Gender in Relation to the History and Practice of Photography - Essay Example

Is it important to consider gender in relation to the history and practice of photography? Introduction Gender refers to the classification of some of the characteristics that distinguish a male from a female and the vice versa. Some of these characteristics vary from the gender identity, social role to the sex (Wood, 1998). Different cultures have roles, which are defined for the different genders. In the area of arts, it should be noted that there is a big difference in the practice depending on the gender. The history concerning gender has been brought into light by the reviews done by the feminist. Feminism is a term that has been widely described in different ways and by different people. It refers to the aspect of different beliefs put across by people as far as gender equality importance is concerned (André, 2006.). This goes further to dismiss the fact that the hierarchy of gender is just but a social perception. The concept of feminism has brought a great change in the area of human being lifestyle. This is because the feminist have continuously staged their consents as far as the rights of women are concerned in terms of social, political, health, economic and legal rights are concerned. The process of Feminism has been through three main stages namely the first wave, the second wave and the third wave (Connell, 2007). During the first wave, which took place in the U.K and the US at around the early 20th century, issues of right for the women to contracts, property ownership and possessiveness of women and children by their husbands was dealt with. Further, issues of sexual violence, economic rights, right to political power and right to vote were dealt with. The second wave which was in 1960 on the other hand, focused on the issue of social inequality and more of their political rights since that was important as far as individual woman’s life is concerned (Cornell, 2008). The social believe that women can only and only find their personal fulfilment in homemaking and bearing children was discussed in depth. Finally, the third wave, which took place 1990, was a reaction against much of what was done in the second wave. Gender history in terms of art Art is one of the oldest human skills. It was used for different purposes as well as by different people. The history and the issue of gender in the art sector are well shown by the analysis of the Venus De Milo and Aphrodite of Knidos, which is sculptures, created some times back. Venus de Milo also refers to the Aphrodite of Milos. It is one of the early statues of the Greek people as well as a very popular Greek sculpture in the olden days. It was moulded a very long time ago approximately between 120 and 100 BC. It is a representative of Aphrodite of the Romans that is known as the goddess of beauty and love in Greek. The sculpture is made of marble. It is larger than the normal size of a human being. It measure 6 feet and eight inches. It does not have the arms and also the original plinth got lost. It was originally a curving of a naked woman with the left hand raised up holding an apple while the right hand holding sash draped and its falling to the feet from the hips. Most people highly believe that the sculpture was done by Alexandra who originated in Antioch because of the unique inscriptions on the plinth (Gill, 2006). The sculpture can be viewed at the Museum in Paris called Louvre. It is popularly known in the whole world because of the fact that its arms were mysteriously lost. Below its right side breast is a whole that was believed to have a metal tenor originally meant to support the lost right arm. On creation, its left arm was originally placed below its eye level and just above the herm. In it was an apple held tightly. Customary, the sculpture is meant to be tinted, beautified with jewellery and placed in niches right in niche of the gymnasium. Much of its paintings and the bedecking found in its jewellery were actually to make it look lifelike to any viewer. However, at this particular moment in time, no traces of the paint can be found. In addition, the necklaces, earrings and any crown that it had are no longer there. The only evidence of such is the holes through which they were attached. The art found in the twisted stance as well as the knee projection and the quality of the artistic three dimensional drapery are evidence of work done by Hellenistic art during the estimated period in third century before Christ. More evidence of Hellenistic art is the sensuous juxtaposition of its flesh as well as the drapery texture of its flesh (Driscoll, 2002). These also appear to be almost falling off its figure. Below is the representation of the Venus de Milo. The painting above was done by Jean Baptise in 1921 to show the missing arms. The above painting was taken from Louvre museum in Paris. Venus de Milo was discovered in the year1820 by a peasant called Yorgos. It was in a niche buried inside an old ruin in the city of Milos. It was into pieces by then that are the lower part of the legs and the upper part. The one who discovered it was just digging, however it significance was discovered by Jules a French man who sold it to a French ambassador. It was curved from six or seven blocks. One for the nude torso, one for draped legs, two for the arms ,one for the foot, one for the plinth and another one for the herm it stood on. The style in the lettering of the plinth shows it was done during the Hellenistic period. The Aphrodite of Knidos was the work done by Praxiteles