My series was inspired by Carrie Mae Weems’s “The Kitchen Table Series” and the readings from John Berger and Bell Hooks. In Art21’s YouTube video on Carrie Mae Weems, the photographer discusses the scenes she took that played around the theme of “the battle around the family” between men and women, friends and lovers, and parents and children at the kitchen table. An idea came to mind. What if my photographs were based on those readings? A woman living in a patriarchy, doing what’s expected of her in the kitchen. A woman trying to mold herself into what the male gaze wants. The everyday life of a woman at the kitchen table.
I decided that my series should be black and white just like Weems' series because it gives a relatable feeling to whoever sees it. In my first photo, I decided to think outside the box. It portrays a woman living in a patriarchy, doing what’s expected of her in the kitchen. She has set the table and is retrieving the family’s meal. For the second, a woman is trying to mold herself into what the male gaze wants. She has taken her mother’s makeup to use on herself. In the third, I decided to portray a woman as an art student. Despite the many things she has to do as a woman, she still finds time to learn more about what she loves to do. In the last photo, a woman is tired. At the end of the day, after the patriarchy has no use for her, after tiring herself out under the male gaze, after completing her duties as a student, she rests in a familiar setting that revolves around her as a woman.
No comments:
Post a Comment