Beyonce Knowles' Magazine Photos Spark Media Controversy

U.S. singer Beyonce Knowles is creating a global controversy for her photo shoot in the French magazine L'Officiel Paris. Her appearance in "blackface" raises questions about whether being creative in media photography can go too far.

The explanation is that it is a tribute to a Nigerian musician and activist whose work is the inspiration for her upcoming album. But some say an artistic tribute should never include something as offensive as darkening your skin, which is a reminder of racism.

Others say the shoot is clearly meant as art. They point to Beyonce's changing hair as an example of how she continually plays with color as part of her fashion statement.

This isn't the first time Beyonce's skin color has raised eyebrows. In 2008, L'Oreal denied lightening her skin for an advertisement.

Magazines are unlike other forms of media because they aren't forced to document reality in the framework of a newspaper or television newscast. But critics have painted a clear line of when artistic creativity goes out of bounds.

Time magazine was rightly criticized when it darkened O.J. Simpson's mugshot in 1994. That's a newsmagazine altering an image for a serious news story. But the National Press Photographers Association compares that to a Newsweek cover that showed a photo illustration of Martha Stewart, whose head was put atop another woman's body, blasting it as a "major ethical breach".

Actress Demi Moore had to defend herself against claims that part of her hip was airbrushed on the cover of W Magazine. Does that mean that removing a facial blemish electronically is unethical?

Beyonce's case is different because it doesn't involve computer trickery in post-production but a conscious decision from the inception of the shoot. If her intent was to create a buzz, even a negative one, she undoubtedly knows from Madonna and Boy George of a generation ago and Lady Gaga of today that attention leads to album sales. L'Officiel Paris likely isn't complaining about the controversy because the publicity is an easy way to build its magazine brand recognition.

But what do you think -- should there be a cultural, ethical or electronic limit on the way images are created, altered and published in magazines?

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