Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A spectacle denotes an impressive or deplorable sight, and necessarily involves the
power and politics of viewing. The female body exists as a sexualised object of these
processes of looking within Western culture, not only in high art, but also in
discourses such as medicine and science. In both art and medicine the female body
has been treated as a passive object to be studied, analysed and classified. Power
relations and patriarchal ideologies have played a great part in the resulting
objectifying representations, firmly locating images of the female body within the
realm of the spectacle.
Bodily perceptions, in terms of the female body, have changed much, particularly
through the reinterpretation of sexuality through feminist theory. Modem culture and
technology have opened up many new possibilities for the redefinition and
understanding of the body. Modem bodies seem to be under as much close
surveillance and scrutiny as their nineteenth century counterparts. This study explores
these ideas through a wide range of examples from painting, photography and
performance art, and non-art objects such as anatomical objects and medical
illustrations.
Central to the construction of the body as spectacle, are issues of looking and viewing.
Chapter 1 examines ideas around the gaze; the politics and processes of vision,
objectification and fetishisation are explored in relation to the functioning of the
medical and aesthetic gaze. The concept of spectacle is also elaborated upon in terms
of ideas around the nineteenth century carnival and freak show, and in terms of
societal taboos and transgression.
Aspects of aesthetic and medical discourse focus on the display and scrutiny of the
female body. Chapter 2 examines the way in which these discourses attempted to reveal the female body by rendering it in highly visual terms. The dominant
ideologies informing both discourses played an instrumental role and resulted in
representations that defined the female body in normative standards and ideals of
beauty and health. Pornography is considered as a modem discourse in which the
female body is defined and displayed as an object of scrutiny. Feminist theory
challenged exclusively male representations of the female body and the subversion of
traditional forms of representation of women is studied by examining the work of
Annie Sprinkle and Cindy Sherman.
Many representations of the female body by feminist artists are considered highly
disturbing and transgressive, precisely because they traverse traditional and
acceptable representations of it. The idealised nude forms the epitome of contained
ideals of health and beauty, and the work of Orlan and Cindy Sherman is examined
within these terms in Chapter 3. These artists' representations of the female body are
in direct opposition to such norms, rather settling for an open-ended, unconfined and
abject representation. However, such transgressive cultural images produced by
women artists are often regarded as pathological acts, and dismissed in terms of
deplorable spectacle.
The research concludes with a commentary on the candidate's practical work, which
in dealing with the representation of the human body explores some issues of
visuality, spectacle and fragmentation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: 'n Spektakel kan op 'n indrukwekkende of betreurenswaardige skouspel dui;
gevolglik betrek dit die politiese en magseienskappe van besigtiging. Die vroulike
liggaam bestaan as 'n seksuele objek van só 'n proses van besigtiging binne die
Westerse kultuur - nie net in kuns nie, maar ook in diskoerse soos geneeskunde en die
wetenskap. In beide kuns en geneeskunde, is die vroulike liggaam beskou as 'n
passiewe objek vir bestudering, analisering en klassifisering. Magsverhoudinge en
ideologieë het gevolglik 'n groot rol gespeel in die uiteindelike objektifiserende
representasies, en gevolglik is die uitbeelding van die vroulike liggaam in terme van
spektakel vasgelê.
Liggaamlike persepsies, veral in terme van die vroulike figuur, het noemenswaardige
veranderinge ondergaan - veral deur die hervertolking van seksualiteit deur
feministiese teorie. Moderne kultuur en tegnologie bied verdere moontlikhede vir die
herdefiniëring en begrip van die liggaam. Die moderne liggaam word onder streng
bewaking en betragting geplaas - net soos sy negentiende-eeuse ewebeeld. Hierdie
studie ondersoek dié idees deur die bestudering van 'n verskeidenheid voorbeelde
vanuit skilderkuns, fotografie en 'performance' -kuns, asook objekte soos anatomiese
objekte en mediese illustrasies.
Kwessies van besigtiging is sentraal tot die konstruksie van die liggaam as spektakel.
Hoofstuk londersoek dus idees rondom besigtiging - onder andere die politiese en
magseienskappe, en die gevolglike objektifiserende effek daarvan - in verhouding tot
die funksionering van die mediese en die estetiese blik. Die konsep van spektakel
word verder uitgebrei in terme van die negentiende-eeuse karnaval, asook in terme
van taboes en sosiale oortreding. Sekere aspekte van estetiese en mediese diskoerse fokus op die vertoning en
besigtiging van die vroulike liggaam. Hoofstuk 2 ondersoek die wyse waarop hierdie
diskoerse die vroulike liggaam in hoogs visuele terme uitgebeeld het. Beide diskoerse
is gemotiveer deur dominante ideologieë, wat gevolglik 'n instrumentele rol gespeel
het in die uitbeelding van die vroulike liggaam. Sulke uitbeeldings is dikwels
gemotiveer deur standaarde en ideale van skoonheid. Gevolglik word pornografie in
hierdie hoofstuk bespreek as 'n moderne diskoers wat georganiseer is rondom die
vertoning en besigtiging van die vroulike liggaam. Feministiese teorie skep 'n
positiewe ruimte waarin sulke eksklusiewe, manlike definisies en uitbeeldings van die
vroulike liggaam uitgedaag kan word. Die omverwerping van tradisionele metodes
van uitbeelding word hier ondersoek deur die werk van Annie Sprinkle en Cindy
Sherman te bespreek.
Die herdefiniëring van die vroulike liggaam deur feministiese kunstenaars word
dikwels beskou as onstellend; waarskynlik omdat dit tradisionele en aanvaarbare
uitbeeldings van die liggaam oortree. Die werk van Orlan en Cindy Sherman word in
terme van sosiale oortreding in Hoofstuk 3 ondersoek. Die klassieke naakfiguur stel
die ideale van skoonheid en stabiliteit voor. Hierdie kunstenaars se uitbeeldings toon
egter 'n doelbewuste verontagsaming van sulke ideale, deurdat hulle eerder 'n oop,
onstabiele en gefragmenteerde figuur uitbeeld. Oortredings van kulturele norme deur
vrouekunstenaars word dikwels beskou as patalogiese aksies; en dit word dus maklik
afgekeur as 'n spektakel.
Die navorsing word afgesluit met 'n bespreking van die kandidaat se praktiese werk,
wat die uitbeelding van die menslike liggaam ondersoek. Gevolglik word kwessies
van besigtiging, spektakel en fragmentasie verder ondersoek.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/52528 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Cronje, Karen |
| Contributors | Arnold, M., Van der Merwe, V., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts . |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 78 p. : ill. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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