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Makeup Artist Stands by His Image Accused of Blackface:  I Can’t Apologize for What I Find Beautiful

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A makeup artist won’t apologize for posting a photo which led to criticism after he transformed a white woman into a Black woman using makeup.

“I deleted the post, not because I had regret or saw wrongdoing, but because of the negativity social media turned it into,” the male Los Angeles-based artist wrote. “It’s been assumed by most that my intentions were to transform my model into a Black woman. Truth is, my intentions were to keep the look vague enough to be relatable to many women of different cultures, but the true inspiration of the overall look came from my Cuban heritage. Although I am saddened by how many people are angered, I can’t offer an apology for my artwork and for what I find to be beautiful.”

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The transformation that I recently posted of a woman transformed into a woman of another culture has been highly criticized by those who don't understand the message. I deleted the post, not because I had regret or saw wrongdoing, but because of the negativity social media turned it into. It's been assumed by most that my intentions were to transform my model into a black woman. Truth is, my intentions were to keep the look vague enough to be relatable to many women of different cultures, but the true inspiration of the overall look came from my Cuban heritage. Although I am saddened by how many people are angered, I can't offer an apology for my artwork and for what I find to be beautiful. The transformation came from a place of love and was not about mocking one's race, but rather about celebrating it. I am so proud to be illustrating a woman representing several cultures along with their achievements, beliefs and histories. Art is interpreted differently by all and sometimes it's uncomfortable, but making this world a better place starts with our mindset – thinking positive, showing love and practicing unity.

A post shared by SPENCER (@paintedbyspencer) on

The offending Saturday, May 27, Instagram post, which featured Swedish model Anna Thorsell, was shared with a disclaimer that it wasn’t “about a race change.”

“This is about one woman acknowledging, embracing and celebrating the beauty of another woman’s culture,” he wrote, noting he initially held off from posting it out of fear it would be a “racial scandal against me.”

Instantly, several on social media slammed the imagery as blackface, in which white 19th-century minstrel performers wore things like shoe polish to appear Black. The Instagram look is one the makeup artist said was the “proudest I’ve ever been of my work.”

https://twitter.com/WickedBeaute/status/868907341344907265

And @PaintDatFace’s clarification post was also poorly received.

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