Awesome Photos of Women in the IDF (No, We're Not Talking About Maxim)

That has to be one of the worst mattresses ever, on the top bunk.

Not paying attention to the mattress!lol

I'm dumbstruck by the banality of what I see here.

The photography is not much more than lightly veiled porn meant to gratify the fetish so many non Israelis have regarding men, and especially women, in uniforms.

The photos themselves are nothing more than snapshots that appear at times to have been taken without the consent or awareness of the subjects. Not much better than the work of an "upskirt" photographer, and probably just as legal.

Despite the vast amounts of artistic jargon Ms.Papo wraps her photography in I'm afraid I just don't buy it.

I'm happy however to see that the Goyim and the vast uneducated masses remain as stupid as ever, and that Ms. Papo has got herself a book deal.

I'm pretty certain that there is no worry of the subjects of her photos ever seeing any compensation for their modeling work... In this at least Ms. Papo shows less scruples than most porn producers - they at least pay their models.

As always, my take on the subject - the print "Penetration"

Mike Darnell
Digital Art from Jerusalem

For Americans who've never served in the military and never plan to, it can be really hard to identify with pictures of soldiers in full uniform carrying guns.  What I like about this picture is the way it shows a soldier doing something universal and utterly non-militaristic, something it's very easy to imagine doing oneself. 

I look at this picture and I see a woman who could be me, or at least a younger version of me, doing something I do every day. And it makes me think about how radically different my life would be if I'd grown up in Israel, which seems like a fairly worthy reaction for a photographer to provoke.

Everything in the composition of the photo -- the angle of her body, the angle of the shadows -- points the eye towards the soldier's face, not the mystery space in the skirt of her uniform.  I hate to be confrontational, but it seems to me that seeing this as an "upskirt" picture (and assuming, with no research, that these women are being exploited) says a lot more about you than it does about the photographer.

Izzy, I agree that Darnell's comments about the picture are unenlightened and that he makes entirely unwarranted assumptions about the subject's consent, etc.

But I'm kind of surprised that, in pointing these things out, you let his overtly bigoted opinion about the intelligence of Gentiles pass unmentioned.  

You see things your way I see things my way.

Maybe I've been blunted by familiarity but I wasn't far off in my understanding of the rather banal lure behind these photos. 

To make this utterly clear: 
"...the way it shows a soldier doing something universal and utterly non-militaristic..."
is exactly what I was reacting to. 

If it takes peeping tom angle photography to trivialize and therefore humanize a person in uniform then it is only because the beholding eye is so enamored with the shell it can no longer see beyond it. We return to my claim that these photos merit notice only by those for whom military service is an unknown, for those who perceive it as alien, exotic even.

The photo chosen for this piece can be understood as you choose to explain it. Other work chosen to promote Ms. Papos book displays a group of female soldiers from the rear, with their shapeless, dehumanized posteriors, pretty much dead center of the composition. And what are they doing? Buying at the canteen... The average Israeli girl gains between 5-7kgs during her military service. The army is the ruin of Israeli girls figures and Ms Papo is there to witness, document and profit.

I guess I'm angry because the photos are cynical and lack any compassion. It's obviously legit - but it stinks...   I doubt that the photos would merit any notice at all if they were of anything but Israeli female soldiers.

There was no call for my joking comment on the stupidity of Goyim - point taken, apologies all around. My humor isn't known neither for its subtlety nor for its political correctness - to my loss.

Digital Art from Jerusalem

Mike Darnell

First, you're absolutely right that I'm looking at these photos from the P.O.V. of someone who doesn't know what it's like to be in the military.  Jewcy's audience is mostly made up of American Jews, and the demographic reality is that most of us won't ever experience life as soldiers.  Ditto the audience for Powerhouse, which published Papo's book. Is it weird, dangerous, or unjust that America doesn't have compulsory military service?  Maybe, but that's hardly Rachel Papo's fault.

Second, I'm not sure I see your point about the canteen or soldiers gaining weight.  Are you suggesting there's some kind of semi-pornographic market for pictures of women buying candy bars?  Also, why do you assume the audience cares whether women in the IDF have nice figures?  Isn't the whole point that they're soldiers, not models?

