Just a few days ago I got into a heated debate with a stranger online about whether models are “artists” or not. I was just scrolling down my twitter and saw, “Models really consider themselves artists??” Normally I would ignore something like that, but recently I’ve made the decision that I personally will learn how to express myself better as an artist, so that the world can perceive me the way that I see myself. With that being said, I do not consider myself a model in any way or form but I felt the need to defend it…..for the sake of art. Like, who are we to judge who is and who is not an artist? There are a ton of various forms of art and I believe that if you, as a person, believe that you are creating art who am I to say you are not an artist? I believe that art is subjective, there is no way I can give you any one definition of what art is. It’s all in the individuals perception.
Anyways, back to this argument I had. He kept saying things like “Being pretty isn’t a talent, it’s cool that God made you easy to look at but that doesn’t make you an artist because you can wear clothes and get photographed.” I promise you guys, I was so mad. I guess in his mind all he thought modeling was, was just like… catalog photos for clothing brands or something. I kept saying that being a model isn’t just about being pretty, that runways and fashion shows, billboards and advertisements is not ALL that modeling is. To me, models create poetry with their bodies, tell stories in their movements, speak different languages with their eyes and convey so many emotions in their facial expressions. His argument was that the photographer alone is the artist because he is the one creating the art, whereas I arguing that if that’s the case, if you are the muse, the subject of a photo, doesn’t it still make you an artist because you are the one inciting it? Then of course, he said things like, “If you photograph a lion does that make you the artist or is the lion?” -_- I got so irritated at that point that I just stopped responding because I figured there was no way I was going to get through to this person. Going back to what I said earlier, art is subjective to each individual. I realized that I maybe I was being hypocritical because a model being an artist was in fact, my personal opinion, and my personal view of artistry. I can not make him see art the way I do, and it was “wrong” of me to try to force my opinion on him because he is free to view it any way he’d like. In the end, I concluded that all I needed to do was surround myself with like-minded people, are there was really no need for me to get that upset over someone else’s opinion on what art is.
Unruly Bodies 
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Your post reminded me of the debate over whether or not Kendall Jenner is a true model or product of her family’s business.
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/news/a33714/model-slams-kendall-jenner-kardashians/
I can believe modeling is an art. Look at Coco Rocha! But I do think there are a lot of people who use it for vanity’s sake and that is why people like that guy you talked to think modeling cannot be a legit form of artistry. But you’re right, modeling isn’t only about clothes and marketing.
I totally agree with you, who are we to judge other people’s work and art? To me every artist is unique and it is not necessary for everyone to like the same type of art work. So, we should always respect other people’s opinions and points of view and always remember that every individual has a different perspective.
Modeling actually involves a lot of work and skill, whether it’s on the runway, for a photo shoot, or for a figure drawing class. Sure, some of it, particularly for fashion/advertising, is the luck of whether your appearance matches normative beauty standards or you can fit into the clothes that designers are making–the same kind of luck that goes into having a small frame for gymnastics or being really tall for basketball. But the model usually has to think about positioning, framing, and lighting just as much as the photographer, and has to have minute control over facial expression and body language to be able to co-create the finished result with the person who is doing the recording.
The model isn’t just an object or a blank canvas, but an active participant in the process. A lion has no awareness that “art” is a thing that’s happening. A model is a human being with agency.