For these photographs, I decided to create the idea that woman can have masculine traits and still be feminine. As you can see the photos of the girls backs show that a woman’s back can come across as very woman-like and elegant, however just because a woman wears baggy clothes or men’s clothes, it does not mean they do not have the elegant woman-like.
Cindy Sherman is an American artist who created self-portraits in different contexts to portray the different stereotypes of woman. She was extremely interested in experimenting in different identities. She would create different images with props that she has deliberately chosen to resembles movie characters. She continued to create different photographs to show the diversity of different people and different human stereotypes.
Cindy Sherman’s artwork encourages people to reflect on how society moulds and imposes gender onto people. Cindy Sherman’s artwork is interpreted as feminist as her artwork raises questions about the objectification of woman and how men see them.
I really like Cindy
What is masculinity?
Masculinity involves attitudes and behaviours that signify and validate maleness.
4 types of masculinity:
Hegemonic – Men power over woman
Complicit – Not physically strong but shows traits of hegemonic masculinity
Marginalized – Racial identity other than white, or poor men.
Subordinate masculinities – Men who do not fit in with the hegemonic masculinity and therefore are treated as lower on the gender hierarchy
Different stereotypes of masculinity :
Self sufficiency – Men should figure out things by themselves without help of others
Acting Tough – Men should always defend their reputation and be willing to use physical aggression to do so
Physical Attractiveness – A man should be physically attractive but do it effortlessly
Men are stereotypically seen as big and strong, they are seen to protect their family and to make money to support their family. However not all men are like this, these days men can be perceived in lots of different ways.
Femininity also called womanliness is a set of attributes, behaviours and roles that generally associate with woman and girls. Some behaviours that are considered feminine are influenced by both cultural and biological factors.
Some factors of femininity are :
These are all stereotypical factors of femininity, however some woman will not show these characteristics because not every woman is the same and they may feel different about different situations to to others. Woman are stereotyped to be seen as more weak than boys and are seen to be more gentle and understanding instead of taking control of a situation.
Around 1950, woman were told they had to stay at home and do the cleaning, cooking and to look after the kids whilst the husband went to work and earned the money for the family. Woman were also objectified and seen as a males property rather than a human being. This is not acceptable now and woman should not be told they have to stay at home to do those things, woman are now able to go to work and also earn money to support the family.
Nowadays, there are many woman who don’t feel as though they fit into the category of the stereotypical woman and feel as though they have to transgender because they feel more comfortable in a males body. There has been a lot of discussion lately about transgender people all over the world because those who feel they want to transgender want to be accepted as how they are and what they feel is right for them.
Identity
Identity is the characteristics that determine who or what you are. It is how you define who you are and also how others define you. When you figure out your identity you can form strong, meaningful connections with others and also helps you to communicate with people. It is important to recognise how you identify to be able to love yourself and to be confident and learn to accept who you are.
Social Identity
The 8 social identities are :
Social identity is how people categorize themselves into a social group and how the perceive themselves in relation to society and the options of different social groups. Social identity influences how people see themselves and how they interact with others.
Cultural Identity
Cultural identity is the distinct identities of people or groups in cultural or subcultural categories and social groups. It gives people identification with a sense of belonging with a certain group of people based on the different cultural categories including nationality, ethnicity, race, gender and religion. People express their cultural identity through clothes, food, festivals, music and art.
Geographical Identity
Geographical identity is when a person or group of people feel a sense of attachment to a country, region or the village in which they live in.
Identity politics
Identity politics is a form of art that focuses on exploring the concept of identity. It is almost always personal and allows them to express their experiences, emotions and beliefs. It can also be a way to explore different social and cultural issues that relate to :
Culture Wars
Culture wars are a type of cultural conflict between two or more social groups who struggle to politically express their feelings or what they believe in. In 1980s culture wars flared up and there was a rising movement of conversations that American society had lost its way. The main problem of these culture wars was there was a decline of cultural and moral values instead of economic or political issues.
