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| Frida Kahlo Portrait |
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| Frida Kahlo inspired gaze John Berger Ways of Seeing “To be naked is simply to be without clothes, whereas the nude is a form of art” (53) Some people might look at this and simply refer to the nude women as inappropriate names, but the reality of it is that there is indeed a difference. Like the quote says the naked and nude form are two different things and meant to be looked at differently. To be nude really is a form of art, our bodies are a work of art and should be recognized as such. Women were not just sitting in these pictures to just be naked, they/and the photographer are trying to convey a different meaning. “That part of a woman’s self which is the surveyor treats the part which is the surveyed so as to demonstrate to others how her whole self would like to be treated” (46) By representing ourselves a certain way, we allow others to see how we wanted to be treated whether it be through our clothes or gaze we can portray our own power and dominance. This can also be shown through action because we have the ability to show others how we want to be treated and seen apart from just verbally saying it. Bell Hooks- Understanding Patriarchy “At church they had learned that God created man to rule the world and everything in it and that it was the work of women to help men perform these tasks, to obey, and to always assume a subordinate role in relation to a powerful.”(18) I disagree with this because I do not have this same mindset but I can understand why people that are old-fashioned might think this way. Not only was life difficult for women, but they were so confined to the kind of lifestyle that they were able to “live”. But, it was not really living, they were slaves in their own life, in my opinion. I just do not agree with the whole submissiveness, and these paintings that we are now learning about are women breaking down the norms and showing just how powerful they truly are and have been. “To truly address male pain and male crisis we must as a nation be willing to expose the harsh reality that patriarchy has damaged men in the past and continue to damage them in the present” (31) This quote stuck out to me and almost made me emotional because it is true. Men are not “allowed” per say to show their true emotions or else they will immediately be labeled as weak. In this way the system fails them because yes, as a nation we should be open to the harsh truth that men also feel strong emotions and have their own trauma. In my previous quote it mentions how women have the responsibility to obey but men also had the responsibility to keep everything in order and lead the household financially. Bell Hooks- The Oppositional Gaze “There is power in looking” (115) In this short sentence I came to understand how many different meanings the gaze actually has. Like mentioned in the beginning of the story, the gaze can be such a fascinating thing. Yet it could also be dangerously powerful. Some gazes can be intense and tell a whole story that some might not want to know. Such as, how back in the day slaves were denied their ability to gaze. They had their power taken away because they knew that if they were able to truly see their gaze, they would know just how inhuman they were being treated and did not want to face the reality of it. “Looking at one another, staring in mirrors, they appear completely focused on their encounter with black femaleness. How they see themselves is most important, not how they will be stared at by others”. (130) This quote reminded me of the article Female Gaze: Art That Looks at What Women See for the reason that they are focused on how they see themselves as opposed to what the audience sees. In Frida Kahlo’s portrait, she is focused on herself and in this quote, the two women are staring into themselves through the mirror, seeing the power in their gaze. Female Gaze: Art That Looks at What Women See “They created a shift, a change in perspective, from being the model, the person a painter is looking at, to being the painter herself” At the time that this shift was happening, it was a big step, not only towards art but also the empowerment of women. In an example we see Frida Kahlo, not focusing on someone else or the male gaze but instead focusing on herself. These kinds of portraits with women were seen as a power move.
Mickalene Thomas: Photographed, Collaged, and Painted Muses “Thomas is working in the midst of much crucial discussion in the art world about underrepresentation and misrepresentation of black bodies and female bodies in the western art canon and the contemporary media.” The quote reminded me, not only in the art world, but life in general how underrepresented women of color truly are. This can also suggest how Mickalene Thomas was trying to break the norms and her work almost screams “Look this is how we really are” in such a beautiful way that no one else has been able to capture. |
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