The Vintage Collages of Anne Taintor
“...ONE COCKTAIL AWAY FROM PROVING HIS MOTHER RIGHT”
About 70 years ago, advertisements began to do much more than provide information about a product—they turned to selling an idealized way of life.
Anne Taintor’s clever, subversive art offers a would-be backstage pass into the internal monologues of those who participated in these utopian displays.
The Secret Ingredient Is Resentment. Image courtesy of Anne Taintor.
From a combination of original advertisements, landscapes, interiors, and colored paper, Taintor creates a unique style of collage that mimics the look of 1930s-, ’40s-, and ’50s-era publications. The apparent “domestic tranquility” presented in these idyllic scenes contrasts with the witty quips attributed to the men and women involved.
In recent years, Taintor has had the pleasure of contacting many of the original models from the vintage advertisements, affectionately referring to them as her “Taintorettes.”
The artist emphasizes that, despite the constrained gender roles they were selling, these women were pioneers of sorts, progressively building their own careers. “At a time when it was far from the norm, many of these women were wage-earners on whom their families depended,” she affirms, “even as they posed as ladies who could conceive nothing more thrilling than a new brand of dish soap.” —DJS
Of Course It Buys Happiness. Image courtesy of Anne Taintor.