12oz After Hours: Miss Hooker Pageant 2012

Infamous for her intimate portraits depicting ladies of the night, Los Angeles based artist, Natalia Fabia, brought her paintings to life in the Miss Hooker pageant on March 30 at the Dragonfly in Hollywood. The show was filled with beautiful, scantily clad women with amusing names such as Miss Demeanor, Miss Nailed It and Miss America Fuck Yeah. Comedian Brian Posehn hosted the evening while celebrities Dave Navarro, Traci Lords and Alexis Arquette served as judges.The wild event served as an appetizer to her group show HOOKERS at the Corey Helford Gallery on April 1.

In Natalia’s opinion the term hooker is more than just a synonym for prostitute, if you follow the exact definition for hooker it’s someone who sells their talents and abilities for money. Begging to answer the question who amongst us isn’t a hooker?! For almost a decade Natalia has been on a crusade to reclaim the word. For her it celebrates strong, talented, independent and stylish women. It has evolved into more than a term and serves as her signature style. “Hooker is a very positive moniker to me,” Natalia notes. “Although I have strayed away from the specific word during the last few years, I think it is perfect to return to for my first time curating a show.”

Scroll down to check out photos from the pageant and be sure to check out 12ozProphet’s full recap of the Hookers group show at Corey Helford Gallery.

Text: Keisha Leng
Photo: Birdman for 12ozProphet