masquerade

The dictionary defines ‘Masquerade’ as a false pretence, a disguise or a false appearance. The ‘Self’ is defined as a persons own individuality, essence or an object/source of introspection. I chose to use the cultural construct of gender, specifically femininity for this project after gaining some knowledge of the history of the feminist movement and through my interest in the surrealist movement especially female surrealists.
Femininity is a cultural minefield. From past generalisations of what women should be to the feminist movements of the 20th century, femininity has undergone a revolution in terms of its definition. Traditionally women were presented as passive and in receipt of the male gaze. This gaze was usually sexualized to ease Sigmund Freud’s theory of male castration anxiety, so women’s bodies became fetishes. Throughout the 20th century more female artists begin to emerge and challenge this atypical view of women and femininity thus also challenging the usual patriarchal stance in terms of how women were objectified.

Alice Kaufman’s essay lists the techniques used to de-objectify women during the 20th century. Common practices were to portray women as an active subject, using androgyny, women were made masculine and men were made feminine. Kaufman then states that these are not viable, long-term solutions to the problem of de-objectifying women. They are effectively erasing femininity rather than celebrating it in a non-fetishized way.
Judith Butler created the term of ‘Gender perfomativity’, which is in effect a performance of either feminine or masculine traits according to a person’s own sex. To act feminine according to cultural definitions, is to be passive and serene whilst being masculine is to be aggressive and dominant. This is usually transcended or satirized through drag acts but seems to be a definitive divide between feminine stereotypes and what femininity really is. The ‘real’ femininity is very difficult to define. From researching how female photographers dealt with the issue of femininity as a masquerade and what techniques they used inspired me to look into my own sense of self of being feminine as an individual and how society defines femininity.
From a personal point of view I found a conflict within as I attempted to prescribe gender to specific character traits. There are wide variations of femininity; from being a girle-girl to being a tomboy. I suspect the vast majority of women fall somewhere between the lines of the ultra-feminine and the ultra-masculine. From observing femininity through the media (specifically media dominated towards a male audience) I found that there is a huge generalisation of femininity, much of it fits in with Freud’s theory of male castration anxiety. The main area that I wanted to focus on photographically was to challenge the patriarchal view of femininity, to expose it as a masquerade.
I particularly liked this extract –

“Femininity is a myth,
It is much like a necklace,
It is worn to be admired,
It adorns our physical bodies,
It is an accessory,
But it is not part of us”
(Author unknown)

Doll (Death becomes her)

The main influence for this photograph was Cindy Sherman’s grotesque doll series. Dolls are a unique signifier for femininity as they are usually given to female children. I wanted to use a perfectly symmetrical doll instead of a grotesque one to reflect the cultural pressures that women face to be ‘perfect’. I researched this societal pressure by browsing the women’s lifestyle magazine section in newsagents. Almost every cover had beauty tips, weight loss diets and ‘must have’ fashion collections. From a personal perspective it is not hard to see why there is a rise of mental disorders such as Anorexia, which has the highest mortality rate of any mental disease, I felt it important to include an association of death. Placing pennies over the eyes of the doll signifies this association with death. This is a long established tradition in some cultures past and present. By placing pennies over the eyes of this perfectly symmetrical doll I am symbolizing the ‘death of perfection’. This perfect body has begun the process of decay.The pennies also prevent the voyeur looking into the eyes or ‘windows to the soul’. Instead the gaze is directed towards the ideas of death and femininity. There is also the denial of sight of the rest of the body.
The image is also presented as a mirror. My main inspiration for the whole of this image came from the book ‘Cindy Sherman – retrospective’. Amelia Jones states

“The face of the woman is so close, it becomes absorbed into the very surface of the image (exacerbating the collapse between “image” and “woman”). It is as if we are leaning in closer to view or master the woman’s face only to realize that in immediate proximity it becomes a blur…it is as if we are attempting to see ourselves in the mirror but are blocked by doing so from her head or visage.” (Thames & Hudson. 1997)

The death connection is also inspired from Freud’s theory of the ego . Freud sees the double or reflection as insurance against destruction of the ego and a denial of the power of death. Roland Barthes also theorizes that photographing any subject inevitably transforms the subject into a spectacle or object and thus creates a connection with death by preserving the object.

Consciousness

This photograph portrays my own conscious movement between the two realms of higher consciousness where traditionally women are seen to ‘inhabit’ and the lower consciousness or more earthly, practical reality, which is a traditionally seen as a masculine realm . My own concept of self comes from the self-portraiture aspect and my own movements between the dream state and reality. I attempted to show that despite being female I could quite easily slip between the two realms. The staircase is really a metaphorical state of transition between the two. The higher level being obscured by the ceiling, which reflects on my own personal need for privacy. It is hidden and this metaphorical wall subverts the voyeur’s gaze from this traditionally feminine sphere. The cupboard on the right is partially in view to reflect secrets and hidden mysteries that surround the feminine. This cupboard is also expanding between the two realms of consciousness to also reflect our secret fantasies and more earthly secrets for example a secret desire and an act carried out in real life.
The figure is blurred to portray a frequent movement between the two realms. I also wanted to create a reference to the work of Francesca Woodman ‘angel’ series. Eva Rus writes in one article on Woodman’s work

“What happens when woman finds herself in the empty space between the gaze and her objectified image? In Woodman’s own words, woman would multiply her image and, in the midst of so many illusionary ghosts of herself, she would conceal her true self, who makes them move.”

