When this was stated i instantly thought about the potential of integrating this idea into my work as it represents the way in which women in media are seen as 'a piece of meat' - a sexualised object for men, or aimed at excelling sales.
Saturday, 25 February 2012
butchers diagrams
When this was stated i instantly thought about the potential of integrating this idea into my work as it represents the way in which women in media are seen as 'a piece of meat' - a sexualised object for men, or aimed at excelling sales.
Friday, 24 February 2012
Dina Goldstein - Fallen Princesses
Dina Goldstein - Fallen Princesses
Fallen Princesses are recreations of classic fairy tale scenes. Her work “exposed with all the wit, irony and satire — the fallacious nature of female archetypes within the modern world” (http://www.dinagoldstein.com/)
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Pornography and photography
Pornography identifies expectations of female bodies, from looking at porn we are inclined to imagine a specific appearence we would associate with an attractive/sexual female body. E.g
no pubic hair
large boobs
big lips
long hair
and so on.
Like Liz wells has argued:
"Today, erotica also works through classifying it's subjects into recognisable types - in this way it makes different women appear sexually available to a presumed hetrosexual male viewer. And, just as the criminal photograph reduces the depicted person to a series of signifiers , so mainstream pornographic images offer women as available for sexual fantasy by attaching certain meanings to a narrow set of signifiers." (Wells, 2009: 177)
Wells also discusses the representations of the body and how is is distinguished by different social classes.
"The long-established tendency to distingusish between 'good' sexual imagery ('erotica') and bad ('pornography') is related to distinctions of social class (with mass-market pornography associated with lower social classes). Furthermore the connections between sexual fetishism and commodity fetishism link modern sexual pleasures with the economic structure of capitalism. Feminist anti-pornography campaigners found allies in the New Right, blurring the distinction between a feminist political opposition to women's subordination and conservative disgust at the portrayal of aspects of the body that are normally kept hidden from the public view. To understand more about these alliances, we many need to look at how attitudes towards the body have developed in capitalist societies." (Wells, 2009: 187)
Book - Pornography - the production and consumption of inequality. (Gail Dines, Robert Jensen, Ann Russo - 1998)
"Domination and submission are made sexual, sometimes in explicit representations of rape and violence against women, but always in the objectification and commodification of women and their sexuality." (Page 2)
"prostitutes are afforded either the status of the victim not survivor, but are defined fully as consenting participants that in an industry of sexual abuse and inequality... But because and exchange of money occurs, irrespective of wether the woman herself maintains control of, or benefits from the exchange, the client is give permission to use the woman in a manner that would not be tolerated in any other business or social arrangement (including marriage); and the womans acceptance of the money is construed in her willingness to engage in such commerce." (page 23)
"sex is degrading to women, but not to men; that men are raving beast; that sex is dangerous for women; that sexuality is male, not female; that women are victims, not sexual actors; that men inflict "it" on women: that penetration is submission: that hetrosexual sexuality, rather than the institution of hetrosexuality, is sexist." (page 32)
"Hugh Hefner is probably the only pornographer who has achieved mainstream celebrity status. Like the magazine itself Hugh Hefner was marketed as an up-scale, high quality commodity in order to reduce the sleaze factor normally associated with pornographers." (Page 57)
"There was an intriguing different between the sexual responses of women and men in the video's: Women were constantly orgasmic, while men typically showers little reaction to sex. This is especially ironic because the only person we could be sure was experiencing sexual pleasure was the man, as evidenced by his orgasm; whether or not the woman felt much pleasure was unclear. "
(Page 77)
Book - Mediated Sex (Brain McNair - 1996)
"Throughout the twentieth century, and indeed before it, artists have drawn on sexually explicit imagery to create particular effects, and to make statements about the nature of human sexuality and it's relationship to society. The work thus produced has often been erotic - sexually arousing -and obscene - the object of moral outrage and censorship - but not, it's makers have argued, pornographic. Many legal cases have centred around the interpretation of the se categories, and the extent to which an 'artist', as opposed to a pornographer, may be granted license to depict sexuality in explicit of obscene terms." (McNair, 1996: 138)
no pubic hair
large boobs
big lips
long hair
and so on.
