For my artist, I chose Shannon O’Donnell. Her work often consists of showing the way femininity is stereotyped and i tried to replicate this in my image.
Some similarities between both mine and Shannon’s photos are the links between stereotypical femininity. Shannon’s picture depicts a ‘traditional’ type of femininity by using house hold chores and dressing up in a typically feminine way, wearing dresses and heels. In my picture, I followed the stereotype of femininity by using flowers and nature which are often symbolic feminine stereotypes, since women are usually thought of as delectate or fragile like a flower. Another similarity between our images would be the colour scheme of our photos, both images are in black and white creating quite moody pieces. Also, both models in the image are wearing dresses, which is a typically feminine choice of attire throughout different centuries.
Some differences between our works include the location of where they were taken, mine image was taken in a flower field whereas Shannon’s was presumably taken inside her home, this results in different meanings behind the images. Secondly, the exposure on my image is lower making my image appear more dramatic where as Shannon’s is lighter, making her image seem almost comical. One final difference between the two photographs is the fact that Shannon uses props in her image which makes her message very clear to the viewer.
Overall, I like how my image is very different to Shannon’s, while still keeping hold of some of the key aspects of her image. If I were going to redo anything about the image i would of likes to use some props to help present the meaning to my image more clearly.
For all my images, I cut all the excess paper leaving only the image before sticking them on to some white foam board and giving every image a 0.5cm width boarder.
I believe that this is one of my best femininity images because it includes feminine aspects as well as overall looking appealing. I like the depth of field in this image too as well as the black and white drawing attention towards the model at the centre of the image. I also like how the contrast makes the image more eye catching.
Photo 2
This image is good due to the depth of field and low exposure. The contrast between the model and the background is also nice as it makes her stand out as a focus point for the image.
Photo 3
Once again, I like the depth of field in this image as well as the contrast between her dark hair and the bright flowers. I also like how saturated the image is as it makes the image seem more feminine due to the brighter colours.
Photo 4
With this picture, I like how the warmer tones in this image produce a more autumn feel to the image. This makes the picture have more of a creative aspect to it since autumn is often associated with creativity and harvesting. I also like how the warm tones on the bottom of the image contrast to the use of cooler ones on the top.
For this photoshoot, I’m going to try to take some pictures of my friend for the femininity side, and some photos of my dad for the masculinity.
When
I think I would like to take my photos during the day time in order to have natural lighting in my images.
Where
For my Femininity photographs, I would like to take some photos in a field up by my house as well as some images in my kitchen. For masculinity I would like to take some images outside my house and next to the car.
Why
I think using the field or kitchen for femininity would play into the typical stereotype for women as them being seen as fragile or being owned. As for the masculinity I think a common stereotype among the topic is the expensiveness of the car determines how wealthy the guy is.
About: Cindy Sherman, also known as Cynthia Morris Sherman, was born on January 19, 1954 in New Jersey, U.S.A. She is an American photographer who is commonly known for her elaborately disguised self-portraits that comment on social role-playing and sexual stereotypes regarding women.
Photo analysis:
– Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #58, 1980.
This first image depicts a young woman standing outside what looks to be an office building. In my opinion the image represents a change in the concept of femininity. The woman’s hair is short, which would compare to the typically long hair women use to have, in order to make them appear more feminine. Her clothes appear to be smart casual, which ties in with the office looking building behind her, signifying that she could be applying for a job, which is something many women did not previously have. She has a look of determination on her face too, implying that she’s prepared for a new change. Overall, all these small details could potentially add up to make a compelling story about change and challenges with reforming the idea of femininity.
– Cindy Sherman, Untitled #582, 2016.
This image depicts a posh looking women, surrounded by flowers and luxuries. Femininity is often associated with nature, so the flowers surrounding her create a strong link back to the topic. As for her attire, her red lipstick, crown and beaded jewellery were all symbols of higher class women. This shows the viewer the societal standards that were presented to women during these times, meaning that women were always reaching to look like, have or be like the ideal women. Lastly, the empty wine glass in her hand is another link to the aristocracy of this time era as only posh or noble families would be able to afford such luxuries.
