COP Lecture- The Gaze in the Media

Todays lecture was about the gaze in the media, how we as viewers see things, how obsessed we get over how we look by this perfect image that is painted in our head. the lecture was mostly about women and nudity how it grabs our attention. 

Investigation of the gaze through the nude in European oil painting.  This does not mean that women are vain. Women watch themselves being looked at because of the many representations of women that surround us. Women survey their own femininity.

 Hans Memling 'Vanity' (1485) 

This painting gives the viewer permission to look at her body and as she is looking into the mirror it shows that she cares about her appearance and symbolises vanity. 

Alexandre Cabanel 'Birth of Venus' (1863)

This painting potrays the idea of birth and purity 

This is an image of Sophie Dahl for Opium, that kind of replicates 'Birth of Venus' it was too sexual for the original advert so the rotated it to its side so she looks like she was standing and then it got accepted, because it had more focus on the face. 

Titians Venus of Urbino (1538)

In this painting its almost as us as viewers are gazing at her in a private moment

Manet 'Olympia' (1863)

Venus and Olypia are in very similar poses but with subtle differences, one difference is the hand placement, Olymia has more of a direct approach to covering herself, she was a prostitute. 

Ingres 'Le Grande Odalisque' 

This painting has a very different gaze in relation to Manet, she is facing away from the viewer which can surest many things, such as she may not want to be seen.

Jeff Wall- Picture for Women (1979) 

this image is about the camera and it's function 

it invites us to make our own story 

Coward. R (1984)

The camera in contemporary media has been put to use as an extension of the male gaze at women on the streets
From her essay “the look”
Nudity, device of Sunglasses - viewer not challenged by a look, Normalises the display of bodies in a street context

Eva Herigova (1994)

Eva is a model for wonder bra, when this advert first came out on billboards it was stopping traffic and people were slowing down, the naked body had a big impact. 

There are examples where the male body is objectified in a similar way, 2007 Male nude as challenging the gaze Gym- sports-power, cult of fitness – male ideals of body image. Every male model advert tends to have more of a direct gaze. 

Sarah Lucas ‘Eating a Banana’  1990

Performing to be looked at.  fallic association of eating a banana - can make viewer uncomfortable

Sarah Lucas 'Self Portrait with fried eggs' 1996

She puts herself in a kind of masculine position to view

Paparazzi shot of Princess Diana

There is a huge market for paparazzi there is a lot of money in it because the public want to gaze into the lives of celebs. Most celebrity women aren't given andy privileges or privacy nowadays. 

There is a lot of gaze in reality television, big brother is a good example. There is no reality in it, they are all just emphasising themselves and acting out their personalities for attention. We are watching the contestants watching themselves, they are all very aware of how they are acting and how they look.