Like Liz wells has argued:
"Today, erotica also works through classifying it's subjects into recognisable types - in this way it makes different women appear sexually available to a presumed hetrosexual male viewer. And, just as the criminal photograph reduces the depicted person to a series of signifiers , so mainstream pornographic images offer women as available for sexual fantasy by attaching certain meanings to a narrow set of signifiers." (Wells, 2009: 177)
Wells also discusses the representations of the body and how is is distinguished by different social classes.
"The long-established tendency to distingusish between 'good' sexual imagery ('erotica') and bad ('pornography') is related to distinctions of social class (with mass-market pornography associated with lower social classes). Furthermore the connections between sexual fetishism and commodity fetishism link modern sexual pleasures with the economic structure of capitalism. Feminist anti-pornography campaigners found allies in the New Right, blurring the distinction between a feminist political opposition to women's subordination and conservative disgust at the portrayal of aspects of the body that are normally kept hidden from the public view. To understand more about these alliances, we many need to look at how attitudes towards the body have developed in capitalist societies." (Wells, 2009: 187)
Book - Pornography - the production and consumption of inequality. (Gail Dines, Robert Jensen, Ann Russo - 1998)
"Domination and submission are made sexual, sometimes in explicit representations of rape and violence against women, but always in the objectification and commodification of women and their sexuality." (Page 2)
"prostitutes are afforded either the status of the victim not survivor, but are defined fully as consenting participants that in an industry of sexual abuse and inequality... But because and exchange of money occurs, irrespective of wether the woman herself maintains control of, or benefits from the exchange, the client is give permission to use the woman in a manner that would not be tolerated in any other business or social arrangement (including marriage); and the womans acceptance of the money is construed in her willingness to engage in such commerce." (page 23)
"sex is degrading to women, but not to men; that men are raving beast; that sex is dangerous for women; that sexuality is male, not female; that women are victims, not sexual actors; that men inflict "it" on women: that penetration is submission: that hetrosexual sexuality, rather than the institution of hetrosexuality, is sexist." (page 32)
"Hugh Hefner is probably the only pornographer who has achieved mainstream celebrity status. Like the magazine itself Hugh Hefner was marketed as an up-scale, high quality commodity in order to reduce the sleaze factor normally associated with pornographers." (Page 57)
"There was an intriguing different between the sexual responses of women and men in the video's: Women were constantly orgasmic, while men typically showers little reaction to sex. This is especially ironic because the only person we could be sure was experiencing sexual pleasure was the man, as evidenced by his orgasm; whether or not the woman felt much pleasure was unclear. "
(Page 77)
Book - Mediated Sex (Brain McNair - 1996)
"Throughout the twentieth century, and indeed before it, artists have drawn on sexually explicit imagery to create particular effects, and to make statements about the nature of human sexuality and it's relationship to society. The work thus produced has often been erotic - sexually arousing -and obscene - the object of moral outrage and censorship - but not, it's makers have argued, pornographic. Many legal cases have centred around the interpretation of the se categories, and the extent to which an 'artist', as opposed to a pornographer, may be granted license to depict sexuality in explicit of obscene terms." (McNair, 1996: 138)
Juergen Teller - Go-sees
I decided to look at this series of work titled "go-sees" by Juergen Teller as i thought it would be interesting to observe the poses and appearances of the female subjects.
Each of the women in the pictures arrived at "Teller's" flat where they believed they would be participating in modelling auditions. He photographed them at the door, and the girls posed in a way which they thought would increase their chances of being picked and/or "getting noticed"
I find it interesting how they have chose to dress in order to appear like a model should.
