Based in New York City, Marilyn Minter is a painter whose work ranges from fashion illustration to pornography and in many cases, provokes a shocked or repelled reaction in the viewer. Many of her paintings, usually enamel on metal, are based on her photographs, with themes of commercial influences on femininity and the tragedy of the 'cult of beauty' on its victims---the art of style where everything goes wrong. On the surface these paintings seem to be commercial fashion spreads, but problems are immediately apparent in the subjects such as way too much hair, signs of self mutilation, strange make up, gender confusion, and cannibalistic mouths.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art sponsored an exhibition ...