Week 3

                                            

                                                                                              “Background”

Reference 

I chose this image as my reference to my selfie because of the meaning behind her. The image is meant to represent the artists homeland as well as her roots since she has uplifted from Cuba and has left her home to go to America. The image represents background culture heritage and womanhood. Although the images are both very different they represent the same thing. I wanted to interpret those things, those meanings in my own way. For my selfie I chose a image of me, my mother, aunt, and cousin. I believe the family, friends, environments, and the people you surround yourself with is what keeps you tied to your roots, identity, and background.

“She urged viewers to disregard their gender, race or other defining societal factors and instead connect with the  humanity they share with others.”

“The making of my ‘Silueta’ in nature keeps the transition between my homeland and my new home,” she once said. “It is a way of reclaiming my roots and becoming one with nature. Although the culture in which I live is part of me, my roots and cultural identity are a result of my Cuban heritage.”

John Berger, Chapters 2+3 

“A man’s presence is dependent upon the promise of power which he embodies. If the promise Is large and credible his presence is striking. If it is small and incredible, he is found to have little presence.”

“Her presence is manifested in her gestures, voice, opinions, expressions, clothes, chosen surroundings, taste indeed there is nothing she can do which does not contribute to her presence.”

“To be born a women has been to be born within an allotted and confined space in to the keeping of men”

“Our exhibition goes beyond the male perspective and view point of women. Through the exhibition we wanted to amplify the empowerment of women by bringing forward the beauty, voices,culture and things women contribute to society. The sole purpose of this exhibition is to exile the disempowerment women are subjected to and reclaiming the female aspect and awareness of what power stems from in the”

Bell hooks, Understanding Patriarchy 

A man’s presence is dependent upon the promise of power which he embodies. If the promise Is large and credible his presence is striking. If it is small and incredible, he is found to have little presence.

Her presence is manifested in her gestures, voice, opinions, expressions, clothes, chosen surroundings, taste indeed there is nothing she can do which does not contribute to her presence.

To be born a women has been to be born within an allotted and confined space in to the keeping of men

Our exhibition goes beyond the male perspective and view point of women. Through the exhibition we wanted to amplify the empowerment of women by bringing forward the beauty, voices,culture and things women contribute to society. The sole purpose of this exhibition is to exile the disempowerment women are subjected to and reclaiming the female aspect and awareness of what power stems from in the 

Female Gaze: Art that Looks at What Women See | NYTIMES

Article discusses the mail as well as the female gaze. The article further explains how males and females look at their subjects differently. 

Quote 

“ Her models were her mother and sisters, so in a sense she was creating an image of the world in which she lived.”

Mickalene Thomas: Photographed, Collaged and Painted Muses

The article discusses Artist Mickalene whose work entails African American women. Although her passions and art work entailed photography Mickalene was widely known for her  rhinestone encrusted work, as well as the bright colors, and different textures used throughout her work. The artists pro-folio also consisted of a collection of 15 photographs that were taken during her time as a MFA student in Yale. The images taken were mostly of things she considered to be her muse such as her mother and grandmother and some photos included friends and lovers. The purpose of Mickalene’s work is to literally bring forward the presence, beauty, and identity of colored women. 

Quotes 

“By selecting women of color, I am quite literally raising their visibility and inserting their presence into the conversation”

“Thomas’s jazzy photomontages of women’s limbs and facial features can be construed as commentary on how female bodies are brutally picked apart in contemporary visual culture”

Ana Mendieta: Artist Who Pushed Boundaries | NYTimes

Ana Medietas was a activist as well as a artist. Medietas was known to often push moral, religious, sexual,ethnic, and political boundaries through her work. Her work was often curated through various method such as photography, performance, and film. 

Mendieta and her sister captured the reactions of strangers who walked by a puddle of pig’s blood that Mendieta had spilled outside her apartment. Some stared and most walked around the mess. Eventually someone washed it off the sidewalk. To Mendieta, the recording offered a thought-provoking experiment on people’s indifference to violence.

Week 3

“Red Truth”

Ana Mendieta: Traces/Stopy
4:18

John Berger, Chapters 2 & 3

 

(Quote 1): “By contrast, a woman’s presence expresses her own attitude to herself, and defines what can and cannot be done to her.”

 

(Reaction 1): Usually they say, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. So, if a young lady is showing her body in public, that does not mean they want a male to partake in sexual activities with them. There is women who wears less clothing due to comfort and/or cultural practices. To make a assumption to a woman’s appearance is not always the way to go.

 

(Quote 2): “She has to survey everything she is and everything she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life.”

