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One of the inspirations my cousin
used for the art piece I will bring
to class. |
Originally for my semester project, I wanted to focus on female bodybuilders. The topic would relate to bodybuilding and body image, how one views themselves and how fitness plays a role to achieve these desired looks. Unfortunately, I could not find any female artists that focused on weight training, lifting, anything pertaining to those categories, therefore that was a fail. So I had to change my topic, sort of. The same concept would be applied, but instead I will discuss the various ways females view themselves (since there are many women artists who focus on body image) and how the benefits of fitness can help change these mental and physical view points individuals have. I was going to do a video, but I decided to do a power point instead. My cousin, who graduated from Arts High School, has also decided to help me by drawing women who are fit, which allows to see the benefits of it and to bring a little work to class. I have no idea how it will turn out, but I know he using either chalk or pastels to draw it. All my research would be conducted using the Rutgers Library database search and also prior knowledge that I learned/had already.
Never thought about highlighting women body builders. Maybe you can incorporate the male gaze into your project. Discuss if the idea of the male gaze and the meaning changes when it comes to body builders as oppose to nude women or regular women in photos.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, incorporating the ideas of the Male Gaze and how manipulative the media can be towards society would definitely make your project even more interesting. Majority of women in today's society feel forced to look a certain way because of how media portrays women.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comments above. How will you use feminist art and body image to influence your project? The image of "fit women" is still very narrow and problematic and subject to the same male gaze issues as other depictions of women. How will you highlight images or ideas that challenge this? The image you include above is not entirely atypical. How can you go further to include feminist critique and art history? It is impossible that you found no artists when you tried looking!! I found several in just a few minutes!! Look at this short article: http://www.columbusmonthly.com/content/stories/2010/03/when-bodybuilding-and-art-collide.html which helps create context around your issue and this exhibition from the New Museum "Picturing the Modern Amazon" which is EXACTLY perfect for your project http://archive.newmuseum.org/index.php/Detail/Occurrence/Show/occurrence_id/343
ReplyDeleteI think you need some tips in doing online research!