The Gaze & The Media - Lecture 2

Key Points:

• There is an ongoing Voyeuristic theme throughout art and advertising
• The female is often reclining and looking passive
• The male is nearly always the one gazing and the woman is watching herself being gazed at
• Active Male / Passive female
• This is often the case, but not always (e.g.Lara Croft)

Seminar 22/10/2012 Richard Miles

We think of ourselves as 'objects' and see others as 'subjects'. In reality this is equal because we ourselves are subject to judgement from others but when we are looking at an image the looking is only going one way which gives the viewer power and dominance over the subject.

Hans Memling 'Vanity'

This is a painting, painted by a man for a man, it offers the woman as an object to look at. The womanise also looking at herself in the painting which gives the impression that she is ready and willing to be looked at so it is socially acceptable and promoted to do so. The title of the painting is 'Vanity' which gives the woman another humiliating and derogatory label, much like how we would look down on and make fun of women in the media who take too much pride in their image (e.g. Katie Price)

In 1863 both of these paintings were submitted to 'The Salon' which was the greatest art exhibition of the western world at the time.

This painting of Venus was the favourite of the exhibition because it is well set in fantasy, the goddess is passive and submissive which give the men that are viewing it power and the role of women in society is clearly defined as beneath men.

Venus


This painting by Manet caused a lot of controversy because it depicts a harsh reality of a prostitute that you can not possess, the female is meeting your gaze and you your self are met as an equal being viewed as an object by the woman. The hand position here is much more awkward and unwilling than Venus, the woman appears assertive and active and breaks the desired dominance of man over woman.

Manet 'Olympia'

This is the painting that Manet was reacting to when he painted 'Olympia'. This female is much more inviting and submissive. On the bed there is a dog which is known to be more obedient and obey its master, Manet changes this to a cat which is much more of an independent animal that thinks for itself and is free.

Wonderbra advert (1999)


This advert portrays a more actie and dominant woman, who meets the gaze with solid eye contact and has her fists up and holding her bra straps similar to how a manly man (lumberjack) might hold dungarees. It appeals to women because it is saying that you don't need to be able to cook, men and women are equal, at the same time it appeals to men because it is suggesting that what she's lacking in cookery skills she'll make up for in sex skills. I think that this advert also works in a way similar to 'torches of freedom', it's abandoning the norm and social standards and rebelling against them giving women independence and power.