Guy Bourdin
I have looked at Guy Bourdin's images as the models in his photographs frequently look like mannequins and dolls.
The way he frames his images and lights his subjects helps enhance that feeling.
something i could consider when photographing my model for this assignment.
Mannequins and dolls
Thinking about dolls and other female forms that depict an ideal physique and appearance i started to think about mannequins and the way in which dolls have interchangeable and disposable limbs.
It's almost as if to say, you can constantly change the length of your dolls legs, give it a new shaped head/face, thinner arms, ECT in a way, this is pretty much the same as cosmetic surgery, increase the size of your boobs, get fuller lips, have the perfect vagina or lose a stone through liposuction, wrinkles can be removed... and so on.
I have been looking at mages of "spare doll parts" people on the internet sell these in bulk - it's like some freaky frankenstein process of building the perfect physique.
I want to think about ways of incorporating this idea of interchangeable parts in to my final image as i think it speaks volumes about the way in which people use cosmetic surgery to "swap" parts of their bodies for more desirable ones.
When searching for images of dolls i came across the one below, it says "doll joints, strangely arousing"
Is it any wonder some women aspire to look like dolls?
I decided to look at "human dolls" and found some visually interesting photographs which illustrate how alien these features become when they are applied to an actual human being.
I like the image below, this idea of perfect symmetry and everything matching... it's a very inhuman appearance, which i find bizarre as it is a common misconception that human faces are intact symmetrical, most people not realising biologically that they are different.
In Robert Palmer's addicted to love video the women are clearly modelled on mannequins and have that artificial inhuman, almost alien look about them.
It's almost as if to say, you can constantly change the length of your dolls legs, give it a new shaped head/face, thinner arms, ECT in a way, this is pretty much the same as cosmetic surgery, increase the size of your boobs, get fuller lips, have the perfect vagina or lose a stone through liposuction, wrinkles can be removed... and so on.
I have been looking at mages of "spare doll parts" people on the internet sell these in bulk - it's like some freaky frankenstein process of building the perfect physique.
Is it any wonder some women aspire to look like dolls?
I decided to look at "human dolls" and found some visually interesting photographs which illustrate how alien these features become when they are applied to an actual human being.
I like the image below, this idea of perfect symmetry and everything matching... it's a very inhuman appearance, which i find bizarre as it is a common misconception that human faces are intact symmetrical, most people not realising biologically that they are different.
Heidi Montag Obsessed With Plastic Surgery: Nose Lift, Brow Lift, Botox, Breast Augmentation, etc.etc.etc…
I was disgusted by the amount of stories i found online of parents purchasing cosmetic procedures for the children. some of them as young as 7!
Why the 'Human Barbie' is now injecting her own 16-year-old daughter with Botox
http://www.teen-beauty-tips.com/barbie-body-image.html
Why the 'Human Barbie' is now injecting her own 16-year-old daughter with Botox
Barbie Body Image
How toys like Barbie influence our body image
"What impact does this have on young girls that spend hours and hours playing with these dolls? Do they want to become like Barbie and look like her?
We know that the more time we spend with anything, the more influence it has on us. If you spend weeks studying for a test, you'll probably do better than if you just spend a few minutes studying.
I think the same is true with our time. If we spend hours and hours playing with Barbie dolls, they are bound to have an influence on us. Just as if we would spend hours and hours playing video games."
http://www.teen-beauty-tips.com/barbie-body-image.html
What would a real life Barbie look like?
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7920962.stm)
In Robert Palmer's addicted to love video the women are clearly modelled on mannequins and have that artificial inhuman, almost alien look about them.
disney princesses
I was thinking about barbie dolls and toys that young girls are generally given which influence their views of appearances, when i thought of children's films and the characters in them.
All of the Disney princesses have flawless skin, and are generally quite thin - this could impact the way children (especially little girls) think in regards to appearances when growing up.
In a way we are constantly exposed to sources which are potentially indoctrinating in the sense that they serve as a form of brain conditioning regarding the way in which women think they should look in order to appear sexually appealing.
