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COHABITATION: LOOKING THROUGH A KEYHOLE

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Date Issued:
2014
Abstract/Description:
Initially, my developing body of work aimed to redesign the traditions of representational painting, specifically the female nude, to depict the contemporary notions of lesbianism and femininity in an honest and empowering manner as a form of identity and not as vehicle for voyeurism. As an artist who paints the female nude and identifies as a woman and a lesbian, I examine the preexisting notions of the male gaze and the effect of socialization as it pertains to my work. The act of looking from the point of view of a woman, which is not synonymous with a "female gaze", or from the point of view of a lesbian, is not a birthright, but a conscious effort to constantly question the way we see and produce pictures and realizing that the male gaze permeates most images of female nudes. By the nature of my sexuality and my exposure to existing male-produced images, do I see the female nude through the male gaze or is there a gaze that is essentially female? Does it matter either way if the image is aesthetically compelling? My paintings neither attempt to conform to the male gaze or debunk it, nor do I attempt to prove the existence of a female gaze. Like Edgar Degas, I wish to look through a keyhole - a form of voyeurism - to see people outside of their public facade.
Title: COHABITATION: LOOKING THROUGH A KEYHOLE.
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Name(s): Torrecampo, Mary Joy, Author
Poindexter, Carla, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2014
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Initially, my developing body of work aimed to redesign the traditions of representational painting, specifically the female nude, to depict the contemporary notions of lesbianism and femininity in an honest and empowering manner as a form of identity and not as vehicle for voyeurism. As an artist who paints the female nude and identifies as a woman and a lesbian, I examine the preexisting notions of the male gaze and the effect of socialization as it pertains to my work. The act of looking from the point of view of a woman, which is not synonymous with a "female gaze", or from the point of view of a lesbian, is not a birthright, but a conscious effort to constantly question the way we see and produce pictures and realizing that the male gaze permeates most images of female nudes. By the nature of my sexuality and my exposure to existing male-produced images, do I see the female nude through the male gaze or is there a gaze that is essentially female? Does it matter either way if the image is aesthetically compelling? My paintings neither attempt to conform to the male gaze or debunk it, nor do I attempt to prove the existence of a female gaze. Like Edgar Degas, I wish to look through a keyhole - a form of voyeurism - to see people outside of their public facade.
Identifier: CFH0004713 (IID), ucf:45402 (fedora)
Note(s): 2014-12-01
B.F.A.
Arts and Humanities, School of Visual Arts and Design
Bachelors
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): female nude
male gaze
female gaze
impressionism
figurative painting
self-portrait
feminism
artist and model
objectification
voyeurism
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004713
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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