Third, do you mean that the pictures would draw much less interest if they were of men?  Because I completely agree about that.  There are countless novels, paintings, and photos of men's experiences as soldiers -- it's been covered many, many times.  Whereas female soldiers are still pretty new to us, which is what makes them so interesting.  I don't see that as cynical at all.

"Ismail, honestly, I kind of assumed "the goyim" meant me too." 

Welcome to the tribe!  I've been assigned to be your Gentile Orientation Year Information Monitor (GOYIM). We have a hunting seminar scheduled for tomorrow at 10AM, just before the Drinking before Noon breakout group. Speaking in Monotones follows at noon. After chapel, my colleague Amanda Pepperidge will speak on "New Directions In Mayonnaise and Ritz Crackers".

What fun! So glad you will be joining us!  

I seriously doubt that you really think I am referring to the images as "pornographic" in anything but a metaphorical sense. I also couldn't help noticing you avoided making any reference to the comments I made regarding the photos' compositions and the lack of compassion.

If you don't see the act of photographing the behinds of five young women without their consent and then publishing the photo for personal gain as demeaning to those five women, then I wonder were you do start feeling that an image is demeaning, if at all?

As for the canteen picture being a reference to gaining weight:
I never claimed that there is a market for pornographic material depicting women buying candy. I think that the allegation is a preposterous evasion on your part to actually acknowledge that this photo is a cynical and demeaning reference to one of the many side effects of the Israeli phenomenon of female soldiers.

I assume the audience cares about the figures of women in the IDF because we all know the audience cares about figures period, and the figures of women in particular. Any attempt to claim otherwise would be either dishonest or autistic.

It's a sad fact of life but a well documented one -
we all prefer looking at,
being around,
and interacting with good looking people.

Art and culture are heavily biased in favor of the "pretty crowd" with representations of beauty outnumbering representations of the mundane or ugly to such an extent that often when an artist chooses to spotlight the mundane or unaesthetic it is exactly because he or she is being cynical or critical.

Regrading whether I meant that the photographs are only interesting because they depict female soldiers I'd like to clarify that what I meant was that artistically speaking the photographs are plain, uninteresting and warrant no special merit in terms of their composition, coloring, contrast, etc.
They are simple snapshots, nothing more and nothing less.

Mike Darnell

Digital Art from Jerusalem

"...artistically speaking the photographs are plain, uninteresting and warrant no special merit in terms of their composition, coloring, contrast, etc. ... They are simple snapshots, nothing more and nothing less."

That's where you lost me. I respectfully disagree with your assessment of "composition, coloring, contrast." Simple snapshots? Uhm... no. And this is coming from a person who sees Chayalot every single day.

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I blog about your dog at Jewlicious.com

I respectfully respect your respectful disagreement. And this is coming from a person who sees bloggers every single day.

: )

Mike Darnell
Digital Art from Jerusalem

PS
Although it was fun this debate has served to remind all the reasons that a while back I promised myself I would try and abstain from making comments about the artistic endeavors of others...

The bottom line is simple - Ms. Papo has succeeded in commercializing her art and making a living from it - to my humble opinion that is the only thing that counts.

I wish her all the best and as much success as she wishes ; )

Mike 

 I know what it means to me... your last line would not be out of place say, in dismissing the dismissal-worthy "art" of Bougereaux. Except he used the female form to titillate his wealthy male patrons in the guise of depicting lofty scenes from from Greek and Roman mythology. I just don't get that exploitative vibe from Papo's work. Of course her work is noteworthy for using depictions of female soldiers - women are not usually thought of as fierce, duh. But what gets me is how despite the M-16s, combat boots, and army uniforms, these women manage to retain their personalities and individualities in an endeavor that usually crushes these. Her work is a statement on the nature of femininity and on the nature of armed services in Israel. I say, neato! You don't. That's cool. We can still be friends.

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It's just me and your Mom at Jewlicious.com

How one interpretes them. Those young ladies pay tribute to Israeli/Jewish womanhood!

"..<i>I promised myself I would try and abstain from making comments about the artistic endeavors of others</i>..."...could you work a little harder on that?... t