 

(Reaction 2): Based off the quote, women must operate with caution in this world. Any small gesture can make them vulnerable to the male eyes which is kind of scary. Also, if the woman fully understand their surroundings, they can move a certain way to avoid the man eyes in a negative context.

 

 

 

Bell Hooks, Understanding Patriarchy and The Oppositional Gaze

 

(Quote 1): “As their daughter I was taught that it was my role to serve, to be weak, to be free from the burden of thinking, to cartake and nurture others.”

 

(Reaction 1): At a young age, to make her own life decisions or create her own path, was basically stripped from her. From the male gaze stand point, her father is dominate and she is a weakling. She must do whatever the man say and not challenge his word at all.

 

(Quote 2): “To indoctrinate boys into the rules of patriarchy, we force them to feel pain and to deny their feelings.”

 

(Reaction 2): All boys could not show any form of weakness or “female tendencies”. Due to patriarchy, they were only able to display aggression, violence, and “manly” acts.

 

 

Female Gaze: Art that looks at the the Women see| NYTIMES

 

(Quote 1): “A portrait does not have to be the image of an individuality, conceived as an island no one could access but the portraitist. A portrait can be the way to plunge into the sea life.”

 

 

Mickalene Thomas: The Photographed, Collaged, and Painted Muses of Mickalene Thomas

 

(Quote 1): “….. I’m working to diversity the representations of black women in art.”

 

Ana Mendieta: Artist who pushed boundaries| NYTIMES

 

(Quote 1): It is a way of reclaiming my roots and becoming one with nature. Although the culture in which I live is part of me, my roots and cultural identity are a result of my Cuban heritage.”

w3

"let yourself be free''

 

Quote ''The female artists' gaze is shaped by their life experiences, which are different for women and men. "

  Response-  This refers to how different a man and a woman are. A woman will see different life since from a very young we are tough how to be caring and soft. while the man must always be strong and masculine to be accepted in society. A woman's presence reveals her attitude; her appearance, speech, and attire reflect who she is as a person. A woman's actions reflect who she is.

The photographed callaged and painted muses of  Mickalene  Thomas

 

" By portraying real women with their own unique history, beauty and background, I'm working to diversify the representation of black women in art."

Every woman is powerful in their own way, every woman has their own background and that was make them special and unique. The way Thomas views women is that they can also be dominant, strong, and independent. 

Ways of seeing John Berger 

"A naked body has to be seen as an object in order to become nude" 

W3

 My Self Image

Ana Medieta "untitled glass face"

Guillermo Argueta "Up close & Personal" 2022

Reference: Untitled (Glass on face). Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. (2022, August 16). Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://icamiami.org/collection/ana-mendieta-untitled-glass-on-face-1972/

Ways of Seeing

(Quote) A man presence suggests what he is capable of doing to you or for you

(Response) The way a man can act from when he begins and throughout a time period will bring out who he is. Whether he changes for the best or stays for the worst.

(Quote) to be naked is to be without disguise. To be on display is to have the surface of one's own skin, the hair of one owns body, turn into a disguise which, in that situation can never be discarded

(Response) Having a certain kind of clothes can define who you are. For instance, first impressions can lead to the type of person you are by how you dress. Everyone judges you by the appearance before speaking to you

Female Gaze: Art that Looks at What Women See | NYTIMES

(Quote) “A portrait does not have to be the image of an individuality, conceived as an island no one could access but the portraitist. A portrait can be the way to plunge into the sea of life.”

(Response) The art can be portrayed s a way everyone can see and admire the painting. Rather than the art being portrayed for only few to understand and having to explain to others the work.

Mickalene Thomas: Photographed, Collaged and Painted Muses

(Quote) I’m working to diversify the representations of black women in art.”

(Response) Since black women were portrayed in a negative way in art. It means a lot to start the change and show the beauty of another race. This not only inspires other to follow but show to end the stereotypes

Ana Mendieta: Artist Who Pushed Boundaries | NYTimes

(Qoute) “It is a way of reclaiming my roots and becoming one with nature. Although the culture in which I live is part of me, my roots and cultural identity are a result of my Cuban heritage

(Response)Some people aren’t proud to be where they’re from. It is huge to love where you’re from and to represent your country to others is even bigger. From someone to come from Cuba and admire it is a huge statement. Considering communism is happening in Cuba

 

Guillermo, Sofhia & Crystal

 Art Exhibition 

                                                           

Our exhibition goes beyond the male perspective and viewpoint of women. Through the exhibition, we wanted to amplify the empowerment of women by bringing forward beauty, voice, culture and things women contribute to society. the sole purpose of this exhibition is to exile the disempowerment women are subjected to and reclaim the female aspect and awareness of what power stems from in the female perspective. 

