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the miseducation of Lauryn hill!!!
Goddamn, this album is good đ§
#spotify#best music ever#lauryn hill#wordstoliveby#throwback#life quotes#life lessons#dancing#dancemood#mary j. blige#dâangelo#doo wop
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đż OutKast!! đż
#Spotify#SoundCloud#outkast#best music ever#happy music#my music#my stuff#1990s#music#hip hop music#dancemood#dancing#andre 3000#ice cold#big boi#hey ya!#roses#so#sofresh
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đż BADBADNOTGOOD đż
Best songs from the album tbhâŹď¸âŹď¸
[as] lol.
Probably the best trend rn
youtube
#Spotify#Youtube#tiktok#best music ever#badbadnotgood#time moves slow#in your eyes#[as]#good vibes#chill#my music#music
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Odalisque with Slave, 1839, by âŁâŁâ Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)âŁâŁâ
Why Victorians Went Crazy for Orientalism
During the period of feverish obsession with Orientalism, European artists and art lovers looked towards what they dubbed the âEastâ - aka the âOrient.â The Victorians werenât overly specific, as this region actually spans many distinct territories and cultures over the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia. They all did have one sure thing in common however, their âotherness.â They were decidedly different from European culture and while the obsession of the Orient has stretched quite far back in history (and I mean centuries before), weâre going to focus on how and why the Victorians in particular went crazy for it - particularly their obsession with the Ottoman Empire.
The idea of the âOrientâ often sets the scene in oneâs mind as slave markets, snake charmers, women either dressed in too much clothing or none at all, the hustle of markets and harems, as âArabian Nightsâ from Disneyâs Aladdin plays in the background. These are just some of the stereotypes which continue to dominate much of the region(s) rich cultures and histories. Provocative, erotic, and exotic.
Power and Obsession
Society at this time held an appreciation of the complex architecture, but often little else, interested only in what the artists could portray as consumable to an audience - whether it was an accurate representation or not.
They largely pushed the view of East civilizations âothernessâ through unrealistic portrayals of its people. Clearly all Arab men were snake charmers or slave traders, and all women were poor sexy slaves or⌠sexy slaves with slightly more luxurious lifestyles - âsexy slave babesâ as Lindsay Ellis playfully coins in her video essay âThe Most Whitewashed Character In Literary History.â It largely represented these cultures stereotypes or fantasies from the Victorians outside perspectives.
For example, look at the amazing care Osman Hamdi Bey, an artist actually born within the Ottoman Empire, took in portraying the architecture and lettering within âReading the Quran,â and âThe Tortoise Trainer.â
While Jean-LĂŠon GĂŠrĂ´meâs painting âThe Snake Charmerâ isnât as grounded in reality.
These portrayals, which didnât just occur in visual art but also frequently in literature and the Worldâs Fair, created a narrative in which the Western control of the East made them civilized and justifying that good olâ colonial spirit.
Breaking the Nude Rules
Nudity was a big thing for the Victorians. Today we regard them as shrewds scared of showing their ankles, but they went nuts for scandal and drama. Traditionally in Victorian art, nudity had to hold a purpose in order to be deemed acceptable. This included requirements such as depicting mythological or allegorical figures. Then entered âOrientalismâ and with it an exception to the rule, where they could view as many naked sexy slave babes that they wanted! Orientalism was an exception to the Nude Rules within Victorian society, and Orientalist artists milked it. Depictions of harems within Victorian art could vary greatly, from some showing it as a more domestic space for women, to others dialed up the exotic and erotic to 100.
When seeing how the Harem was depicted in art by men in particular isnât all that surprising, as it was the unrealistic portrayal of what was essentially the equivalent to an exotic form of an all-girls sleepover, equipped with nothing but pillows. In short, it was pure fantasy. This is largely due to the fact that men werenât actually allowed in harems. Going back to Ellisâ video essay, these 19th century European men of course struggled with the âwhy can I not have the thing?â mentality, and so were naturally inclined to go off nothing but their sexy, sexy fantasies.Â
For example, let us view the harem through the male gaze with Jean-LĂŠon GĂŠrĂ´meâs âPool in a Harem,â painted in the 1870s.
