For the first blog post for Paul’s 142 class, I decided to look into and learn more about art director and designer Bea Feitler. Not only does she have an impressive career, becoming an art director at Harpers Bazaar at 25, but as one of the only female art directors of the time, she had a unique visual language that resonates in the art world to this day
Bea Feitler was a Brazilian designer, most well known for her art direction for well-known fashion magazines. She graduated from Parson’s school of design and during her career, she aimed to change the female body from a subject of over-sexualization to an artistic element, using an objective lens to integrate pictures of women into her magazine covers.
Bea Feitler was aware of the graphic designer’s influence on society, noticing how design could shape populations. Therefore, she purposefully wanted to expose the theme of gender equality
Throughout her career, she faced similar problems as women do to this day. From negotiating her salary to a lack of proper credit, she struggled with it all. Due to this, she purposefully made it her mission to establish femininity as a force to be reckoned with.(She quit Harper’s Bazaar due to their inability to give her a raise)
In 1965, Feitler and Richard Avedon hired the first black model to be on the front cover of Harpers Bazaar. Due to an overwhelming amount of backlash, Feitler and the other fashion magazine designers didn’t dare try to hire black models until a good couple of years afterward.
When mentioned in class, Feitler immediately caught my attention. As someone who had tried to enact change earlier than history would have it – hiring a black model for a front cover – I wanted to read more into her work and who she was as a person. It was satisfying, to learn that she had a very strong personality and wanted to push the limits of pretty much every aspect of her life. But it was also disappointing because there was just so little on her that I could find. I think she truly embodies what I believe artists should strive for: enact good and aim to improve society through art.
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