My semester project is on the objectification of females in advertisements and the work of photographer Ellen von Unwerth. Von Unwerth’s work centers on erotic femininity. Her photographs appear in advertisements and editorials - some photographs tend to be suggestive and sensual in nature. I will parallel the advertisements in magazines that are clear examples of the objectification of women with some of Von Unwerth’s which, although intended to be pro-feminist, promote the objectification of women.
Von Unwerth is often praised for her photographs empowering women and promoting feminism and yet the apparent passiveness of some of her works perpetuate the male gaze as it is clear they assume the spectator is male.
Von Unwerth is often praised for her photographs empowering women and promoting feminism and yet the apparent passiveness of some of her works perpetuate the male gaze as it is clear they assume the spectator is male.
The medium of my project will be a collage of both advertisements in magazines and von Unwerth’s photographs that I will display or post on tumblr. The collage will be similar to a triptych: the left panel will be advertisements that objectify women, the right panel will be von Unwerth’s photographs that inadvertently objectify women, and the central panel will be von Unwerth’s photographs that are pro-feminist and are not inviting the male gaze as pronouncedly as others. I am currently compiling everything I am using in my project.
I will incorporate inspiration from Jean Kilbourne’s documentary, Killing Us Softly (2010) which heightens on the influence advertisements have on women as well as Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth which details the correlation between a woman’s beauty and her identity. Other resources include von Unwerth’s photographs and her book, Snaps.
I am making this project because I find von Unwerth’s work intriguing and realize it parallels well with John Berger’s concept of the male gaze from Ways of Seeing. My audience is anyone familiar with the objectification of women. My message involves the ubiquitousness of the male gaze as well as the presence of feminist advertisements. I am not quite sure how this fits into my professional aspirations but it fits into my portfolio as the first piece I am making that incorporates another artist.
- Jean Kilbourne's Killing Us Softly (2010)
- Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth
- Ellen von Unwerth's Snaps
The male gaze has come in so many different forms, and looking at it from a different prospective is interesting. I look forward to see your piece. Objectification of women has become acceptable in our society therefore highlighting it will be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that your project will explore the objectification of women in advertisements. One thing I could suggest to you is to research possible reasons why advertisements tend to objectify them.
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