Susan Anderson is a Los Angeles-based photographer specializing in art, advertising and editorial production. She excels in the art of portraiture, fashion photography or for beauty series. His fashion editorials have been published in many magazines such as Glamour, People or Playboy. Susan Anderson has also illustrated in photographs the humor books « Porn for Women » and its sequel « Porn for New Moms ». Her biting and humorous photos complement her chronicles for contemporary women.
The artist tells us about the genesis of his project High Glitz: the Extravagant World of Child Beauty Pageants.
First of all, thank you for accepting to answer our questions. What was your inspiration for this series of photos?
I was watching a documentary on TV about the history of the Miss America beauty pageant and started thinking that beauty pageants would be a good idea for my next art project. So I started reading and researching the subject. One day while surfing the net, I accidentally came across a page talking about mini-miss beauty contests. It was like a no-brainer then, I just knew by looking at this website and some of the photographs on the site that I had to do it. I had to go to these contests and photograph the participants. And that’s what I did, I went to events, set up a studio and was able to photograph these girls right before they went on stage.
On the one hand, it was a great idea logistically because I didn’t have to work with hair stylists, makeup artists, I didn’t have to wait for costumes, everything was already set up, and I could have all these people in one day ready to be photographed.
I had already done this backstage at a show in Los Angeles, I got to see different types of contestants and decided to go for these mini beauty pageants. So I wrote to the organizer of a Mini-Miss contest via the website and he invited me to come to the contest. I bought two tickets, one for my sister and one for me, and without really thinking about it, I went.
Did the parents make any difficulties for these photo sessions? Did you explain your project to them?
I told them that I was an artist, that I was also a photographer for magazines and advertisements. I have done several fashion editorials for luxury magazines in Los Angeles. I worked with professional models. And I knew perfectly well all the problems related to light, all the technical constraints. And then I told them I was doing a book and an exhibition when I had no publishing contract or gallery to exhibit. So I cheated a little bit in my own way but I was always honest about what I was doing. And then I finally got the book out and had to get them to sign a release because the girls are minors and everything could really get started.
Did my mini beauty queens enjoy the photo shoots because they look pretty happy and smiling in these pictures? At their age, I didn’t necessarily like all these things. They are both beautiful and hideous.
They are extreme because they have decided to be always in the best, to go always higher.
The first time I discovered this world for myself, I realized that there were different types of mini beauty pageants. The natural beauty contests with very little make-up, simple dresses where it is more a question of being a pretty girl and then there are the contests of higher category called High Glitz and it is those which interest me. In these contests, everything is exaggerated, hairstyles, makeup, outfits, which is finally very American. They even have hairpieces. I love beauty, cosmetics, all this women’s stuff, and I feel concerned by the almost obligation that women have to try to conform to the beauty canons of our society but here they try to reach something that is finally out of reach. The bar has definitely been set too high.
Do you plan to follow them as they grow to see their evolution?
Many people have asked me this question. I don’t have much contact with them. I follow some of them through what they do, I see what they become in the magazines. Many of the girls in my book are real beauty pageant stars. The best ones end up winning contests and go on their way. Some started when they were not yet ten years old. When they are thirteen to fifteen years old, it becomes more and more difficult for them as they enter their teenage years. I was quite awkward as a teenager, I didn’t wear makeup, nice outfits. I was also raised with three brothers. It was a world that was completely foreign to me.
It’s very interesting because for me it’s a bit like archaeology. For them, they live a real fairy tale, they are little princesses. This world is a « fantastic » world with a very specific vocabulary full of superlatives: supreme beauty, absolutely the prettiest, the most beautiful…. It’s hard to follow. They were the prettiest at 5 years old but what do you do when you become a teenager? What do you do when you become a woman? Being the prettiest at 5 years old is actually quite hard. I realized that young girls nowadays are much more aware of the icons that surround us, thanks to television and magazine covers. They know very well who their icons are and that younger and younger. When I was young, we watched television and that was it. It’s really a reflection of our times.
What is your next project?
I am interested in the concept of « blonde attitude ». There are so many interesting things about it. People will tell you that when you are blonde, you are not treated the same way as other women. Men react differently. It’s a different world when you’re a blonde. I myself was a blonde not so long ago but for a short time and I was able to experience this difference myself. But I must continue my research. Los Angeles is the capital of blondes, and for this project, I did a lot of reading and research. And then there is the myth of Barbie. I’m also interested in this side of plastic surgery, in this kind of conformity to an unattainable ideal that women are running after. This is really a complex and interesting subject.
Aren’t they finally trying to be a new Marylin Monroe?
Marilyn Monroe really had something special. No other woman has captured the collective imagination as she has. Maybe she was the first blonde. I mean there was Jean Harlow, Grace Kelly, there are different types of blondes but none of them were like Marylin Monroe. She has been an icon for much of her life.
There is also the Hitchkockian blonde.
I love the Hitchcockian blonde and this is one part I haven’t thought of yet. I am also a big fan of Hitchcock’s films.
I discovered on the project of the mini beauty queens that 90% of the girls I photographed were blond, real or fake by the way. It seems that there is a link between blondness and beauty finally. I don’t have anything concrete for my new project yet, I haven’t photographed anything yet….
Thank you very much for these answers. We look forward to seeing your next project.
Photo credits: © Susan Anderson Courtesy of
acte2galerie, Paris
Marie-Odile Radom
