Hell of a Mess
We must admit, we have a certain fascination with messy things. There are definitely scholarly psychological studies on the matter, but our armchair psychologist observation falls somewhere in the realm of an innate human interest in discomfort, and how a visual mess makes one feel. While some are unfazed, others may be repulsed or attracted to a mess. We’re just scratching the surface here, in terms of experiences and the mental processes behind them, but San Diego-based photographer Keith Allen Phillips actually sets forth an intriguing series that got us thinking about this in the first place. Aptly entitled Messy, Phillips’s series verges on the subversive… naked women covered in a variety of messy foods. The results are actually sort of unexpected, and we almost forget about the food aspect, and focus instead on the mess, and how the models must feel (is it titillating, liberating, frustrating?). This thought-provoking series really does bring up so many feelings, exemplifying the true power of art.
