Cecile Plaisance

Drawing her inspiration from the grand masters of photography – Avedon, Lindbergh, Newton or Toscani, among others – Cécile Plaisance uses lenticular printing to allow the viewer to dress or undress the models, real women, barbies, idealized beauties that are everywhere around us. This time though, the models, whether human or doll, have an unapologetic way of looking right into the camera, as a way of reclaiming their right to display their charms, to seduce, to pleasure . . . in other words, to live hedonistically, regardless of religion, the male gaze or cultural boundaries. A fun tribute to all women with Cécile’s humor: it’s a statement!

As Cécile’s photography progressed, she linked Barbie to the women of today — all the while playing with her femininity, as the icon took on many lives while juggling her daily life as wife, mother, friend and lover. She was doing what all women do and thoroughly enjoying it: flirty in her convertible; sexy on the beach; powerful as executive of her own company, autonomous, ageless, and in the end — alone as beautiful women can be in life — a Stepford wife no longer. Cécile also added humor to the Barbie mix by targeting men who absolutely expect sexiness in their women even while assuming everyday responsibilities.

Over and above the myth of woman as object, the artist elevates the idol of our collective childhood by supporting the challenges of women today to defend their rights, their desires and their hard-fought freedom. The nun’s cloak and the burka of a veiled woman now suggests that behind one woman’s outer persona, is another one hiding. From complex subtleties to bold statements, Cécile Plaisance’s artistic eye has found them all. Despite the differences in cultures, in clothes and fashion, and the diversity of paths taken, women aspire to live fully and intensely their multifaceted lives and no Taliban will ever change that. In capturing the essence of all women in the perfect body of one, the artist has created a genre uniquely her own yet accessible to all. She uses the technique of lenticular photography by superimposing images: Barbie appears to undress depending on one’s position in front of the photo.

What if God were a woman? “Fuck the rules” is her latest series of photos that ignores established precepts and, instead, delivers an open perspective in which men and women accompany one another religiously, like complementary souls. Far from the mummifying codes of religion, Cécile Plaisance invites us into a subtle and sensual freedom of the senses, where a woman is seen as a female pope, the exclusive mistress of her own decisions.

Find a collection of original Cécile Plaisance photography on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of photography on 1stDibs today.

The first permanent image created by a camera — which materialized during the 1820s — is attributed to Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. The French inventor was on to something for sure. Kodak introduced roll film in the 1880s, allowing photography to become more democratic, although cameras wouldn’t be universally accessible until several decades later. 

Digital photographic techniques, software, smartphone cameras and social-networking platforms such as Instagram have made it even easier in the modern era for budding photographers to capture the world around them as well as disseminate their images far and wide. 

What might leading figures of visual art such as Andy Warhol have done with these tools at their disposal?

Today, when we aren’t looking at the digital photos that inundate us on our phones, we look to the past to celebrate the photographers who have broken rules as well as records — provocative and prolific artists like Horst P. Horst, Lillian Bassman and Helmut Newton, who altered the face of fashion and portrait photography; visionary documentary photographers such as Gordon Parks, whose best-known work was guided by social justice; and pioneers of street photography such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, who shot for revolutionary travel magazines like Holiday with the likes of globetrotting society lensman Slim Aarons.

Find photographers you may not know in Introspective and The Study — where you’ll read about Berenice Abbott, who positioned herself atop skyscrapers for the perfect shot, or “conceptual artist-adventurer” Charles Lindsay, whose work combines scientific rigor with artistic expression, or Massimo Listri, known for his epic interiors of opulent Old World libraries. Photographer Jeannette Montgomery Barron was given a Kodak camera as a child. Later, she shot on Polaroid film before buying her first 35mm camera in her teens. Barron's stunning portraits of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Warhol and other artists chronicle a crucial chapter of New York’s cultural history.

Throughout the past two centuries, photographers have used their medium to create expressive work that has resonated for generations. Shop a voluminous collection of this powerful fine photography on 1stDibs. Search by photographer to find the perfect piece for your living room wall, or spend some time with the work organized under various categories, such as landscape photography, nude photography and more.