Judy Chicago "The Birth Project"
 

Alice Wellinger "The Female Gaze Behance"

showing women life's, with all problems, fears and oppression.

Dr Ellis Williams "Black godess"

Mini Exhibition- Female Gaze: Julianna Menjivar-Sanchez, Alexa Paulino, Maritza Tenempaguay

Birgit Jürgenssen, Hausfrauen – Küchenschürze

 

Juno Calypso, The Honeymoon

Alice Neil, The Spanish Family

These images in this mini exhibition goes over all the roles of women. We have one with the realities of motherhood. We have one and the stereotypes of women from society. And we have one that has a woman and her experience with her own sexuality. 

1st image: I chose this artwork because it describes women's roles. This picture describes what till this day is believed to be a standard for women. The roles of what a woman is to have and supply in order to cater to men. Women are quote on quote supposed to take care of the household, clean, cook, and do laundry. This artwork describes how women are an object. As shown in the picture she is literally wearing a stove.

2nd image: Juno Calypso makes a series about her fictional character, “Joyce” who goes on a honeymoon by herself. With this photograph, she’s looking at herself or exploring herself. Something that can be looked at wrongly by others when women divulge into their own sexuality. Women are supposed to be looked at as innocent and they should not talk about their sexual selves or desires because it can make them be viewed as “dirty” or as a “whore”. I feel like this photo is powerful because it ties in with feminism and Juno Calypso is a huge advocate for feminism. Just like men talk about their sexuality and desires, women can also do the same and they should not be shamed about it. 

3rd image: The photograph illustrates the struggle of the labor that comes with parenting. Society’s expectation of women to become mothers and nothing else. Women are seen as incubators, not as human beings but as objects only used for birthing men’s children. Women are expected to stay home and be stay at home moms. They are not encouraged to pursue their dreams but to only raise children. The norm for men to pursue their careers rather than taking care of their kids.  

My View: Kiara Calderon, Oscar Garcia, Veolla Swisa

 

Aliza Nisenbaum Jenna, Friday Night in Brooklyn, 2019. 

She is portraying how she is the focus, and she is proud that she is the focus. Without being objective. Women shouldn't only be looked at as objects, but as Knowledgeable, most pictures of women that are photographed or painted by men are showing a woman as objects to the eye. Everyone perceives it differently. I perceive the image as power, a sense of Knowledge.  

 

Mary Katayama 

She is a Japanese artist who has a deformity of the bones that caused her leg to get amputated. She demonstrates beauty in physical imperfections and is not ashamed of portraying what she considers to be beautiful even if society, specifically men, disagrees. Her art is not for men to accept her beauty, but rather to express her love and comfort in her own body, regardless of society’s definition of beauty, and to tell her own personal story.

The women in the painting although at first hand seem to be appealing to the male gaze it is obvious she could not care any less. The painting shows the woman's gentle and compassionate side briefly but the longer you stare at the painting, you begin to notice that the woman seems overall uninterested in the spectator and her facial expression shows how she is not concerned about looking gentle or compassionate. The painting really shows the female gaze in an interesting way, it shows that women are able to not care about what others think (also shown by the people in the background) and how what they feel is the only thing that matters to them. 

Selfie Week 3

My Gaze

Untitled (Facial Hair Transplants), 1972 /1997

John Berger Chapter 2 + 3

Quote #1

“To be born a woman has to be born, within an allotted and confined space, into the keeping of men. The social presence of women has developed as a result of their ingenuity in living unger such tutelage within such a limited space” (pg. 46)

Response #1

Throughout many years, women have been subjected to not only the male gaze, but society’s expectations of women to succumb and adjust to the male gaze. Women must not only accept that the male gaze was the only important perspective in art in the past, but they must also act accordingly. Women are severely limited in the way they act, and in what they can and cannot do, because women’s actions are scrutinized using society’s “rules,” made from males’ perspectives. Society treats and respects women according to how accurately they can conform to society’s boundaries and satisfy the male gaze. Therefore, women are often forced into a male-led society’s confinement. 

Quote #2

“This picture is made to appeal to his sexuality. It has nothing to do with her sexuality… Women are there to feed an appetite, not to have any of their own” (pg. 55).

