Slick Imagery: Vogue Italia Takes on the BP Spill

This has been the “Summer of the Spill.” Since the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion on April 20, 2010, the epic BP oil spill has oozed into imaginations trying to grasp the ecological and economic toll on the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. Corporate engineering efforts to cap the spill often seemed to be based on consultation with Wile E. Coyote. Even pictures from space of the devastation seem more surreal than actual. In a fashion spread in the August issue of Vogue Italia, fashion photographer Steven Meisel takes on the tragedy in a controversial fashion shoot titled “Water & Oil,” which features model Kristen McMenamy posed in scenes as if she were part of the wildlife caught in the murky pool. Meisel’s photos represent the first artistic attempt to put this event in intelligible images. But, is this really just a slick new way of attracting the public eye? Is Meisel being insensitive? In other words, is he being (pardon the pun) crude? Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Slick Imagery."