Lecture 2: The Gaze and the Media

• 'according to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but by no means been overcome - men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at' ~ Berger 1972
• This is one of the most commonly misquoted quotes in Berger's essay, he is not saying that they are vain, but that women are forced to carry an idea in their heads, and not simply by choice.

• Hans Memling's Vanity (1485), the mirror is used as a device of justification, moral condemnation, to make us believe that the woman is a subject of vanity as she admires herself, this was especially during a time when women could be accused and prosecuted as witches.

• In this fashion advertisement, a mirror is once again used, the woman is clearly absorbed in her own image, and does not seem to be aware of the rest of her surroundings, whilst her reflection is facing towards us, a dark shadow covers nearly half of it.

• Alexandre Cabanel's Birth of Venus (1863) was the most admired painting at the Salon during that year, Venus is posing in a way that allows her to avoid eye contact with the viewer, shielding her eyes away with her forearm, her body language overall gives off a very unchallenging, sentimental, unaggressive feel.

 

• In the Sophie Dahl for Opium campaign, she is in this reclining pose, chin up and eyes closed, at the time, it was considered to be far too sexual and was hence banned, as the main focus of the image is of her hand grasping at her breast (Though the exposed nipple was not questioned as much as you read further…).  Humorously enough, a rotated version of the exact same image was actually accepted later on, because apparently the focus was then stronger on her face.

• Titian's Venus of Urbino (1538), Venus in this image is regarding us coquettishly, as if regarding the viewer as a peeping tom in amusement and actually giving them permission to do so and admire her further.

• Manet's Olympia (1863) stood as the first nude to represent modern reality, with the subject being a prostitute rather than a goddess figure, whilst similar to the previous painting, with the subtle differences being the woman's look, a more direct one given, and while Venus' hands are laid in a more relaxed manner over her body, Olympia appears to cover her's in a more challenging manner (You gotta pay to see these goodies). The cat is a symbol of individual femininity and independence. In contrast to the presentation of degraded courtesans, Olympia is adorned with gifts from her admirers, them being a proof of her success.

• The Guerrilla Girls movement formed in 1985 a response to the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition, "An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture", which showcased 169 artists, showed that less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female. 
• Their design (That makes use of Ingres' Le Grand Odalisque with some alterations...), was first rejected by the PAF as it did not appear clear enough, and was also later rejected by the bus company (When they tried to run the advert themselves) as the feather duster she was holding appeared far too sexual (Everything is phallic if you look hard enough apparently).

• Manet's Bar at the Folies Bergeres (1882) has an interestingly skewed perspective of things, the mirror interestingly shows a strangely angled reflection of her back (When it should be positioned behind her), as well as the spectator himself (You are no longer the spectator even, you are actually involved in the scene). Impressionists at the time were given an artistic license that allowed them to break from more realistic details. The barmaid is the only one not truly reflected in the mirror (Her back facing it all, while her true self dully (And perhaps unhappily) regards what she sees before her as she works), unlike the rest of society.

• Inspired by Manet's painting, Jeff Wall's Picture for Women (1979) borrows the internal structure of that painting, with the figures similarly reflected in the mirror, the woman's pose is quite similar to the barmaid's, sharing the absorbed gaze and posture, while the man is the artist himself. It is interesting to see how carefully Jeff Wall placed the mirrors and subjects, being able to create small regions in this image, in the end, there are practically three gazes shared with the viewer, that being the woman's, man's, and the camera's. Postmodernism gives the viewer a chance to play a more active role than a passive one as compared to works in the past.

• Coward, R (1984), the camera in contemporary media has been put to use as an extension of the male gaze at women on the streets. Rather typical of an advertising company, the subject is half naked and placed in a rather out of place setting, the contrast between her and the background being quite effective. This appears to normalize the idea that naked bodies can be put on display.

• The profusion of images which characterizes contemporary society could be seen as an obsessive distancing of women, a form of voyeurism (The compulsion to seek gratification by secretively looking at sexual objects or acts; the actions of a Peeping Tom). One such example is the British thriller/horror film Peeping Tom (1960), a serial killer murders women while using a portable movie camera to record their dying expressions of terror.

• It is not that male objectification doesn't exist, but can men be objectified as much as women in the advertising industry? In a Dolce and Gabbana ad, the stance and gazes of the models are clearly different from that of the examples we have seen of the women, it appears fiercer, and challenges your gaze.

• In 1940s and 1950s films and photography, female subjects appear to be shown in a fragmented manner, and are made to simply be seen as a visual endowment, instead of playing an active character role.

• In Griselda Pollocks' Old Mistresses, in Artemisia Gentileschi's Judith Beheading Holofernes, Griselda states that women are 'marginalized within the masculine discourses of art history'. This marginalisation supports the 'hegemony of men in cultural practice, in art'. Women are not only marginalized but supposed to be marginalized.

• In an untitled work of Cindy Sherman's (1977-1979), the subject is clearly reclining, the picture is positioned vertically instead of horizontally, again showing how different the same subject look when rotated, making it appear less sexual. She is looking off into the distance, more precisely into the left hand corner, and while there is a mirror, it is not a device being used to make her appear like a creature of vanity, while held in her hand, it is even positioned face down.

• Sarah Lucas' Eating a Banana, the subject (Also the photographer herself) is giving a rather fierce gaze in this otherwise humorous photo. In her Self Portrait with Fried Eggs, Sarah makes a play on words, and despite it's humorous tone, does make the viewer uncomfortable once again due to the direct gaze she gives off.
• In reality television, it appears to offer us the position as the all-seeing eye- the power of the gaze. It allows us a voyeuristic passive consumption of a type of reality. Editing means that there is no reality. Contestants are aware of their representation (either as TV professionals or as people who have watched the show.

• The plot of the Dir Peter Weir short (Featuring Jim Carrey) in The Truman Show focuses on the character's discovery on the limits of his world and that his life is all a staged event (Heavy…).
• Looking is not indifferent. There can never be any question of 'just looking'. ~ Victor Burgin (1982)

• Cruado-Perez argued that as the Equality Act 2010 commits public institutions to end discrimination. She received up to 50 threats a day via Twitter including threats to rape and murder. Although she reported the abuse, police lose evidence and she forced to delete her account.
• While not subjected to the level of torture that Ms Cruado-Perez had faced, Lucy-Ann Holmes, who founded a campaign to end the publication of topless "Page 3 Girls" in the Sun Newspaper last year, had received death threats for doing what she did.
• "I'd say it's a constant undercurrent when women write about feminist issues or are exposed in a lot of media for speaking out about sexism they tend to get a barrage of abuse and threats." ~ Lucy-Ann Holmes

• Andy Murray was celebrated for winning tennis after 77 years, when in truth, a woman had won the award about 30 years ago. Why is that a female figure, despite their accomplishments, can be so easily erased this way?

• Since the Great 2014 Celebrity Nude photo leaks, it should be addressed by how female celebrities are seen as objects and that we practically own them as expect to see every inch of their bodies… instead of treating them like any other human and respecting their privacy. (Paparazzi for you) Interesting thing to note is that there aren't many nude photos of male celebrities...
• "What these people are doing is reminding women that, no matter who they are, they are still women. They are forever vulnerable." ~ Roxanne Gray

• Laurie Penny, the author of the blog Penny Red, writer for New Statesman, Guardian, The Independent, etc. "The power to watch men back is something the web affords women, but men haven't quite realized that yet."

• Social Networking is used to perpetuate the male gaze/ the gaze of the media. The body is broken into fragments-could be any female. It plays on teenagers' body and their self esteem (So much hate…).