#and not the oversimplified broadened media ideas of them

[goldensunset]

Envy is absolutely the most cringfail sin. it's about spending your energy NOT minding your own business and being obsessed with what other people have. and it's the only one that grants you no pleasure. it's just misery. completely pathetic

loving the fact that you have an opinion on this and needed to say it. mutuals please sit down it’s time for the philosophy and ethics socratic seminar on tumblr dot com

[maksartmusings]

Textual Analysis Entry - Week 10

In week 10, we were assigned Chapter 17 of the textbook, which is entitled “Issues of the Body and Contemporary Art�� by Dan Nadaner. Nadaner begins by asserting that our view of the body is heavily influenced by the media we are constantly surrounded by, and reality itself is defined by the images and words of the media. Children grow up in a “forest of signs,” and they form ideas about themselves based on societal standards they glean from these signs. For example, the culture of thinness and fat elimination promoted by the fashion industry contributes to an overall culture of body-shaming and a prevalence of eating disorders. Contemporary art harnesses the power of imagery to explore issues like this in a critical way. Nadaner discusses three contemporary artists who use their work to address the issue of self-concept: Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman, and Lorna Simpson. Kruger was a former magazine editor, so she saw firsthand how media outlets fabricate the imagery we are exposed to. In her art, she created pieces in the style of magazine covers, critiquing societal standards through humorous images and witty sayings. Sherman explored the contrived nature of film roles for women by creating “film stills” in which she dressed up as different typical female characters in 1940s and 1950s movies. Finally, Simpson explored media stereotypes and representation of women in the media through her photographs of African American women. Artists have broadened their use of materials, using any medium necessary to convey their desired message. Nadaner concludes by outlining five elements of contemporary art; contemporary art emphasizes ideas over appearances, is formed through thinking, has materials that can take any form, involves the viewer, and takes a point of view. Thus, children could explore issues of the body in art by relying on their own thinking, learning about stereotypes, applying their knowledge to critical discussions, and learning to think about people without thinking about the body. 

Most of the ideas Nadaner introduced in his essay were already familiar to me, but each of the artists he highlighted and their specific approaches were new to me. Kruger’s method of recreating images in common media formats as a way to reflect flipped perspectives is very interesting. It plays with the idea of perception and how fabricated images distort people’s view of reality. Her use of humor is also quite compelling to me; humor can be a very useful tool in taking away the power of a serious issue while still acknowledging its gravity. Our societal ideals of the body are often quite ridiculous, and Kruger intelligently uses this to emphasize her message. Before reading this essay, I had never heard of Sherman’s work, and her idea to create “film stills” appeals to my interest in both art and film. Movies and television are an important part of visual culture, and the way characters are presented can have a huge effect on people’s perceptions of themselves. Characters in film are also indicative of the societal values of the time, because they represent both desirable and undesirable traits in a contained, oversimplified format. Sherman explores these ideas through her photographs, and her methods of staging and preparation were like nothing I had heard of. I had seen work similar to Lorna Simpson’s before that explored the same sort of issues (namely The Testament Project by Kris Graves here at the Joseph Gross gallery at U of A), but her combination of photographs and text created a powerful effect. Another concept that was new to me in Nadaner’s essay was his definition of “sign.” According to the text, a sign is anything that represents something else, including a word, a picture, a gesture, etc. I normally think of signs in terms of practical imagery to help us navigate the world. In a sense, this fits into Nadaner’s definition. 

Overall, I agree with Nadaner’s argument about the extent of influence the media has on our perceptions of reality. We cannot escape from media imagery, because we have constant access through the internet, social media, news, and the physical world, among other sources. As children learn about their world and form lasting impressions, it takes constant guidance to prevent them from being completely absorbed by the images and standards they are exposed to. When it is something as negative as unrealistic body standards, it can have transformative and dangerous effects ranging from lowered self-esteem to life-threatening eating disorders. Therefore, I agree with Nadaner that it is important to tackle and expose these issues as educators so we can help our students navigate through their world and see the images for what they are - fabrications instead of reality. However, his approach to the topic in the essay as a whole was somewhat limited. Nadaner only discusses the issue of body image in terms of women, and he only shows examples of contemporary art exploring the issue from artists who are cisgender women. I do believe the majority of negative imagery related to body image is targeted toward women, but men do have valuable perspectives and legitimate issues to share in regards to it as well. Men face unrealistic and damaging standards of height, muscle tone, and stereotypical masculinity that contribute to low self-esteem and bullying. In the reverse, the body standards for both men and women affect who people feel like they can be attracted to, shaming and marginalizing people if they choose to be with someone who society would deem in a different “league” of attractiveness than them. Finally, transgender people face extremely challenging body image issues, and their perspective would also be effective in realizing a fuller picture of the issue. We are all victims of body image in the media, and all sides should be explored. 

Source:

Nadaner, D. (2002). Issues of the Body in Contemporary Art. In Y. Gaudelius and P. Speirs (Eds.), Contemporary Issues in Art Education, (pp. 226-237). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.