These images are a selection of the work that I created once again using a mirror, which for me was one of the most important pieces of equipment that I have used throughout this module. This particular piece of equipment has been used by artists such as Jenny Saville (b.1970).
In the 1990's Saville's work extended this idea of self image and her concerns regarding the fantasy ideal of the perfect female body, her work was a series of paintings that were larger than life pieces, in which she used her own body distorted and enlarged form, in which the body had contour lines and words and at times showed marks made by plastic surgeons when preparing for surgery.
Yet one the most important pieces for me is a piece called 'Branded' 1992
What touches me about this piece especially when reflecting on my own body, which does show the signs of damage, through bearing a child and I suffer from IBS so my stomach is usually extended. So this piece really does speak to me.
So the next series of work shows images showing not only the writing on my skin but also my flesh.
During this session of work I used an acrylic paint that is brown and yet has a strong reddish hue. I started by painting on my hands and by using the mirror I positioned my hands into poses that not only reflected the words but also my hands, in doing this I was playing on the idea of henna painting, this photograph may seem a particularly uninteresting imagery, yet this session allowed me to lead into more indepth work.
This image comes from a session in which I wrote on my body 'To Do Lists' in a decorative style which I really found the final outcome of this decorative application visually overwhelming and strong. This particular piece has an unusual feeling that is quite sinister and has strong components due to the stark monochromatic element as well as the structure of the image.
This image is one of the pieces that I was unsure about because I could quite easily have crossed a line where I could have produced pieces that detracted from my work, which is about the integrity and exploration regarding my own life and feelings and tis could have slipped into something that could be considered cheap and degrading. It was important for me to explore the idea of extending the self portrait and exploring my body and life in an invented and yet honourable (to myself) and honest way.
Within this module I have attempted to use both colour images as well as images that have all colour removed and within both of these elements the work has been strong, and I have gained more of an understanding of which pieces would work in colour and which pieces should be monochrome. This particular piece worked far better in monchrome, and when I took this picture at this particular angle it has created an image that extends the line of the words vividly.
This particular piece is part of a session in which I used the emotions which had been created by being humiliated at work by somebody's crass comments about the work I have created during this module.
In this image I used the mirror and the physical application of paint and the remove of the paint of the mirror as an opportunity to be nude.
In being nude I was expressing how shamed and judged I felt by these comments made by people who had not bothered to see my work. The act of scrubbing away the paint off the mirror was expressing the physical act of emotion and an attempted to break through this unfair judgements to me personally, as well as attempting to remove a sense of stigma that is attached to the constant exploration of the feminine role in day to day society.
This piece through the image of the mirror explores the issues of cleansing, or removing elements of shame or maybe removing the mistakes of the past. How the angle of the piece was taken and the cropping of the image reflects a sense of fragility almost especially the reflected image from the mirror.
My daughter helped me during this session by taking the photographs, and during this session I had moved out of where I usually have been working and into my hallway because I wanted to bring in other elements, and in this situation I was able to use the space more expansively and this extended the session beyond some of the other works that I have created during this module.
However I do believe that I attempted to introduce feminity rather than brutal straight forward images. So in that respect I don't think this session worked.
This particular piece is reflecting my sense of being weak I suppose, smoking is one of the things that I have done in my life and it is something that will end up shortening my life, and this act has been in my life since I was fifteen years old, and this contrasts with the Lord's prayer etched onto my skin, which in one place asks to keep me safe and yet what I do on a daily basis is the opposite of that request.
The angle in which this piece has taken creates an interesting image especially how the smoke curls upwards in the mirror and is not so distinctive outside of that area.
This confrontational image holds no pretence and no barriers, this piece shows my skin looking sore especially on my face and my direct gaze into my reflection suggests that scribbled lists on the skin give strength rather than deplete, because I am female this is what I do, it isn't beautiful and yet it is factual and undeniable.
My work differs from the work of Cindy Sherman (b.1954) and to explore and understand how it differs I have been encouraged to look at her work especially her early images by fellow students of the MA because her work explores the imagery of women as well as confronting the voyeurism of the viewer.
Untitled Film Still No.15 1978 Black and white photograph 50.8 x 40.6 cm 20 x 16 - accessed 26.04.12
When looking at Sherman's early work it is structured on the idea of exhibitionsim which is exposes the female body, so that when looked at her work is based on the sexualisation of women, this element is reflected but only as an undercurrent, the images are stylish and have a respectability, however there is the implication of sexualisation through the narratives running through the images. When I look at her early work it reflects how feminine identity is abused through areas of the media.
Sherman has created a visual lie with her work because she exposes the viewer's voyeurism, as well as exposing to the viewer the hidden female emotions. Sherman has exploited how we can be vulnerable and how we can use our emotions especially within sexual relationships.
My Mother has always states that men use the idea of love to gain sex, women use sex to gain the idea of love.
With this notion I can see how both men and women have had this idea encouraged through the media, and this has been exploited by pin-ups as well as being encouraged through the media and the consumer culture that emphases that women have to be feminine and glamourous.
http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=laura+mulvey+the+gaze&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=ws - Accessed 26.04.2012
As I have researched Cindy Sherman I found an article by Simon Hattenstone for 'The Guardian' which was published on Saturday 15 January 2011. This piece was called 'Cindy Sherman: Me, myself and I'
Simon Hattenstone states that "In the new work, (Sherman) is more exposed than she has ever been before. There are no prosthetics, no make-up, not much in the way of disguise. And yet, with her subtle digital manipulations, it is still hard to find the real Sherman in these pictures. And she wouldn't have it any other way".
Sherman responds "That it has not since her student days that the work has been about Cindy Sherman. Then, she photographed herself nude. "For the project I had to confront something difficult. Something I'd never want to do. And ever since, she says she's managed to star in her pictures without giving anything away. She pauses and smiles. "I'm not about revealing myself," she says.
No comments:
Post a Comment