Identity Art:
An early example of identity in art is Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits who wanted to express her Mexican culture through art as well as the larger social and cultural issues. Her work challenged the traditional of woman in art which she created the idea that woman are portrayed as passive and decorative objects.
This is one of Frida Kahlo’s Artwork.
Identity art evolved throughout the 20th century and we saw Cindy Sherman use gender roles and stereotypes of men and woman and how they are portrayed so differently.
Cindy Sherman is an American artist who created self-portraits in different contexts to portray the different stereotypes of woman. She was extremely interested in experimenting in different identities. She would create different images with props that she has deliberately chosen to resembles movie characters. She continued to create different photographs to show the diversity of different people and different human stereotypes.
The 20th and 21st centuries have been seen for artists and photographers to use political identity to portray there authentic life. Political identity is a huge part of our life today as we see it everywhere, whether its through artwork or other ways. This is beneficial for them to express their feelings of their identity to
gender identity / cultural identity / social identity / geographical identity / political identity / lack of / loss of identity / stereotypes / prejudices etc.
photomontage is the process and the results of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and over-lapping 2 or more photographs into one image.
Thomas Sauvin, is a French photography who used photo montage to display his images. In this image he has cut out different parts of the image and placed it on top of them.
Rembrandt Lighting is a technique for portrait photography named after Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, the great Dutch painter. It refers to a way of lighting a face so that an upside-down light triangle appears under the eyes of the subject.
Rembrandt lighting is where there is a triangle of light seen below the eye. Photographers use this lighting because it creates a dramatic yet natural image
Rembrandt lighting adds an element of drama and psychological depth to the character of your sitter. In portraiture, the eyes of your subject are nearly always the main point of focus. The triangle of light, placed just below the eye on the shadow side of the face, will increase the emphasis and the viewer really will be “drawn in” to your image.
Rembrandt lighting is extremely popular technique because it allows the photographer to create a dramatic image but yet also a natural image. Rembrandt usually is used to portray peoples moods through the image and usually has the effect of moodiness.
As you can see from this image, the lighting is behind the subject whilst taking the images. The subject in these images is a person and as you can see from this that the model has their body at an angle whilst the camera is straight on. There is also a reflector used at an angle on the left side of the model, and this makes ensures the shadow is less harsh which allows the triangle to appear.
Chiaroscuro lighting is a high-contrast lighting technique that utilises a low-key lighting setup to achieve contrast between the model and the dark background. Photographers use chiaroscuro lighting to highlight the model and create depth to the background.
Chiaroscuro is lighting used with portrait pictures to create a split of light and shadow. ( Italian for “lightdark”) and is defined as a bold contrast between light and dark. A certain amount of chiaroscuro is the effect of light modelling in painting where 3-dimensional volume is suggested by highlights and shadows. It first appeared in 15th century painting in Italy and Flanders, but true chiaroscuro developed during the 16th century, in Mannerism and it baroque art.
As you can see in the image above, to achieve the chiaroscuro lighting the subject needs to be facing straight in front of the camera and there needs to be a fill light on the right of the subject and a key-light to the right of the subject.
What is butterfly lighting ?
Butterfly lighting is a portrait lighting pattern where the key light is above the photographers camera to ensure that the light is pointing down on the subjects face. This creates a shadow under the subjects nose and creates an illusion of a butterfly under the nose.
Butterfly lighting is when there is a shadow on the face just below the nose shaped like a butterfly. It is a technique used by many photographers to achieve a very elegant and sophisticated image.
Why do photographers use it ?
Butterfly lighting is used for flattering and glamorous portrait photos. The lighting is usually soft on the face and an advantage of using this type of lighting is that it can be used on almost all faces and it is extremely easy to set up.
As you can see from this image of the setup, the lighting is placed above the camera with the subject in front of the camera facing forward. There is also a reflector underneath the models face which reflects the lighting upwards and helps to create the butterfly shadow underneath the nose. There is a plain backdrop behind the model to enhance the models face and to ensure that the model is the main focus of the photo. For Butterfly lighting you can use any coloured background as it doesn’t matter as long as there is a shadow underneath the nose of the model.
