Images Crit. #1

Here I wanted to play with assumptions. How we automatically read the girl as the victim. Both figures have bruses/cute, but we link the male as the abuser. This flows with the male dominated societt. Also that this is a big issue between the sexes. I was thinking of keeping these images, and then adding ones where the male is the victim?

These images:

The top left is dealing with the stereotype that everyone women loved chocolate.

The left is automatically assumed this is an action a female is doing. Reading a "girl" magazine, maybe laying out. (although not enough information is given to fully know). Society has trained my viewers to interpret the image this way.

The left of a large, male cleaning was done to as the swapping of gender roles. I wanted to see if this difference affected the viewer.

Images

With these two images I am comparing the different feeling a viewer gets between the different physical relationships going on. The bottom seems normal, but the left is either funny, awkward, or uneasy depending on the viewer.

Where I am at on Critique #1

-What was Initial Ideal?: “If Women Ruled the World.”
Swap gender roles.
Or (and leaning more towards) and evolving to…
Explored male dominance over women. dominant males have become in society by taking pictures of everyday acts (like opening the door, paying the bill, driving the car) I want this to convey emotion and the relationship between men and women.

New Ideas: We live in a male dominated society. I want to visually represent this through pictures.
Why do some images strike you differently as a viewer?
Sexual representation
Stereotypes
Identity
Abuse
Body Language
-What does work communicate to viewer?
Gender representation. Explore roles of men and women visually.

-What is working well, what change or improve?
I like the different emotions, but I need to focus my project more. It is still broad, but the more images I take will help this.
Power to attract others?
Domesticity (influence of home life)
Power (ability to have strength, influence and/or control) Who is the victim?

I like this term:
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the father is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children and property. Historically, the principle of patriarchy has been basic to the social, legal, political and economic organization in Hebrew, Greek, Roman, Indian and Chinese cultures, and has had a deep influence on most aspects of modern civilization.[1]
In feminist theory the concept patriarchy often includes all the social mechanisms that reproduces and exerts male dominance over women.

Project Purposal

Initia Idea?
For my project I want to explore the ideal “If Women Ruled the World.” I have always taken an interest in art that explored male dominance over women. I want to start incorporating this into my own work, and I feel this concept would be captured best be photography. I plan on creating a series of photographic prints, and giving them a specific order.
Ideas I currently have are broad, but to start I will swap gender roles. I hope to capture how dominant males have become in society by taking pictures of everyday acts (like opening the door, paying the bill, driving the car), but doing a role reversal. I will also explore this topic with some comedy (like a toilet seat chained down to the floor). As of now these images will be from a feminist point of view. Although, I will want to also see how images from the man’s point of view will turn out. I plan to experiment with various elements, depending on the scene I am shooting. Color will be a big factor to this project too. I want this to help convey emotion and the relationship between men and women.

Looking Back

This course went so fast, but it was a lot of fun. I was nervous at the first class because I knew nothing about photography or Aphasia. As an art major I knew I would catch on fast, but with the help of the teachers ability to break down photography and meeting those with Aphasia (All nerves were GONE). From there the course was very rewarding. I learned a new medium which I now love, and also was given the chance to help others along the way.
This was a great class environment and place to learn. Everyone in the class became close, and this made class discussions very productive. I learned a lot during this course, and also grew a desire to want to help others. I realized art is very therapeutic.
I feel like this class affected everyone that took apart in it. It was a very positive experience and I want to keep participating in a service-learning environment. I also became very comfortable with the camera and grew more confidant in my photographic abilities. I also learned about Aphasia and all the work that goes into being a stroke survivor. Something I knew nothing about to start.

Final Project

Final Project!

My new site!

For my final project I decided to do a website. It was a fun, creative way to share my experience with the world. “The Photography as Language” was my first service-learning class, and I wanted a way to convey is affect on me with other. I also wanted to share the information I learned.
The hardest thing with this site was to make it Aphasia friendly. I used a lot of white space, few colors, and large text. I also use images of the participants in the program so viewers can connect more to the cause and information given. Overall this site was difficult for me to create. I had to make sure not to make it complicated or busy.
The site includes a home page wish described what the site was. The next page included information on Aphasia. The class page included information on the service-learning class and what took place during “The Photography as Language.” There is also a page for guests to learn about photography so they can start taking their own images, and lastly a links page.
Overall I am happy I decided to do this as my final project!! Hope you enjoy it too J