John Berger in his 1972 book Ways of Seeing contends that there is an essential use for women in traditional oil painting & art history:
Women are depicted in a quite different way…because the 'ideal' spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him. If you have any doubt that this is so, make the following experiment. Choose…an image of a traditional nude. Transform the woman into a man. Then notice the violence which that transformation does.
For next week, create a transformed art historical artwork. Locate a traditional image that employs women and then substitute a man (friends & family) in their place. Reconstruct the whole image from scratch, and be sure that your replacement man matches the original woman in tone, expression & posture. Clothing & environment will of course be modernized, but try to capture the essence of the original composition & woman.
Build this image as a composite. Take photos of yourself or friends, scan fabric, sketches, found objects etc to help build the environment. Whatever you do, a simple photograph isn't enough - we need multiple layers to construct this project. While you work on this project, consider how your own gender defines your identity and actions. If possible, use yourself in the imagery, and challenge who you are and what you know of yourself – in short, experiment.
Save as "replacement your name.psd" - be sure to save it as a psd file, with all the layers existing. Make your file 8x10" and set the resolution at 300dpi.
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