Just Like Us Plain Folk

I just opened the latest PEOPLE magazine and took a look at the piece called "Celebs as Real People" by New York artist Danny Evans.

For those of you who haven’t seen the magazine or the scattering of photos that have popped up over the last couple of days here and there, Evans has morphed seven celebrity photos into what they would look like if they were not famous. Among the pictures are Brangelina, Jennifer Anniston, the Kardashian “ladies,” Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Scarlett Johansson, and Jay and Bey. Forgive me if I confused you by using a few of the celebrity nicknames, but since these folks are so well-known, I figured everyone would know who I was talking about. You can check out more of these at Celebrity Before & After.

I had not seen this before so I may be late to the table, but from all the posts, chatter on TV, and comments on the sites, I am guessing I am not alone.

At first I thought, “How clever.” Then I got curious about whether there were more, found the site, and checked them out. They do look pretty realistic, like actual photos although some more than others. I think the one of the Kardashian clan simply looks like they have on wigs. I could go on and on about how they also look to me like other celebrities and famous people.

But honestly, I am not sure if I like this trend. I am sure it’s not intentional, but it almost seems a little mean. First off, the pictures are not exactly flattering. Besides that, am I the only one experiencing a little bit of deja vu? I would not be surprised if there are very similar photos somewhere out in the world or an actual person. They say we all have a twin and there are things we all do and wear that make us look similar, like glasses and hairstyles. I am also wondering if anyone has seen themselves.

What I really wonder about is if the artist were to find the right celebrity, he could transform them into a plain old everyday person who looks just like me. I am a little curious, but maybe I would rather not know.