And Everything Nice

  

all photos courtesy of Hannah Altman; www.hannahaltmanphoto.com

 I discovered Hannah Altman's most recent photo series on Tumblr this morning; by mid-afternoon, she had been featured in a BuzzFeed article and received over 200,000 hits for the images she posted to her Tumblr page only a few days earlier.

The series, as described on her website, is, "an unflinching analysis of the standard for female beauty. The ongoing series consists of women in states of affliction; the body fluid of the models have been replaced with glitter to visualize the concept of girls invariably needing to seem attractive regardless of the actual situation."

I was so moved by the images that I reached out to Hannah in hopes that she would answer a few questions about the inspiration behind these photos. Luckily, she was kind enough to respond. Our exchange is featured below:

How has your relationship with beauty standards changed after you published this series?

Publishing this series has really opened my eyes to the immensity of gender inequality. What started as an intimate project shot in my dorm room has quickly turned into a statement that raises awareness of an international issue.

There seems to be a lot of pain behind this photo series; why?

The photos are raw because they are real. If the photos were emotionless, they would not express the real emotion felt in depth by real women.

Why did you choose glitter to represent the tears, vomit or blood in the series?

Glitter is the opposite of gross. Glitter is sparkly, eye catching, and pretty, unlike body fluids. The purpose is to draw a contrast between natural substance in the female body and a projected, shiny image.

What has the response to this series been like in comparison to your previous series?

I posted this series on my tumblr (hannahaltmanphoto) to a modest amount of followers, and it quickly began to circulate. In 24 hours it had gained over 120,000 notes on tumblr, when my usual posts get 60 notes. The difference is mind blowing.

What is your goal for the future? Would you like to explore this concept of female beauty standards further? If so, what would you like to focus on next?

The goal for the future definitely includes more projects involving feminism. The first step in changing how a society works is in the education of the people that make it up.

You can find the rest of her work at www.hannahaltmanphoto.com.

Much love (and thanks to Hannah),

Emily