As you can see from the blog's logo change, this year we'll be under the horoscope of Marilyn Monroe. 😍
It is with enormous enthusiasm that I present to you a very special series, designed by me, to celebrate the centenary of the woman behind the myth:
Norma Jeane – The Pin-Up Years Paper Doll
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| Norma Jeane paper doll with casual outfit |
As I told you before the first time I saw Marilyn Monroe was in a magazine. I must have been about seven or eight years old. The article said something like, “Hollywood killed Norma Jeane to make way for Marilyn Monroe.” My early literacy didn't allow me to understand the metaphor. What caught my attention was a photo of Norma Jeane posing for Earl Moran. I ran to my brother and said, “Look what they did, they killed this girl to put this one in her place…” Then he explained that they were the same person. From that moment on, her images were etched in my memory.
Marilyn: the most photographed, reinterpreted, and reinvented woman.
Marilyn Monroe is perhaps one of the most written about, studied, and photographed figures in film history. So, instead of revisiting her most iconic looks—the white dress, the pink dress, the gold dress—I decided to take a different path. I want to return to the beginning. To Norma Jeane's first steps as a pin-up, model, and starlet, long before Hollywood transformed her into a universal symbol.
When she met Emmeline Snively, director of the Blue Book Modeling Agency, she described the young Norma Jeane like this: “She had a beautiful body, but her clothes didn't flatter it. Her hair didn't either—it was shapeless, a tightly curled tangle that didn't enhance her features. She didn't wear makeup, but she had beautiful skin, eyes, and teeth. The following year, I spent a lot of time thinking about and transforming Norma Jeane Dougherty, or Marilyn Monroe, as she is known today.”For an entire year, Snively worked with her: he taught her how to pose, how to dress, how to style her hair, how to look at the camera. She prepared her for her first screen test—the true starting point of the metamorphosis that, little by little, would give rise to the dazzling star the world knows today.
My tribute
This series is a work of fan art that will illustrate her evolution from her days as a young factory worker in an aircraft components factory, still called Norma Jeane Dougherty, to the moment she begins to emerge as a model and then a young actress. A simple tribute that seeks to honor the memory she left us. After all, it all started with a simple, universal, profoundly human desire:
I wanna be loved by you, just you
And nobody else but you 💋
Bibliography compiled based on print and digital sources:
Franse, A., & Morgan, M. (2015). Before Marilyn: The Blue Book Modeling Years.
Vogel, M. (2014). Marilyn Monroe: Her Films, Her Life. McFarland & Company.
Casting Norma Jeane: A Starlet is Transformed Into Marilyn Monroe. (ano não indicado).
Lo, D. (2012). Marilyn Monroe: A Life in Pictures.
Julien’s Auctions. (s.d.). Déjà Vu (catálogo de leilão)
Divine Marilyn Monroe. (s.d.). CanalBlog. https://divinemarilyn.canalblog.com
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A primeira vez que vi Marilyn Monroe foi numa revista. Eu teria uns sete ou oito anos. O artigo dizia algo como “Hollywood matou Norma Jeane para dar lugar a Marilyn Monroe”. A minha literacia infantil não me permitiu compreender a metáfora. O que me prendeu a atenção foi uma fotografia de Norma Jeane a posar para Earl Moran. Corri para o meu irmão e disse-lhe: “Olha o que fizeram, mataram esta moça para pôr esta no seu lugar…” Então ele explicou-me que eram a mesma pessoa. A partir desse momento, as imagens dela ficaram gravadas na minha memória.
Marilyn: a mulher mais fotografada, reinterpretada e reinventada.
Marilyn Monroe é, talvez, uma das figuras sobre quem mais se escreveu, das mais estudadas e fotografadas da história do cinema. Por isso, em vez de revisitar os seus looks mais icónicos — o vestido branco, o rosa, o dourado — decidi seguir outro caminho. Quero regressar ao início. Aos primeiros passos de Norma Jeane como pin‑up, modelo e starlet, muito antes de Hollywood a transformar num símbolo universal.
Quando conheceu Emmeline Snively, diretora da Blue Book Modeling Agency, esta descreveu assim a jovem Norma Jeane:
“Tinha um corpo bonito, mas as roupas não lhe favoreciam. O cabelo também não — era disforme, um emaranhado muito encaracolado, que não lhe realçava os traços. Não usava maquilhagem, mas tinha uma pele, olhos e dentes bonitos. No ano seguinte, passei muito tempo a pensar e a transformar a Norma Jeane Dougherty, ou Marilyn Monroe, como lhe chamam hoje.”
Durante um ano inteiro, Snively trabalhou com ela: ensinou-a a posar, a vestir-se, a arranjar o cabelo, a olhar para a câmara. Preparou-a para o primeiro teste de ecrã — o verdadeiro ponto de partida da metamorfose que, pouco a pouco, daria origem à estrela deslumbrante que o mundo conhece.
O meu tributo
Esta série é um trabalho de fanart que ilustrará a sua evolução desde os dias de jovem operária numa fábrica de componentes para aviões, ainda chamada Norma Jeane Dougherty, até ao momento em que começa a despontar como modelo e depois jovem atriz.
Uma singela homenagem que procura honrar a memória que ela nos deixou. Afinal, tudo começou com um desejo simples, universal, profundamente humano: I wanna be loved by you!
Bibliografia elaborada com base em fontes impressas e digitais:
Franse, A., & Morgan, M. (2015). Before Marilyn: The Blue Book Modeling Years.
Vogel, M. (2014). Marilyn Monroe: Her Films, Her Life. McFarland & Company.
Casting Norma Jeane: A Starlet is Transformed Into Marilyn Monroe. (ano não indicado).
Lo, D. (2012). Marilyn Monroe: A Life in Pictures.
Julien’s Auctions. (s.d.). Déjà Vu (catálogo de leilão)
Divine Marilyn Monroe. (s.d.). CanalBlog. https://divinemarilyn.canalblog.com
