Week 2 - Who's The Gray Stranger?

John Berger Quotes

"She has to survey everything she is and everything she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life."

I believe that a majority of women don't act this way anymore - or at least from my perspective. I understand why Berger wrote about this, but in our present-day people tend to care less about what others think of them and as a result are happier in the things they do. Imagine how tiring it must be to always be a people pleaser?

"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."

This one was a little harder for me to fully understand, but what I'm getting at it is that people could take the thought process of painting a naked woman and think it has a dirtier meaning. In reality, the painter just wanted the woman to feel more confident in her body and use the mirror as validation.

                                 Bell hooks: Understanding Patriarchy and Oppositional Gaze

"He tells of how his young son Alexander enjoyed dressing as Barbie until boys playing with his older brother witnessed his Barbie persona and let him know by their gaze and their shocked, disapproving silence that his behavior is unacceptable."

When I was younger, I used to love dressing up my sister's Barbie doll and always being criticized for doing so. I then decided to take it downstairs to my Grandma's apartment and play in her bedroom alone where no one else could judge me. I really felt the pain in these sentences describing how the father so crucially disapproved of his son's interests.

"To experience pleasure, Miss Pauline sitting in the dark must imagine herself transformed, turned into the white woman portrayed on the screen. After watching movies, feeling the pleasure, she says, "But it made coming home hard."

I didn't really understand what oppositional gaze meant until after reading these few sentences associated with this quote I chose. I believe it means that the black woman wants to be able to look at everyone without having to sneak looks or be scolded for looking too long. I believe now that the male gaze is portraying a woman showing as much skin as possible that is considered "appropriate" for other viewers. As for the female gaze, I think it means how other women see each other and envy the way another woman looks and vice versa. 

"Female Gaze: 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.”

I agree with this statement and when painters portray their experiences, everyone else could have their own interpretation of "the female gaze."

"The Photographed, Collaged, and Painted Muses of Mickalene Thomas"

"Then there is the tête-à-tête: a selection of work, curated by Thomas, by her artistic influences, including Carrie Mae Weems, Ruby LaToya Frasier, Hank Willis Thomas, and Derrick Adams. On the whole, these photographs are quieter and more subdued than Thomas’s in terms of color and composition."

I did enjoy how colorful Thomas' previous work was and that steering away from color is totally fine too. There is always beauty in black-and-white photography and if people back then could display beauty in black-and-white, so can we in the present day.

"Overlooked No More: Ana Mendieta, a Cuban Artist Who Pushed Boundaries"

"She incorporated unusual natural materials like blood, dirt, water and fire, and displayed her work through photography, film and live performances."

When I was first introduced to her work in class, I did enjoy how brutal and unapologetic her work was to others. Even though her death was a tragedy, I wonder how her photography would have looked today. 

Nude Girl on a Panther Skin by Félix Trutat

Who's The Gray Stranger?
Recreation of Nude Girl on a Panther Skin by Félix Trutat