marilyn art & sparkles

I stood in front of this artwork a few weeks ago. 

Monroe Doctrine: Marketing Sexuality
     mixed media
           by
Jo LeMay  Rutledge

     
As a teenager, my friends and I, would go to this poster shop,

in the mall.

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There were all these images of Marilyn Monroe.

 I wanted to know more about her.

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I tried to read different biographies.

I can't remember the titles.

I don't even know,

if I completed them.

A photo close up
of Marilyn's dress
from the artwork
at top of post.

I'd much rather read a story,

written in someone's

own words, & voice.  

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What I do remember about the books, was a feeling of sadness.

 At first, I thought she was just some

pretty movie star that died.

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Then I started asking questions.

Why was she on so many drugs?

Were they to help her feel happy

when she was depressed, or to help her lose weight, or sleep?

Then I pondered the whole concept

of her reinventing herself,

changing her name,

changing her hair color.

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 Isn't that something many of us do?

We try to create the person

we want to become.

We do things so others will accept us,

 or find ourselves more pleasing.

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Would she have been as popular if she hadn't done those things? 

What if she hadn't posed nude, because she needed the money?

via

Did she make those decisions herself, or was she manipulated?

Wasn't she just searching for love & acceptance?

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I stumbled upon this  online article that compares past Marilyn's photos to current celebrities imitating these images in photographs.

 statue of Marilyn
Chicago CBS

CBS news

After reading those books, my teenage self cried the next time I heard that song, Candle In The Wind,

as if I suddenly knew, what it meant, and what it truly was about.

via

Have you ever known you were growing up, because you thought someone was one thing, but they became more than that?

They became multifaceted.