Yoona Lee

Beauty and Technologies for Malleable Body - Cosmetic Surgery and Instagram In Contemporary Feminist Art

Beauty is not only an idealistic or vain pursuit, it is also a materialistic one. In our society saturated with visual media and celebrities, human bodies have become the primary vehicle for displaying beauty. Enhancing the visual appeal of one’s visual body is increasingly affecting our social and professional life. We present photos of ourselves to (potential) friends, partners, and employers as the wrapping on the package. Intertwined with our personal, social, and professional interests, possessing a beautiful body is capital or it gives us capital for thriving. Cosmetic surgery and Instagram are beauty-enhancing technologies that each manage our corporeal and digital body. The availability of these technologies along with changing trends in beauty makes our body malleable, subject to pressure for an update. The cover image is from a photography series titled Beauty Recovery Room (2014) by Ji Yeo, who took portraits of patients just out of invasive cosmetic surgeries (mostly in South Korea). Another artist featured in this exhibition is Amalia Ulman, who presented herself as an Instagirl on her account and later revealed it was a hoax, a performance titled Excellences & Perfections (2014). With Beauty Recovery Room and Excellences & Perfections, this exhibition explores the inner workings of beauty-enhancing technologies.

Temporality of pain:

Cosmetic surgery is often understood as transformation from the pre-op body to the post-op body, as seen in “before-and-after” photos. Images of recuperating bodies in Beauty Recovery Room bring forward the temporality of pain, which is usually omitted in this narrative. This temporality of pain allows for visceral engagement even when mediated through photography. Engaging with this body yet to have a fixed form after cosmetic surgery, we can think about the cosmetic surgery separate from the narrative of transformation.

An impasse:

The most circulated photos of Beauty Recovery Room series feature wounded women posed in stillness, and are taken with medium format film camera. This photo of the only male subject is never mentioned. This is also taken in digital, not in film, during the later phase of the series. I argue that digital photography’s dubious claim to “truth” and our urge to essentialize gender in the discussion of cosmetic surgery are related to this omission. This photograph signifies an impasse of cosmetic surgery that has the potential for opening up broader discussions on gender.

`Amalia Ulman’s Instagram account during the performance, image by Emma Maguire`

Cost of being an Instagirl:

Amalia Ulman was an exemplary to young artists wishing to navigate their way in the art world using Instagram – promoting their work and themselves – until her account took a turn. Ulman was not an “artsy brunette” anymore, but a too-conventional “Instagirl”. Her account grew tremendously but her reputation as a serious artist suffered. This is because Ulman’s Instagram account was taken by the audience as the representation of her subjecthood, not as mere images. By revealing that posts on her Instagram had been fictional for the past few months, Ulman separated herself from her online persona.

`Capture from the archived Excellences & Perfections by Rhizome`

Instagirl tropes:

Excellences & Perfections is deleted from Ulman’s account and is archived on a separate page by Rhizome. The image shows Ulman’s Instagram profiles during the performance. The narrative of the performance is simple: a young woman moves into a big city to live a luxurious life (part 1), develops bad behaviors and breaks down publicly (part 2), and then restores peace by returning to family (part 3). Each part is embodied by a “kawaii girl”, “hustler girl”, and a “new-age healed girl”, constituted with specific filters, props, backgrounds and poses. Ulman’s removing her authenticity from her online presence made visible the gender performativity on Instagram and how people believe in feminine tropes constructed with digital technologies.

`Capture of Amalia Ulman’s Instagram post on September 27, 2021`

Dear algorithm:

Eight years after the performance is over, Amalia Ulman is still active on Instagram, sometimes promoting works like her movie El Planeta which was released in 2021. In this post, Ulman is addressing the algorithm – “Dear algorithm, let everyone know that the tickets to see @elplanetafilm in LA at @landmarktheatres go on sale on the 28th.” By doing so, Ulman lets the audience know that the post does not represent Ulman, but it is her response to Instagram’s programming of visibility.

Yoona Lee

*(she/her)*
Art History ‘22

I’m Yoona, a senior Art History student. I came to the U.S. in 2018 from South Korea. While working on this project, I developed interest in philosophy of subjectivity and Foucault's political philosophy. It remains undecided if I will go to a graduate school, nor if I will try to stay in the U.S. after the graduation. Wherever I am, I want to be teaching myself and others critical reading and writing. Currently, I live with a big Jamaican family of three generations of women in Upper Darby, P.A. where I’m eating well and feeling connected.

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