The Photographed, Collaged, and Painted Muses of Mickalene Thomas

"These hyperreal images have all the glamor and amped up sexuality as artful fashion photography — both Thomas and her mother had modeling gigs — but none of the airbrushing or homogeneity of subject endemic to glossy magazines."

I enjoy Mickalene's artwork because there's a lot of authenticity to it and it feels personal. It's not like most photographs you see in the media where the person's been photoshopped multiple times to fit a certain standard.

Art That Looks at What Women See

"For Mr. Grau, the female gaze might be defined as simply training one’s eyes on different subject matter, in new ways. “Looking is a way of world-making,” he said, “and it’s political.”

Everyone has their own opinion on what the "female gaze" represents. I believe that the female gaze can be versatile and something out of the ordinary—one may need an appraising eye on the subject.

Bell Hooks, "The Oppositional Gaze" and "Understanding Patriarchy"

"The "gaze" has always been political in my life. Imagine the terror felt by the child who has come to understand through repeated punishments that one's gaze can be dangerous. The child who has learned so well to look the other way when

necessary. Yet, when punished, the child is told by parents,

"Look at me when I talk to you." Only, the child is afraid to look. Afraid to look, but fascinated by the gaze. There is power in looking."

This reminds me of all the times I've been told I have an angry resting face (RBF, to be exact.) My mom has these big eyes that can pierce through you when she's angry. This deeply scared me as a kid but as I grew older I came to realize I make the exact same face... maybe even worse. I've noticed in situations where I'm either annoyed or just staring blankly at somebody, they tend to think I'm about to blow up when most of the time I'm not even mad. I do agree that there is power in looking and that it can say a thousand words although sometimes it can also be deceiving. 

"Until we can collectively acknowledge the damage patriarchy causes and the suffering it creates, we cannot address male pain."

Although I do believe the patriarchy was created by man himself and should be held accountable to it, I also know that it's been set up to damage them as well. The societal norm that we grew up listening to is that men need to be strong and dedicated and that they shouldn't complain about anything they have to endure. This can be very damaging to any man that actually has issues they deal with because as humans we're incapable of going through things alone and we shouldn’t have to. 

John Berger Quotes

 

"You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, you put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting Vanity, thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for your own pleasure. The real function of the mirror was otherwise. It was to make the woman connive in treating herself as, first and foremost, a sight."

The mirror in this scenario is used to empower the woman and gain confidence in herself.  Someone who sees women's bodies as an outlet for their own pleasures would see it as something other than that. 

"Women are depicted in a quite different way from men - not because the feminine is different from the masculine - but because the 'ideal' spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him."

For a long time, women have been illustrated as a conduit for men's wants and needs. There's always the assumption that everything a woman does is for male validation—we wear makeup to look good for men, we workout for men, we get naked for men. It's never for the sake of just wanting to look good or feel good for ourselves and I think thats what Berger's getting at in this quote.

Hidden Beauty by Fatima Khan