Image of artwork titled "Greta Garbo Stand Up Sighs, China Eastern Airlines (Bette Davis Eyes)" by Ryan Cullen

Ryan Cullen, Greta Garbo Stand Up Sighs, China Eastern Airlines (Bette Davis Eyes), 2020
Oil on canvas with wooden frame
96 × 48 inches

Cullen’s paintings of flight attendants were made during the early days of the pandemic when CNN and other big news organizations were speaking about de-globalization. Cullen fixated on flight attendants as a relic from pre-neoliberalism where companies had to compete based on the quality of service offered since flight prices were fixed in the 1970’s. They also represent an intersection of class in a power dynamic, acting simultaneously as service workers and enforcers, yet always clad in a distinctly international style of fashion.

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