Shannon O’Donnell
About: Shannon is an artist and photographer. They studied BA Documentary Photography at USW Cardiff. Through a combination of documentary and performative approach, their practice explores the gendered experience, both personal and within contemporary and historical capitalist Britain. Their practice is informed by photographs, text, audio, moving stills and archival research. They created a short blog on the topic of femininity named ‘shrinking violet’.
photo analysis:
This image represents how most women use to have to act. We can see the hoover, symbolizing the fact that women had to take care of the house hold, as well as the drying rack behind her. The view into the kitchen also symbolizes the fact that women were expected to cook for their families or husbands. The way Shannon is dressed also holds significance, since women had to look their best at all times for their husbands, even whilst doing chores to manage the household. The stance they take in the image also represents a type of struggle to manage all of the tasks, as it looks as though they are trying to balance themselves.
In this picture, we are able to see that they are wearing heels in a kitchen. This is important as it signifies that cooking is a role that was expected of women, this was their one of their purposes within the family. The reflection of their legs in the oven also helps to solidify this view point. The black and white color scheme of the image makes the viewer believe that the image is suppose to be set further back in time, this also links back to the topic of women and their roles.
Masculinity artists
Sam Contis
about: Sam Contis is an American photographer, he was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in 1982 and now currently lives in California. Her work has been exhibited widely, including at the Barbican Centre, London; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Carré d’Art, Nîmes; and MoMA, New York. She is the recipient of a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship and the author of Deep Springs (2017) and Day Sleeper (2020). Google Books
photo analysis:
This image represents masculinity due to the position the man is sitting in as well as the boxy lighting. Rough shapes like squares or rectangles are often associated with masculinity as opposed to softer shapes like circles which are more often associated with femininity. The black and white colours are also harsher which could be linked to masculinity due to it being stereotyped as rough or dominant.
In this photo, the hands appear rough showing that the person is hard working, this trait is often associated with masculinity. Once again the harsher contrast between the black and white tones of the image could link back to masculinity.
My first mounting idea was to mount all the images on foam board to add some level and raise them from board. I would then position the images in an appealing way, either creating a sort of mood board combining the three projects or separating them.
combination
Separate
My other mounting idea was to create a slim boarder around each image, so the images don’t just blend into one big image
Photographer Clare Rae is an artist working in Melbourne, Australia. Her photographic practice often explores ideas of performance and gesture to interrogate and subvert dominant modes of representation. Her work is heavily influenced by femininity, and presents an alternate, and often awkward, experience of subjectivity and the female body, typically using her own.
Known for her engagement with domestic and institutional spaces, recently Rae’s work has been captured and exhibited in locations such as the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), the National Gallery of Victoria, Monash University, the Abbotsford Convent, Sutton Project Space and the Substation, Melbourne. In Rae’s recent projects, she has engaged with site specificity, involving works that are captured and displayed within the same environment.
Photo analysis
In this image, we can see Clare balancing herself on top of two plain rectangular boxes. I think this image is incredibly powerful and produces a message to the viewer. The message links to femininity and potentially what it’s like for women at the workplace due to the file cabernet beside her. The words fragile are littered all over the boxes potentially hinting that women have to be especially careful within the work environment, since they are not viewed the same as men, meaning that even the slightest mistake could have an explosive impact. This point also links back to Rae balancing herself on the boxes, trying not to fall.
This image also links to femininity, but shows us how women are represented in a court room, rather than the work place. In the image we can see Rae laying on the table, in front of where the judge would sit. She is below where the other members of court would be, perhaps signalling that she has no control. This connects to what its like for some women in the world, who have had their fates controlled by those in a higher power to them. The idea that can also be signified through colour green, since it is only on Rae’s skirt and the carpet on the floor. This again signifies that women are considered lower.