Response #2

 John Berger demonstrates that even when women are portrayed in art, they continue to serve heterosexual males. In many paintings, like La Grande Odalisque by Ingres 1780-1867, a nude woman is portrayed with the sole intention of feeding the appetite of the viewer: the hetersexual male. When women were portrayed in art, they were while succumbing to the male gaze. Women, in fact, are rarely portrayed according to their own point of view in comparison to the women portrayed to satisfy the male preference. 

Understanding Patriarchy

Quote #1

 Embracing patriarchal thinking, like everyone else around them, they taught it to their children because it seemed like a “natural” way to organize life. As their daughter I was taught that it was my role to serve, to be weak, to be free from the burden of thinking, to caretake and nurture others.”

Response #1

One of the elements of patriarchal thinking, and one of the reasons that patriarchy spreads so rapidly, is that it is enforced from generation to generation. Patriarchy is learned, adopted, and then passed on to the future generation to live according to. Parents who conform to this type of thinking teach their daughters to serve, assist, blindly obey, support, and leave the intelligence to the true leaders of society: men. Bell Hooks accepts and references Psychotherapist John Bradshaw's definition of patriarchy. Bradshaw states, "The dictionary defines 'patriarchy' as a 'social organization marked by the supremacy of the Cather in the clan to family in both domestic and religious function....' patriarchy is characterized my male domination and power.'" Patriarchy's prioritization of males limits women in society and stops them from acting outside of previously set expectations.

Quote #2

“Patriarchy demands of men that they become and remain emotional cripples. Since it is a system that denies men full access to their freedom of will, it is difficult for any man of any class to rebel against patriarchy, to be disloyal to the patriarchal parent, be that parent female or male.”

Response #2

According to Bell Hooks, patriarchy is so normalized and expected, that it prevents even those men who wish to oppose it, from fully going against it. Patriarchy demands that men control their emotions, and causes men who do not fit into patriarchy’s predetermined standards to be exiled from the rest. Patriarchy is such a strong influence, especially since it is instilled from peoples’ birth, that it is almost impossible for people, especially men, to rebel, not just against patriarchy itself, but everything they were brought up believing. According to Psychotherapist John Bradshaw, who Bell Hooks references in her article, "...patriarchal rules still govern most of the world's religious, school systems, and family systems." Patriarchy-based thinking was not only present in people's homes, but it was present in every aspect of one's life, therefore making it a culture, a belief system, and perhaps even an unspoken law that no one, neither male nor female, can challenge.

The Oppositional Gaze

Quote #1

“Even when representations of black women were present in film, our bodies and being were there to serve—to enhance and maintain white womanhood as object of the phallocentric gaze.”

Response #1

The male gaze is the heterosexual and patriarchal male point of view, centered around the idea that everything they view, especially women, is theirs to conquer and control. When black women were finally represented, they were still only included in order to preserve the male gaze. The main role of black women in art was to assist white women in effectively portraying themselves for the male gaze. Instead, they focus on the female gaze–on what women see– when portraying themselves. They also focus on the oppositional gaze, which allows them to rebel against their oppressors, and take the roles they were not allowed to take prior. 

Quote #2

“Black female spectators, who refused to identify with hwhite womanhood, who would not take on the phallocentric gaze of desire and possession, created a critical space where the binary opposition Mulvey posits of “woman as image, man as bearer of the look” was continually deconstructed.”

Response #2

Many black females have refused to take part in their assigned roles in art: assisting white women to accurately represent the heterosexual male’s conquest. These women have decided to put a stop to the male gaze, by creating art that does not center around women portraying themselves in a way that would satisfy a male’s point of view. 

Female Gaze: Art that Looks at What Women See | NYTIMES

Quote #1

“Today that may not sound so special, but then in those times it was incredibly important,” she said. “They created a shift, a change in perspective, from being the model, the person a painter is looking at, to being the painter herself.”

Response #1

In the past, women were excluded from all forms of art. When women were finally included,  they were always portrayed from the male perspective. Men painted women, the way they thought other men would appreciate seeing the women. When women began painting other women, they allowed a new perspective, one that portrayed women from their own perspective and from the perspective of other women. 

Mickalene Thomas: Photographed, Collaged and Painted Muses

Quote #1

“By selecting women of color, I am quite literally raising their visibility and inserting their presence into the conversation,” Thomas said in a recent interview. “By portraying real women with their own unique history, beauty and background, I’m working to diversify the representations of black women in art.”

Response #1

Black women are rarely represented in art, and in the instances that they are, they are misrepresented. Although women are now being represented far more in art than in the past decades, black women are still not included. When Mickalene focuses on women of color, she spreads images of women of color in art, demonstrating that each them have their own unique story that deserves to be displayed, expressed, and shared. 

