists. I found some really shocking, nearly pornographic pictures, what makes me wonder what kind of exhibition “American Beauties” could be.

After visiting the exhibition I am surprised in a positive way, because I think most of the pictures are really interesting. They show the American lifestyle in various situations from different positions. On the one hand, there are pictures that try to present the enjoyable life in the big cities of America or the vast, beautiful landscapes in the West. On the other hand, there are pictures that criticizes just that idea of America. They show the other side of life, based on boredom, drugs, sex and alcohol. In my point of view these kind of pictures are the more interesting ones. I like the way the artists try to show the side of America that most Americans do not want to be real, like the motto “All that glitters is not gold”.

Another point is that to my mind the exhibition shows a well chosen extract of the artist`s pictures. There are not those pornographic ones like on the internet, but you can find pictures with a direct intention. These pictures show regardless the themes drug abuse and sex, so they have an shocking effect, which makes them interesting in a way.

To my mind, the picture most shocking is the one that shows a pregnant woman taking drugs. It is from Larry Clark from his portfolio “Tulsa”. In this portfolio Larry Clark demonstrates young people´s drug abuse in black-and-white photos. I think this picture is so shocking because nobody can imagine how a young woman can be so irresponsible and careless to put the baby´s life at risk. You cannot understand the woman´s situations, who is so addicted to drugs, that she does not think of the drug´s effect on her unborn baby.

Another picture from Larry Clark is the most interesting one in my point of view. In the picture you can see a man using a gun and in the background there is a part of the American flag. I think this is the kind of picture that many Americans do not want to see. The picture clearly combines the themes violence and delinquency with a typical American symbol, the American flag. To my mind it is interesting to think about the criticism that is hidden in the picture or about the reactions in the American society.

The picture that I like best is also taken by an artist, who probable likes to shock the people with her pictures. In the exhibition was shown a form of slideshow of her pictures, what is typical for Nan Goldin. In the slideshow there was a picture named “The Balled of Sexual Dependency”, which is also the most famous one. The picture shows Nan Goldin herself lying on the bed and her boyfriend, known as Brian, who is sitting on the bed, smoking a cigarette and looking out of the window. I like this picture because you have the possibility to interpret the artist´s intention. After the research on the internet I know that Goldin´s sister committed suicide because she was not able to stand the compression of her sexuality. I think, when you keep this in mind, you can understand, why Goldin takes this kind of pictures. Goldin tried to handle her sister´s death in taking pictures and I think in “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” you can see this very clearly.

To come to the more suitable pictures to the title of the exhibition, you have to think about the ones that shows the landscapes in the West. I think the most suitable picture was one of Wim Wenders. In the picture there is a mountain and it is nearly dark. This is the kind of picture I had expected. When you see the harmonic and beautiful landscape, you think about feelings like freedom. I think this is also the kind of picture the most of the Americans wanted to see. To my mind it shows the American idea of unlimited possibilities.

All in all I can say that I liked the exhibition. I think an exhibition with photography art is very different to a museum and I liked to make this new experience. It was very interesting to see pictures of the American life from different point of views.

In The Ghetto Lyrics
 » Elvis Presley

As the snow flies,
On a cold and grey Chicago mornin’
A poor little baby child is born in the ghetto
And his mama cries
‘Cause if there’s one thing that she don’t need
It’s another hungry mouth to feed in the ghetto

People, don’t you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he’ll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see,
Or do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?

Well the world turns
And a hungry little boy with the runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows in the ghetto
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight in the ghetto

Then one night in desperation
The young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car, tries to run,
But he don’t get far
And his mama cries

As a crowd gathers round an angry young man
Face down in the street with a gun in his hand in the ghetto
And as her young man dies,
On a cold and grey Chicago mornin’
Another little baby child is born in the ghetto
And his mama cries
In the ghetto
In the ghetto

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