Freud’s theories are also referred to again in this photograph. Through Freud’s work on psychoanalysis, decapitation is as symbolic as castration (losing one’s head is equivalent to losing ones genitals). The ambiguity of presence is in direct conflict of what photography is seen to be about – a transparent form of documentation. This ambiguity is also akin to androgyny. Apart from the feet, which are in clear view the rest of the body is not as visible making it difficult to assign a sex to this figure. De-fetishizing the female body by taking away any discernable features also interrupts the male gaze.

Duality of Femininity

Again, this photograph is influenced by Francesca Woodman’s use of mirrors and Hannah Wilke’s use of her own body as representation. Although no mirror is present I purposely duplicated the image to create a reflection. The mirror is an icon of self-image. It is an image of ourselves as if we were two beings. We are the observer and the observed. I intended to highlight the juxtaposition between the image of self and the representation of self.
Eva Rus’s article on self-representation inspired many of the theories behind this image. By photographing myself as the feminine I am re-asserting my authority over my own body and it’s cultural connotations of what the feminine is (i.e., that women are owned by men). The body is again ‘decapitated’. The pearl necklace and Tie are usually assigned to two different genders but here they are together on one body to present the idea that gender can be ‘worn’ together at the same time. They both also look like noose’s again giving a reference to death.
By using the iconic symbol of the bra, I am highlighting the fetish that the dominant male culture transforms women into as well as creating a reference to women’s movements of the 1970’s who burned their bras in protest at patriarchal culture. Underwear is usually a fetish but by creating a duplicate the image has also created a bra that looks like there is no body attached, rendering the fetish as useless. The straps also create the shape of a cross as does the pearl necklace. A cross usually symbolises ‘stop’ or other negative connotations. The shoulders also create a shape like that of a sunrise or sunset. This was deliberate to signify the end of one cycle of thought or the beginning of another.

Conclusion

Each image was individually effective in challenging the misconceptions of femininity. In Death becomes her, the male gaze is subverted by purposely making the image seem as if it is trying to transcend its boundaries. It is almost like looking into a mirror but the voyeur is seeing his or her own death through the symbolism of pennies over the eyes. The ‘perfect’ version of femininity through symmetry refers to the social implications of women trying to be perfect through beauty – a performative aspect. It is aimed at both male and female viewers.
Consciousness challenges the boundaries in Freudian terms of women traditionally being seen to inhabit the higher realms of consciousness. I initially took 2 sets of figures, one dressed in white ascending the stairs as well as a figure in black descending the stairs. I chose the black figure primarily because I wanted to show a figure deliberately walking away from the higher level on consciousness rather than confirming the female role of being in the higher realm. The figure is going against the expected feminine role. The figure is again decapitated referring to the theory of castration anxiety.
Duality of femininity subverts the fetishizing of the female body by deliberately separating the body from the garment. Death is again referred to by decapitation but also by the symbols of each gender (necklace and tie) seemingly ‘hanging’ the person/object. The double image represents the mirroring of self – the observer and observed, image and reflection. Symbolism is again in use in this photograph by the crosses and the ‘sun’, which is actually created by blending the shoulders together. The sun is also a symbol of re-birth in some cultures.
Black and white was chosen for these images to reflect opposing sides for example, dark Vs light or masculine Vs feminine. It also refers to the psychological term of “black and white thinking” whereby there are two opposites sides for everything but no middle ground, which is precisely what I found in my research of femininity, the self and masquerade. That black and white or femininity and masculinity is possibly all a charade.

Bibliography

Books –

∑ Cruz A, Jones A & Smith E. “Cindy Sherman – Retrospective”. Thames & Hudson. London. 1997. Pages 19-33 & 33-42.
∑ Townsend, Chris. “Francesca Woodman”. Phaidon Press LTD. London. 2006. Pages 28-45.
∑ Storr, Anthony. “Freud – A very short introduction”. Oxford university press. Oxford. 1989. Chapters 4 & 8 (Reference only)
∑ Showalter, Elaine. “Sexual Anarchy – Gender & culture at the fin de siecle”. Virago Press. London. 1990. Chapters 2, 3 & 8. (Reference and Research only).

Internet –

http://www.ncf.edu/hassold/WomenArtists/riviere_womanliness_as_masquerade.htm (Used as Research only)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_performativity. Judith Butler’s theories. Accessed March 2007.
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_cult/courses/beauty/web4/akaufman.html. Alice Kaufman. Accessed March 2007.
∑ http://www.uscanada.org/rus1.html. Eva Russ essay. Accessed April 2007.
http://www.forart.no/steihaug/part_3.html. Interpretation of Cindy Sherman’s work. Accessed April 2007.

And my research blog –
http://zaradavis.wordpress.com/