Flashing as a Form of High Art. Thanks, Chicas!

I bet that when you saw THIS, or THIS, or THIS, you didn't believe that there would come a day when you could look at Britney's antics from a totally different perspective. To put it in another way, the thought probably never crossed your mind that, one great day, all this flashing and seemingly insane behavior would become a form of art. And, yet, it's possible. Even more, it's looking much better than the original.

For a while now, several artists have drawn on our once favorite celebrities' mad behavior in public. For instance, Paris has been immortalized in bronze, lying dead on the pavement (as a direct consequence of her drunken driving), with Tinkerbell at her side and her Blackberry clutched in her hand. Or Suri Cruise's first caca became a symbol of our modern celebrity culture at the hands of the same artist who also created the statue of Britney giving birth. The bottom line is that the way today's starlets act is a constant source of inspiration for all those who have the patience to look at their antics differently from the way we do.

Case in point: famed photographer Steven Miesel and the latest 'Vogue Italia' photo spread. Suggestively titled 'Super Mods Enter Rehab', the spread draws on Britney Spears' public displays of inappropriate behavior as the main source of inspiration. The result is, unlike in Brit Brit's case, not something repulsive or gross, but art in its purest form. We all know that art can be offensive and/or controversial, so if you think you're easily offended, you might as well stop reading here.

The point is that, no matter how troubled the (former) pop star was when she shaved her head, or flashed her boobs or her (pantyless) crotch to the world, Miesel can take that and present it from another perspective. And, somehow, the fact that he, a man who professed his love for all women on countless other occasions, puts his models in Britney-like situations only makes the real actions more absurd while, at the same time, attempting to give some warning signal.

The irony of the entire shoot is even more obvious in the context in which we are already not only familiar with such images, but even almost immune to them. Britney showing her private parts in front of the camera has elbowed its way into popular culture and is now something no longer saddening but a form of entertainment too. And, to top it all off, she's not even alone in it: other so-called socialites like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Mischa Barton are close on her heels. This is what the latest issue of 'Vogue' is all about. Sure, call it blunt, tongue-in-cheek or even directly offensive and prejudicial to the aforementioned stars. Or whatever else comes to your mind. That would not deny the fact that it's positively brilliant!

Below are some of the shots included in the magazine, the ones that make direct reference to Britney Spears. And then judge for yourselves.