Art Theory First Impressions

Due dates to look out for

• Course work: Art Critic/Theorist Research presentation due 18th of march (look in art Theory guide for reference)
• Course work: Theorist/critic politics art making/viewing due the 2nd of March

Research Question

My research question that I will be looking at is How can I present the nude female figure Through an oil painting, that subverts the tradition of the male gaze allowing the subject matter to gain control over her sexuality. In relation to this question I will be using myself as a model. One of the artists I am/will look at is Hannah Wilke her work and her philosophy behind her work. One of the key features of her work is the way she uses her nude body (much to the dismay of some other feminists of the time) to stir controversy, gain attention to drive a political message and start a conversation. 

One of her most well know works of art was in fact and advertisement she did for a solo exhibition in 1970 Advertisement for an Exhibition at Ronald Fieldsman Fine Arts. The image depicts Hannah working in her studio, wearing only a long sweater, hosiery and knee high boots, with her right leg placed firmly on a chair while the other is placed on the floor. Her position is neither comfortable nor natural but is sexualized and confrontational, however it could also be read as unflattering and confrontational. The image is very complex and contradictory as is shows a women artist absorbed in her own work, she has little care for what the audience thinks with her defiance marked by the ass in your face pose, however its could also be argued that its presents a women as an object with Wilke demonstrating her complete lack of interest in her to-be-looked-at-ness, as noted by critic Amelia Jones "she is absorbed in something on her desk and her defiance is marked by her ass-in-your-face pose and her seemingly complete lack of interest in or concern for the viewer's potentially devastating 'male gaze'." While I am somewhat critical of Hannah Wilkes particularly some of her early work which while is complex sends a contradiction of messages, which both empowers and exploits the female nude.

Despite my critiques of this work I still think theirs a lot I can learn from this work in particular. The way Wilke has used her body to assert dominance and control, showing that she is in control of herself and her sexuality.

In my research question I wish to explore how the female nude doesn't always have to dis empower women but can empower women by subverting the male gaze.