While cognizant of the desire to escape conventional thought. I make a point of contention when elevating the fields of commerce and enterprise into realms of intellect and the philosophical. Both Vanessa Beecroft and Charles Ray rely upon preconceived notions that are perpetuated within our cultural mores. The artistic domain is often divided in regards to the placement of commercial art into the sphere of creativity, as if the popularity or profitability of such work somehow lessens its relevance. While shopping malls and fashion magazines are pantheons of trade, the merchandise that they provide is marketed to be sold, thereby increasing the profit of the institution both in market share and monies. In order to do this one can solicit to the elite and create single, one of a kind editions of haute couture such as Beecroft with her invitation only "performances", or pander to the most common denominator seeking mass appeal and multiple sales. While Ray who sees in himself the embodiment of "every" man, the average or easily overlooked, nudity is used to deliberately scandalize. Ray attempts to harness the discomfort of male nudity, his sculptures are rarely erotically charged, though Oh! Charley, Charley, Charley... is a clear reference to self gratification.

More frequently they are uncomfortable and humorous, much like the oeuvre of filmmaker Judd Apatow. To claim that the placement of genitalia upon a mannequin is meant to be a metaphor for the neutered male, one must realize that the mannequin's purpose is in the display of clothing, not to perpetuate ideals of individuality, but to replicate conformity. Mannequins within stores are harbingers of trend: a nude mannequin would be of no benefit for either the consumer or the vendor. Placing genitalia upon an enlarged Ken doll might present more gravitas, but would also enter the arena of child pornography. For Beecroft it is the pursuit of an idealistic ideal espoused within her selected models that provides the impetus for the neurosis and self doubt felt by herself and millions of women. Her performances are more akin to a theatrical stage with makeup, costume, and scenery. Where Ray's mannequin was to signify an ideal, for Beecroft each model is an ideal. Just as the designer shoes, swimming suits, and lipstick are bastions of wealth and status. The living flesh and bone personifies memento mori far more effectively, than a reference to a high art pose employed by an immovable stance when ravaged by gravity and time, as well as objective scrutiny. Playing on themes of opposition seems to be the calling card of Ray, while jarring in the attempt to dislodge viewers from comfortable rotes; the modus operandi is inefficient, akin to the degeneration of Kafka's Metamorphosis. Due to varying shifts in scale one is unable to trust the visual clues, unable to authenticate the stories and placards offered as signposts. Art is an amalgamation of influences, and while no one particular meaning or interpretation is static, overlapping layers of symbolism and meaning can provide considerable self realization. Both Beecroft and Ray highlight the footnotes of the mundane. For Ray household items, children's toys, and business uniforms provide in the classification of status, gender and sexual roles within our socio-economic stations. Whether it is the manipulation of scale adroitly rendered by Charles Ray, or the selection of a disenchanted automobile; the impish nature that conventional security must be challenged by a scrutiny usually reserved for more academic settings. It is in this vein that the concepts of art, whether it is the search for beauty or truth, can be felt by the every man and experienced in the everyday. I am disheartened that he is so casual about the use of mind altering substances in the creation of his ideas. I am similarly distressed when I hear the staggering rates of anorexia, and bulimia that affect young women. The innocuous nature of advertising, as well as the millions of dollars spent on make-up, beauty creams, or in more extreme cases plastic surgery. The attainment of beauty has taken a far more internal toll, and truth has been removed from the equation. In this light Vanessa Beecroft seems to embody the ideal, and yet with the specialization and farming of duties, I wonder if her legacy will be forgotten, minimized by the selection of brand names that may eclipse her.