From a young age we are encouraged to produce expectations in regard the the female body.
Porn for example, identifies such expectations, porn stars rarely have pubic hair, they have the ideal bodies and boobs.
Things such as vajazzles and designer vaginas all encourage women to question their own bodies and appearances and place themselves on a hierarchy.
doll features in photoshop
I have been looking at tutorials and practicing creating seams, joins and plastic doll like skin in photoshop.
I have used various techniques.
I wanted to visually explore what the jar would look like as i think it has connotations of science and experiments in labs. (test-tube babies, preserves ect)
I think the seams work best in the image on the left and the image where the subject has her back to the camera.
I the image on the left above this text i tried to create ball joints as to make the subject look like a mannequin/ jointed puppet/doll. This is a technique i need to further develop as to make the image more visually effective.
On the black and white photo i used the pen too and the same technique used to create the seems on the other images but instead to create shapes. i then used layer masks to remove areas of the models body and adjust her shape.
I have used various techniques.
I wanted to visually explore what the jar would look like as i think it has connotations of science and experiments in labs. (test-tube babies, preserves ect)
I think the seams work best in the image on the left and the image where the subject has her back to the camera.
I the image on the left above this text i tried to create ball joints as to make the subject look like a mannequin/ jointed puppet/doll. This is a technique i need to further develop as to make the image more visually effective.
On the black and white photo i used the pen too and the same technique used to create the seems on the other images but instead to create shapes. i then used layer masks to remove areas of the models body and adjust her shape.
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Between monsters, goddesses and cyborgs
"For our postmodern minds it is hard to imagine tat for two thousand years, male and female bodies were not conceptualised in terms of differences. Medical texts from the ancient greeks until the late eighteenth century described male and female bodies as fundamentally similar. Women had even the same genitals as men, with one difference: 'Theirs are inside the body and not outside it.' In this approach, charcterisezed by Thomas Laqueur as the 'one-sex model', the female body was understood as a 'male turned inside herself' - not a different sex, but a lesser version of the male body." (Page 154)
"the essence of sex is not confined to a single organ but extends through more or less perceptible nuances, into every part." (page 154)
"Margaret Sanger, a women's rights activist and pointer for birth control in the united states of america believed that the most important threat to women's independance came from unwanted and unanticipated pregnancies. She advocated birth control as a basic precondition to the liberation of women." (page 157)
"the essence of sex is not confined to a single organ but extends through more or less perceptible nuances, into every part." (page 154)
"Margaret Sanger, a women's rights activist and pointer for birth control in the united states of america believed that the most important threat to women's independance came from unwanted and unanticipated pregnancies. She advocated birth control as a basic precondition to the liberation of women." (page 157)
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Further development of photoshop techniques
I decided to look at more advanced ways of combing images in photoshop. using layer masks and online tutorials i created the following image, using the same sunbed image seen in the pervious experiments as a back ground, along with images of women and images of electrical components.
The next image i was particularly proud of, as i managed to make my subject look more 3Dimensional and almost hollow unlike the one above where the object is simply lay behind the subject.
Above are the three images used (again all sourced on google)
Following a tutorial, and using multiple layers, and filter effects I produced the following image.
I think, the 3Dimensional intersection and hollowed out effect is something that could definitely be incorporated into my final piece, although I think I would keep it to a minimum, I particularly like the idea of placing it on the arm as I have done with this one.
The next image i was particularly proud of, as i managed to make my subject look more 3Dimensional and almost hollow unlike the one above where the object is simply lay behind the subject.
Above are the three images used (again all sourced on google)
Following a tutorial, and using multiple layers, and filter effects I produced the following image.
I think, the 3Dimensional intersection and hollowed out effect is something that could definitely be incorporated into my final piece, although I think I would keep it to a minimum, I particularly like the idea of placing it on the arm as I have done with this one.
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