Ana Mendieta: Artist Who Pushed Boundaries

Quote #1

“These questions would echo in  her work, which explored themes that pushed ethnic, sexual, moral, religious and political boundaries. She urged viewers to disregard their gender, race or other defining societal factors and instead connect with the  humanity they share with others.”

Response #1

Through her artwork, Mendieta hoped to inspire viewers to see the people in the painting as humans they have a connection with, and not through the lens of social categorization. Often, people may have been surprised when seeing a person of color represented in art, and I believe Mendieta did so purposefully in order to provide this representation, and also to help society become accustomed to seeing women of color represented in art.

Week Three

Mickalene Thomas, “Racquel Leaned Back” (2013)

Veolla, "pose", 2022

Quote: Thus she turns herself into an object - and most particularly an object of vision: a sight.-

Mickalene Thomas: Photographed, Collaged, and Painted Muses 

Women allowing the male gaze to consume their personal opinions become something to look at and something she allows them to view with her approval. Mickalene Thomas's picture of an African American woman laying on her couch is a sense of making her presence known and showing how dominant she is. She is portraying how she is the main focus, and she is proud that she is the main focus, she is confident in her establishment.  

John Berger: Ways of Seeing: 

Chapter 3 Page 46 

Quote: 

“Her presence is manifest in her gestures, voice, opinions, expressions, clothes, chosen surroundings, taste-indeed there is nothing she can do which does not contribute to her presence.” 

Response:

A women’s presence expresses her attitude, how a woman looks and talks, and dresses are how she is as a person. Everything a woman does is who she is. Women do not have to be in sight to feel their presence lingers so although they aren’t there, their presence is still there. Women hold so much power that even when they aren’t around the thought of them still lingers for people to think about especially men. When they voice their opinions to others that opinion is how people will view them. Women are always going to be the certain of attention in any circumstances even if they aren’t around, their presence will always be effective in every circumstance. The female gaze looks at feelings and focuses on emotions instead of actions and just sexuality. 

 

Chapter 3 Page 46

Quote:

“Men survey women before treating them. Consequently, how a woman appears to a man can determine how she will be treated.” 

Response:

A woman's first appearances to a man are always objective. Men judge women on how they dress or how their hair looks. A women's presence in a man's life is determined by their status. The first thing that attracts a man to talk to or adequately treat a woman is if she's pretty or acceptable to his eyes or acceptable to society. Eyes are always on women to see if they reach society's standards of how attractive she is, if she dresses in a certain way or if she acts a certain way. The male gaze is women viewed as passive objects to male desire. 

John Berger, What is the male gaze?

Quote: 

"men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at."

 Bells Hooks, What is Patriarchy? 

Quote: 

    "Patriarchy is a political-social system that insists that males are inherently dominating superior to everything about everyone deemed weak, especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the wear and maintain that dominate and rule over the weak and to maintain that dominance terrorism and violence."

Response:  

    Patriarchy is all about masculinity, girls can't do what boys do and boys can't do what girls do. Boys aren't allowed to show any emotion, girls cant be tough. Girls are meant to care for and nurture the people around them and make sure they are okay, boys, on the other hand, have to act tough and enjoy violence. In a family when a girl does something wrong the person that punishes her is the dominant male in the family and for most families, it is the father. Society uses patriarchy every day without knowledge of the word because it is so often for us as people to expect men to be tough and have no feelings while alone females to be the emotional ones. 

Mickalene Thomas: Photographed, Collaged and Painted Muses:

Quote: 

 

“By portraying real women with their own unique history, beauty and background, I’m working to diversify the representations of black women in art.”

Cindy Sherman Effect by Phoebe Hoban

Quotes

“No wonder the work of so many artists parallels Sherman’s, or at least mines similar conceptual veins: role-playing and the nature of identity; sexual and cultural stereotypes; the pressure to conform to the images of perfection promulgated through television, film, and advertising.”

“inventing and portraying extraordinary alter egos and multiple identities that brilliantly reflect our image-saturated culture—and in the process inventing her own genre.”

Although in someways it’s seems that Cindy Sherman solely creates these characters off what she sees in society and from her own fantasy,curiousity, and imagination rather than having a personal connection in some way to these characters  I find her work to be original and somewhat interesting. By creating these characters with different identities, alter egos personalities and different features Cindy Sherman created a whole new method and genera of art that focuses on others identity and how  culture and environment has a way of morphing these identities and Stereotypes you might see in some of her work. All in all the article discusses the impact Cindy Sherman has had on photography as well as art over the past years.