Our First Exposing the Mead

Knees and Arms

Ruth Bernhard

1976

AC 1989.121

As many of you know, this past Tuesday the 15^th, we had our FIRST Exposing the Mead discussion and to put it plainly, it was an amazingly successful affair jam-packed with insight, beauty, intrigue, and cookies. For those of you who were able to attend, thank you for showing your support and your interest in photography. For those of you who were unable to attend, we know how sad you are that you couldn’t make it and that you’ll try hard to come next time! The topic for this week’s discussion was the male gaze in photography as shown through three selected works by both female and male photographers. The facilitator for the talk, the lovely Alice Wang, prefaced her presentation with informing the audience that at least one of the makers of the photos was a woman. Before revealing the identity of each photographer, Alice let the crowd examine the photos and proceeded to give a short lecture on what exactly the “male gaze” is.

According to feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey, the “gaze,” which is more than looking and involves a psychological relationship between the power of the gazer being asserted over the object of the gaze, is an intrinsically male act. Being gazed upon, on the other hand, is an intrinsically female act. Additionally, the male gaze is voyeuristic, fetishistic, and objectifying as it relates to the passivity and inactivity of the female form.

The first photo for discussion was by Brassai and depicted the artist Henri Matisse sketching his 19 year-old model, Antoinette. Compositionally, Matisse’s central placement and bright white clothing makes him the dominant force in the photo. His model Antoinette, whose lowered head and body are cast in shadow, is conversely the submissive object of his stare in that she looks at neither the viewer nor Matisse. The versatility of the photo is due to the multiple gazes that are occurring simultaneously. The viewer is permitted a voyeuristic perspective of Matisse’s creative process as he exerts his gaze over his model which is captured by Brassai through the use of his camera. Ultimately, all the occurring gazes focus on the beholding of the model’s passive female form as an object.

The second photo, entitled Knees and Arms by Ruth Bernhard, shows the abstracted representation of the lower body of a female model. Although the soft and dim lighting makes the female form appear to be sensual and delicate, the firm and stylized position of the model’s arms and legs convey a sense of strength. The composition of the photograph can be described as showing the assemblage of appendages culminating in a mountainous formation towards the top-center of the image, imparting a sense of power not found in Brassai’s woman. Bernhard’s woman possesses the qualities typically associated with the female nude, such as sensuality and fragility, but also typically masculine features like fortitude and active force.

The last photo was an untitled piece by Merry Alpern that belonged to a series in which she clandestinely photographed prostitutes through the window of a brother from across the street. In this photo, a prostitute clad in only underwear and a wristwatch is counting money as she stands in front of the window. The dynamic of the photo is due not only the controversial subject matter of a sexual transaction taking place but also to the voyeuristic perspective the viewer is given. Because the prostitute is unaware of the viewer, she is not self-conscious of anyone’s gaze, which makes her posture unassuming and natural. Some of the audience thought the watch the woman was wearing made her appear masculine, along with her rugged pose and way her musculature is emphasized by the lighting.

Essentially, the talk concluded with the audience pondering how the female photographers challenged and reinterpreted the ideals of the male gaze. Regardless of gender, the three photographers chose to represent the female form is various ways: Brassai’s woman was very passive and subjected to the gaze of her viewer; Alpern’s woman was masculine, not sensual, and a domineering figure in the photo; and Bernhard’s woman was a reconciliation between the sensuality and elegance of the female form along with the firmness and strength typically reserved for the male body.

All in all, the discussion proved to very stimulating and everyone seemed comfortable sharing their opinions and sentiments about the photos. It was a picture-perfect beginning to what I’m sure will be a fruitful semester for Exposing the Mead. Please attend our next Exposing the Mead discussion March 1^st, the topic of which is the Representation of the Abstract, led by Thea Goldring.

Perry De La Vega