Fake It So Real 

Curator: Welcome. Today, we are looking at "Fake It So Real" by Troy Brooks, rendered with oil paint. It has a striking palette. Editor: Absolutely. The immediate impression is one of haunting elegance, those intense pinks and purples. Curator: The artist constructs a compelling image by appropriating and subverting popular culture, specifically feminine stereotypes from the mid-20th century. Editor: The composition itself is arresting. The figure dominates the space. There’s something unsettling in her pose—a calculated languor and stiffness. Curator: Brooks presents the female form not as essentially natural but as something meticulously constructed and performed. Her slightly masculine features are striking. The title points toward this tension of constructed reality. Editor: Observe how the smoke from the cigarette is juxtaposed with the small insects on her body; the texture of her skin contrasts with the glossy robe and perfectly coiffed hair. Are they beetles? Bees? They bring about such discomfort. Curator: Many consider the bugs or beetles as an act of protest and visual disruption. They stand as commentary on idealized notions of beauty and artificial constructs of the female image, drawing a connection to societal anxieties around femininity, decay, and the grotesque. Editor: I see them heightening a sense of artifice. It creates layers of semiotic meaning between allure and the uncanny. A kind of memento mori, that contrasts strangely with hyper-femininity. Curator: Brooks offers a commentary on beauty, inviting the viewer to reconsider what we find alluring and disquieting in a society obsessed with image. Editor: Yes, "Fake It So Real" stays with you. It’s a powerful, visually compelling piece that deserves repeated viewings. Curator: A piece like this provides such insights into how art can critique and reflect gendered societal expectations. Thank you for lending your perspective today.