Appropriation art has boomed since Dina Goldstein began her “Fallen Princess” photo series in 2007, which debuted at CHG Circa last Saturday. All over the world, artists seem to be re-contextualizing pop-culture characters in unfortunate situations. Goldstein’s new work may fit into this trend, but she isn’t making a commentary about Disney. As a female visual artist and pop surrealist raised in Tel Aviv, she’s taking an honest look at the challenges that modern women face. Hers is a tongue-in-cheek remark about ideals of beauty and dreams, and how that fits into real-world ‘happily ever afters’.
Dina Goldstein with her work at the opening.
Rapunzel is now going through chemo and has lost her famed long, golden hair. Snow White is a stay at home Mom with four kids, while Prince Charming watches sports on tv. We find Sleeping Beauty in a retirement home, asleep and still waiting for her true love’s kiss. Even Barbie can’t catch a break. In Goldstein’s “In the Dollhouse”, she settles into her perfect pink dollhouse with Ken, before catching him in bed with another man.
Goldstein’s images don’t stop at a smart idea. Pops of color and soft lighting make them look more like hyper realistic paintings. One can also appreciate the art direction behind her model’s static doll poses, down to the seams in their joints. So, does this mean the future of Goldstein’s woman is bleak? That depends on how the viewer defines beauty. On her Facebook page, Goldstein shares, “Disney should make a Princess with no hair so that every little girl who’s fighting cancer can feel beautiful.”
“Fallen Princesses” by Dina Goldenstein exhibits at CHG Circa from May 17th to June 14th, 2014.
Self-taught photographer 
Photographer Aida Muluneh has lived all over the world, but it was in returning to Ethiopia that she found inspiration for her latest body of work. Muluneh's first solo exhibition for David Kruts Projects in New York City was titled “The World is 9,” and it featured new images from the artist. The title comes from something the artist’s grandmother used to say: “The world is 9. It is never complete and never perfect.”
“Like Water” is a series from photographer JuneYoung Lim, who brings kinetic, liquid forms into cityscapes. The artist says that she considers there to be two elements to a city: the towering structures and the “ever-fluid” citizens that occupy it. The goal of this project is to "combine to create an air of vitality to the otherwise acid city."