Week+5+ARTISTIC+PERSPECTIVES

WEEK 5: ARTISTIC PERSPECTIVES

• Required Reading:

  • Sturken & Cartwright, Practices of Looking, Chapter 4: "Realism and Perspective: From Renaissance Painting to Digital Media"

  • Berger, Ways of Seeing, Chapter 1

  • Available as PDF on Quercus.

Today's Lecture

• Topics Covered:

  • The Gaze and Surveillance (continued)

  • Perspective in Art

  • Preparing for the Midterm (final 15 mins)

The Panopticon

• Introduced by Michel Foucault in Discipline and Punish (1975)

• Describes the self-regulating effect of an inspecting gaze reminiscent of Jeremy Bentham's prison design.

• Key points:

  • Inspection functions continuously in various contexts.

  • The act of gazing creates self-regulatory behavior.

Foucault's Observations on Spaces

• Foucault comments on the similarities among prisons, factories, schools, and hospitals, illustrating societal structures of surveillance.

• Quote: "Is it surprising that prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks, hospitals, which all resemble prisons?"

Existential Comics Analysis

• Illustrative scenarios of Foucault in various settings:

  • School: Critique of disciplinary techniques transforming students into compliant bodies for capitalism.

  • Hospital: Analyzing architecture and waiting as surveillance mechanisms.

  • Prison: Integration into a complex disciplinary network.

Impact of Cameras on Perception

• Discussion on how the prevalence of cameras in society affects the collective gaze.

The Clinical Gaze

• Dr. Charcot's documentation of hysterics highlights medical perspectives on normality and 'otherness'.

• Term 'Biopower'

  • Defined by Foucault as authoritative power exerted over the human body through institutional practices.

The Western Gaze and Orientalism

• Edward Said’s concepts on how Western cultures perceive non-Western cultures as 'Other'.

• Examination through artworks like Ingres's La Grande Odalisque (1814).

Gender Representation in Art

• Statistics from art surveys

  • 1989: 5% of artists were women, 85% of nudes were female.

  • 2004: 3% of artists were women.

• Guerrilla Girls' 2005 poster questioning the visibility of women artists.

Alternative Viewpoints in Advertising

• Calvin Klein's male-centric ads analyzed through historical and contemporary lenses, including Justin Bieber's campaigns.

• Discussion of alternative viewing positions that critique traditional perceptions of gender in the gaze.

Historical Developments in Perspective

• Ancient perspectives illustrated in Egyptian art (e.g., hieroglyphics).

• Key figures:

  • Leon Battista Alberti, Della Pictura (1435) defined horizon line and vanishing point.

• Renaissance examples:

  • Botticelli, Cestello Annunciation (1489)

  • Mantegna, Lamentation Over the Dead Christ (1480)

• Berger emphasizes perspective's focus on the viewer's eye, citing the relationship of visual perception and reality.

Evolution of Visual Techniques

• Dürer’s Artist Drawing a Nude with Perspective Device (1525) and other artists like Magritte explore new perspectives.

• Introduction of the camera obscura by Leonardo da Vinci (1490) setting the stage for photographic techniques.

• Progression through photography with Daguerre’s and Talbot's works from the 1800s.

Modern Art Movements

• Impressionism: Monet's works highlight shifts in perception, exemplified by Gare Saint-Lazare (1877).

• Cubism: Georges Braque and Picasso's experimentation with perspective in the 20th century.

• Contemporary shifts in perspective illustrated through digital art by Mark Napier and video games, raising questions about gaze and representation.

Midterm Preparation

• Midterm Test scheduled for Feb. 14.

• Logistics:

  • Duration: approx. 1 hour, with an extra 20 mins to review.

  • Format: Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, short answers, and visual analysis of examples.

  • Emphasis on key concepts, terms, important figures/theorists, and images from lectures.

  • Study guide will be available on Quercus by Feb. 8.

• Reminder to bring extra pen.