Go Graphic

GO GRa phic

BY VERONICA MONTALVO

They squint to smile, roll to judge, and wink to flirt. Yet as history has proven, the eyes can speak without the effort of facial muscles but with a smudged liner, false lash, or even a bejeweled lid.

Eyes are the most expressive sensory organ, thus are beloved by the great poets, painters, musicians, and makeup artists. They are the window to Shakespeare’s soul, the source of Mona Lisa’s peculiarity, and the charm of Van Morrison’s girl. Through the years, the eyes have come to mean a myriad of things to various people in diverse contexts. Yet what remains consistent is their unfailing capability to communicate. Whether belonging to a royal Ancient Egyptian or a dewy Gen Z, the eyes serve the same singular purpose: to inaudibly voice one’s truth.

To the pioneers of cosmetics, the truth is their physical, financial, and spiritual health. Ancient Egyptians routinely painted their eyes to reduce the sun’s glare, distinguish their socioeconomic status, and honor the deities. A green pigment coated their lids. A stroke of black kohl traced the almond-shaped circumference. Thick liner dragged out to meet the tail of the brow. It was dramatization for the sophisticate, and it was this refined drama that galvanized the Western Roaring Twenties. The discovery of Queen Nefertiti’s bust was a game-changer in the 1920s. Flappers were fascinated by the theatrical emphasis of Her Majesty’s eyes, a marvel propelling eye makeup to the century. Egyptomania was alive and well with the sumptuous Ancient aesthetic decorating the 20’s. Yet the flash, boom, and swing of the decade were muffled on screen. An actor’s truth is her character, and in silent Hollywood, this is communicated through the accentuation of the eyes. Thus artificial beauty was born–a cartoon-like look defined by pencil-thin brows, smokey lids, distinct lashes, and dark kisses. In the new century, graphic makeup is not exclusive to Hollywood. The stage extends outside of the theater walls, granting the audience the same freedom of creative expression. 21st-century eyes are lined, dotted, splattered, and glossed. A world of shape, color, and texture transcends the time-honored black liner, evolving the language of self-expression. Looks electrify with neon bolts, blaze from red flames, bloom flowers with every blink of an eye, and smoke clouds that drift below the brows.

Modern eye makeup is a boundless artform with the sole purpose of speaking one’s truth and being loud about it. It is an age when au naturale is as vocal as avant garde; when blue mascara is seen on a catwalk and a grocery run; when straight men are joining in on the fun. Though highly diverse, the adorned canvases voice one succinct message: go graphic–a call to action echoing loud in a pandemic world. Masks are in. With mouths covered and noses tucked, the eyes are more salient than ever. They witnessed the tragedies of the passing year yet reflect beauty back into the world. Scarface’s Tony Montana turns to Manny and utters his infamous line, The eyes, chico. They never lie. No matter the intended message, an emphasis on the eyes is an assertion of the truth. A touch of mascara sighs. A cat-eye whispers. A double-wing commands. Expression supersedes application. This generation unapologetically celebrates manifest authenticity whilst chasing the next opportunity to reinvent the self, rewrite the inner truth, and re-paint the canvas.