CLAUDE CAHUN
– ARTIST REFRENCE –
Introduction
Born: October 25, 1894, Nantes, France
Died: December 8, 1954 (age 60 years), Saint Helier
Their Work
Claude Cahun was best known for her experimental self portraiture although she often collaborated with Marcle Moore (Born: July 19, 1892, Nantes, France Died: February 19, 1972 (age 79 years), Jersey ) , her partner , step siblings , and romantic lovers.
Cahun enjoyed using different mediums in her work , using multiple symbols and messages in each portrait.
– Claude Cahun“You should discover, handle, tame, make irrational objects yourself.”
Both Marcle Moore and Claude Cahun changed their gender affirming birth given name to a gender neutral ambiguous alternative title , representing their identity of being non conformist surrealist.
Claude was born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob
Marcle was born Suzanne Malherbe
GOALS AND METHODS OF ACHIEVEMENT
Cahuns goal was to show the public that society did not control identity and that freedom of expression is a human right everyone is entitled to , I believe she wanted to inspire and encourage others to be who they wanted rather then who others wanted them to be , she used her work as her way of expression and I believe her goal was to encourage others to do the same
To achieve this goal Cahun photographed herself presenting as different characters to portray the idea that one person can have multiple characteristics and they are not stuck as one thing , often dressed in alternative ways and peculiar styles , this often included abnormal hairstyles and even face paint on occasion
Examples
Analysis
VISUAL
- Who is in the image? Claude Cahun
- How are they posed? Hands behind their back tilted to the side , feet pointed to the side theyre leaning towards.
- Where is their gaze pointed? Directly at the camera
- What are they wearing? Long dress with cross stitching , and simple pattern , also wearing some kind of wig and over done makeup
TECHNICAL
- Lighting – Do you think this uses artificial or natural lighting? Could be either artificial or natural , projected straight onto the subject from behind the camera and possibly above aswell maybe butterfly lighting
- How does the lighting accentuate the figure? Makes the figure apear more lit than the background giving the impression of importance and status highlighting the subject drawing focus to it.
- Aperture – Does this image have a soft or sharp focus background? The image background is slightly blurred but still easily depictable
- What could this tell us about the aperture? Most likely around f/8
- Angle – What angle has the photo been taken at? Directly in front of the subject from slightly lower down but not on the ground the angle however is not tilted up and is deadpan
- What does this contribute? Makes the subject appear a higher satus of importance and present Cahun or rather the character shes playing as strong and confident
- Is it a full body shot / half body shot / three-quarter body shot? Full body shot
CONTEXTUAL
- Refrences the role of women in 1930s
- Relates to an old fable of Bluebeard and she is dressed as Elle
- “After lavishly entertaining a group of ladies, the youngest daughter of a noble lady decides to marry him. He gives his wife a set of keys to all the treasures in the house, commanding her not to use the smallest key, and leaves for business. She discovers his murdered wives after her curiosity gets the best of her.” – a brief summary of the tale of Blue beard
CONCEPTUAL
- How does Cahun’s work react to the role of women / gender in the 20s and 30s? – although many believe the tale of blue beard is a cautionary one to warn women to obey their husbands i believe Claude Cahun used it to give the message that women should not unquestioningly conform to and follow patriarchal expectations/rules as they do not ensure safety and comfort like the are promoted to