Claude Cahun, or also known as Lucy Schwob, was born October 25, 1894, in Nantes, France. She died December 8, 1954, in St. Helier, Jersey. Cahun was a French writer, photographer, Surrealist, and performance artist who was largely written out of art history until the late 1980s due to her being an activist during the second world war.
It is thought that Cahun took her first self-portrait at around 1913, a year later publishing her first collaboration with Malherbe under the pseudonyms Claude Corlis and Marcel Moore (the name Malherbe assumed permanently). They contributed a piece titled “Vues et visions” (“Views and Visions”) to the literary journal Mercure de France, the writing by Cahun and the illustration by Moore. Although she had tried out other names, by 1917 she had adopted the pen name Claude Cahun. Moore’s mother and Cahun’s father married in 1917, and the two young women moved in together later becoming lovers.
She is known for her self-portraits that portray her as ambiguously gendered. In taking the gender-neutral forename Claude and by shaving her head, Cahun actively and outwardly rejected social constructions of gender and sexual identity. To Cahun, identity was changeable, or unstable as shown in her self-portraits as she presented herself as a man, a woman and majority of the time androgynously. By fusing several gender stereotypes into a single character, she obfuscated her identity. It is not entirely clear whether Moore was the photographer of Cahun’s “self-portraits” or had some other role in their production. Moore did, in fact, photograph Cahun later on, and those pictures are attributed to her.
photo analysis
This picture showcases Cahun in a wrestlers outfit while holding a weight in her lap, signifying the masculine aspects to the image. The more feminine parts to this image are the hearts on her face and tights as well as the position she’s sitting in. The words on her shirt, ‘don’t kiss me I’m training’, also hint more towards femininity. The whole photograph seems to combine stereotypical aspects of both genders, resulting in a meaningful outcome.
This image leans more towards the concept of masculinity due to the stance she’s taken as well as the suits. Typically, during Cahun’s time suits were often only worn by men thus resulting in a more boxy appearance. The image as a whole is quite powerful, mainly due to the confident stance Cahun takes.
For this image, I created more of a contrast by increasing the shadows on the image. I also increased the saturation to make the greenery and flowers stand out.
For this image, I again increased the contrast and decreased the highlights slightly. I also slightly increased the saturation and vibrancy to make the image pop more.
With this image I took a lighter approach, increasing the highlights and white tones while still increasing the contrast slightly to give the image more depth.
I took a similar approach with this image, making the image brighter and increasing the contrast.
With this picture, the models features feel sad, so I tried to make the image seem more dramatic. I did this by increasing the shadows and contrast while adding some vignette around the outside to make the viewer focus in more on the model.
I turned the image to black and white here, creating a contrast between the bottom of the picture and the sky. I also increased the shadows and contrast to make the sky and model stand out more.
Once again, I changed the image to be in black and white however I made the image brighter by increasing the exposure and white tones which ended up highlighted the flowers more.
For this picture, I made the image brighter, making the flower field stand out more. This did however, take the view point away from being the model due to the brighter colours surrounding her.
Here, I made the purple tones in the picture stand out more as well as increasing the saturation of the whole picture.
For this picture I changed the hue of the image to make the photo feel more like autumn rather than summer. I also increased the contrast and highlights.
With this image, I lowered the exposure and increased the contrast of the image to make the sky stand out more and give the photo a more summery feel to it. I enhanced this by increasing the saturation.
With this picture, I again decreased the exposure of the image which increasing the saturation and white tones.
I turned this image to black and white while increasing the contrast, and shadows and lowering the exposure.
Similarly to the other images, I lowered the exposure and increased the saturation and contrast to make the sky more prominent.
Here I increased the contrast and saturation of the image as well as the shadows to make the image appear more clean and clear.
Similar to the previous photo, I increased the contrast and saturation while also increasing the shadows.
I increased the contrast and lowered the exposure slightly before adding vignette to the edges of the image to focus it on the model.
I turned the image to black and white while and increased the contrast slightly.
Here I lowered the exposure while increasing the saturation and contrast.