In comparison is Henriette Browneâs 1860 painting titled âA Visit: Harem Interior, Constantinople.â
Beautiful but Problematic
Orientalism, since the publishing of the famous âOrientalismâ by Edward Said, has been dubbed inherently racist by many. Many depictions were for sure inspired by colonialism and the want to patronising-ly differentiate civilizations. Adam Shatz in his article âOrientalism, Then and Nowâ suggests that this hasnât ended with the Victorians:
âOrientalism is still with us, a part of the Westâs political unconscious. It can be expressed in a variety of ways: sometimes as an explicit bias, sometimes as a subtle inflection, like the tone color in a piece of music; sometimes erupting in the heat of argument, like the revenge of the repressed. But the Orientalism of today, both in its sensibility and in its manner of production, is not quite the same as the Orientalism Said discussed forty years ago.â - Adam Shatz, The New York Review of Books
The Victorians undoubtedly fetishized these cultures in the guise of documenting the culture. And these stereotypes continue to persist to this day. On the site for âReclaiming Identity: Dismantling Arab Stereotypes,â itâs described how these views contribute to a larger (and inaccurate) view of the Middle East:
ââOrientalismâ is a way of seeing that imagines, emphasizes, exaggerates and distorts differences of Arab peoples and cultures as compared to that of Europe and the U.S. It often involves seeing Arab culture as exotic, backward, uncivilized, and at times dangerous.â - arabstereotypes.org
Orientalist artists no doubt made visually stunning works of art, but delving deeper into identifying what makes them more fantasy than reality and the repercussions that came from that is far more important. These works often took away what made the cultures of these regions unique and interesting in order to push their own narrative, and push a consumer trend. When again looking at an orientalist piece perhaps ask yourself what aspects the artist is portraying; reality or fiction?
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Skulls, both painted in 1887, by Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890)
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Seeing Through Time, 2018, and Seeing Through Time 4, 2019, by Titus Kaphar (1976- )
Kapharâs work might be familiar to you, as his protest paintings have been featured in (and on) TIME magazine. His works, notably his oil paintings but he uses various mediums, centers around the history of representation. As said in his own words, his âpractice seeks to dislodge history from its status as the âpastâ in order to unearth its contemporary relevance.â They are about confronting the past and recognising how we are responding to it in the present.
Kaphar works in a way that takes traditional materials and transforms them into something completely new. This is extremely fitting as he uses his art to engage with social commentary and spread awareness on societal issues. Issues such as the US criminal justice system and racial inequality. In fact, he has TED talks including âCan Art Amend History?â and 'Can Beauty Open Our Hearts to Difficult Conversations?â that are certainly worth watching.
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Details in Red
Portrait of Isabelle Antoinette Barones Sloet van Toutenburg, 1852, by Nicaise de Keyser.
Patricipance of Venice, 1881, by Alexandre Cabanel.
A Young Lady Aged 21, Possibly Helena Snakenborg, 1569, by an unknown artist.
Portrait de la comÊdienne Marie-Anne de Châteauneuf, 1712, by  Nicolas de Largillière.
Mrs. Hugh Hammersley, c. 1893, by John Singer Sargent .
Louise, Queen of the Belgians, 1841, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.
Sabina Seupham Spalding, c. 1846, by Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz.Â
Elizabeth I, the âPelicanâ portrait, c. 1572, by Nicholas Hilliard.
Portrait of Mary Louise of Orleans, Queen of Spain, c. 1679, by JosĂŠ GarcĂa Hidalgo.
Portrait of Marguerite de Sève, 1729, by Nicolas de Largillière.
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The Serenade, by Federico Andreotti (1847-1930)
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Madame de Saint-Morys, 1776, by Joseph Siffred Duplessis (1725-1802)
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Detail of Madame de Saint-Morys, 1776, by Joseph Siffred Duplessis (1725-1802)
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Un Dejeuner, c. 1868, by James Tissot (1836-1902)
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The Aperitif, 1881, by Ămile Pierre Metzmacher (1815-1890)âŁâ
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La Morte Della Sfinge, by Roberto Ferri (1978-)
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Portrait of Princess Zinaida Yusupova, 1902, by Valentin Serov (1865-1911)
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Modesty, 1749-52, by Antonio Corradini (1688-1752)
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Susan Walker Morse, c. 1836-37, by Samuel F. B. Morse
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