A contagious media experiment was done between four brainstorming artistic individuals in New York City. The goal was two fold: to create an artistic expression about female identity, and to create a meme that would spread throughout the virtual and physical landscapes - pre-calculated to be something people would want to send their friends. The site www.victoriassecret.com was reproduced verbatim using custom photography of female models (ourselves) wearing Victoria's Secret lingerie, vomiting all over the place. The hit statistics were off the charts. If you google "Victoria's Secret," our site comes up as #2. The results? Several interviews in different countries, one U.S. broadcast television spot, one INCREDIBLY overloaded webserver, one angry corporate lawyer, and one wonderful synergy between four artists at ITP just doing what ITPers do best: playing.
Alicia L Cervini Katherine Copeland (primary contact) Josh Nimoy Ann Poochareon
Visit the final site: www.WhatIsVictoriasSecret.com
a photo taken at the ITP Spring 2003 Show, beside a television displaying the news broadcast and a kiosk showing the website. From left to right: Ann, Kat, Josh.
The photoshoot took place on Feb 27 at the Algonquin Hotel at 59 West 44th Street, a block from Time Square. Below, Ann gets comfortable in her robe while Alicia enjoys a theoretical discussion on contagious media.
Josh tests the posing chair in the corner of the room. Measuring tape is wrapped around his neck.
Kat practices her pose in front of the camera in the wash room. Tapioca pudding smeared artfully on her face, chest, and hands. Notice the shutter trigger bulb under her foot.
large prints are being installed at an art exhibit in Rotterdam.
Interview by Laurent Jadot of CyberCafe.TV
* What group of artist are you? How many are you?
We are four artists who came together to create this project while attending graduate school in New York City. This project grew from our
desire to create something that was both about female identity and female objectification as well as the goal to create that idea into something
that would be contagious, something that would spread to a great number of people around the world. The group and the project drew its strength
from each of our individual interests and talents combined together in order to make whatisvictoriassecret.com. While we have not yet worked on a
second project together we all continue to work as artists individually as well as in other collaborations....however the idea of the next project
as a group is always brewing.
* Where can we find more information about your group? Website?
Information on the website and on us as a group can be found through some searching on the Internet. There was a piece featured on the
television show Celebrity Justice that dealt with the legal issues that we faced with Victoria's Secret the company. We are happy to provide any
information requested.
* Is your group composed only by women?
We are three women and one man.
* Do you have other artistic projects online?
We have various projects that can be accessed online individually but at this time there is not another project online that we have worked
on as a group.
* What where youre motivations in the creation of this website whatisvictoriassecret.com?
We wanted to create a piece of social commentary about the way women are represented in the media as well as the effects such
representations have on women in general who are constantly subjected to images of the "ideal type". We would like to answer our own criticism
with a follow up project that shows possible alternatives to the one view, one woman representation that seems common in our society.
We have received a variety of responses from ander, outrage, appreciation, disgust and enthusiasm. It seems to spark powerful reactions in
those that have been responding so in this sense we feel our message and the desire to spread it to vast group of people was achieved.