who came from Athens in the fourth century BC. It is also called the Venus pudica because she is seen covering her private parts using her right hand. Its fame came due to its human being size of a nude woman and the beauty the curving showed. It is a representative of an Aphrodite goddess getting ready to take a ritual bath discarding the drapery using the left hand as she modestly covers her private parts using her right hand. The position of her right hand does not represent modesty but its nudity. Initially two carvings were made, a fully draped while the other one was totally nude (Gill, 2006). However, the people of Kos rejected the one that was nude and purchased the one that was draped. The naked one was purchase by the people of Knidos and the placed it in a very open for public viewing. Praxiteles used phryne courtesan for the sculpture of the model. It appeared so real that the real Aphrodite goddess herself on seeing it admitted it was her image. It was a tourist attraction as well as a cult image. The statue is made of marble takes from Paros. The lips are slightly apart and there is a smile on it. It is not placed on a stone pavement. It is placed under a tree. Beside it are some cypress trees. Some plants in the nearby are intertwined on each other. The vines nearby are hanging with grapes. It is placed in a place where public ceremonies are held for the sake of couples to enjoy their love life. The two sculptures have a number of similarities as well as a number of differences. Some of the similarities are as follows. Both of them represent a female. There is a great remembrance between the two sculptures in the aspect of the material they were made of. Both of them were made of marble. They were a representative of a goddess. They both had features of a woman like the face, hair, breasts and the curvature of the legs. They both had a leaning like posture. They were both curved with their heads facing on the left side. Both of their groins were curved and presented in a hidden form. In other words, their private parts were concealed. Both were big enough like the size of a human body. Both were made among other reasons, for religious purposes (Fenstermaker & West, 2002).The two sculptures shows a very distinctive difference between them this is in terms of the year of creation, the background they are placed, their physical appearances, posture and size among other things. Below is an analysis of each with its distinctive features. Aphrodite of Knidos was made of marble from Paros. It was curved in the fourth century BC approximately between 350-340 BCE. It is believed to have been curved in Antens, Greece and was done by Praxiteles. Head of a woman it possessed had the hair frames, the face too showed a sympathetic gaze. It was curved in a comfortable and confidence look on the face. The nose is very straight and the lips are poised. The goddess figure is bathing, but does show any signs of embarrassment due to her nudity. It stands on a pose called contraposition (Christine, 2005). Where by the entire weight is on her right leg. The left leg is bent slightly. It really symbolises some aspects of eternal youth. It also Shows cleansing and figure renewal. Represent a conidian figure with the act of covering her private parts. The hand does not show modesty but covers the naked groin. It has two arms in place. The sculpture is done by attic sculptor called Praxiteles; the year was 4th century BC. It is famous for its beauty (Gill, 2006). It can be viewed in three dimensions as it represented a complete naked goddess, it shows the goddess getting ready to bathe, removing her drapery with the left hand, and her right hand is modestly covering her private parts. Initially it was made into two forms one that was fully clothed and the other one purely naked, courtesan phryne was the model of the statue, was a tourist attraction, religious icon, the stain at the thigh was a representation of the tradition, it looks so real that at one point a man secretly hid himself and tried to have sex with it (Driscoll, 2002). Venus de Milo, was curved approximately between 120 and 100 BC. It measure six feet and eight inches. It was discovered in Greece. It is made of many postures were suggested leaning on a pole, pillar resting on one of the elbow and on Are’s shoulder, may have held a bow, or an amphora, was a Danaid or an Artemis and it represents Aphrodite . It was discovered in 1820 on an island called Milos. It comprised of two main blocks when it was found. Its pieces were sculpted differently and then later were fixed together using pegs. The sculpture has some holes, which show at some point it wore some ornaments like Headband, bracelets and earrings. The marble shows that it was somehow embellished with polychrome. The sculpture’s arms are missing. It represents an Aphrodite due to the sensual appearance and the covering of the nakedness (Christine, 2005). It was imagined to have held an apple on her hand, a shield, a crown or mirror. It bears remembrance to some other sculpture like the Aphrodite in Capua. It also bears some aspects of classical tradition of the 2nd century BC. The appearance of aloofness, harmony in the face, as well as the impassivity is covered with aesthetics used in period of 5th century BC. However, the style of the hair as well as the fascinating curving of flesh shows some work done works done in the 4th-century by the sculptor Praxiteles. In addition, it shows some innovations of the Hellenistic period, specifically in the period of the 3rd and the 1st century BC. Its spiral composition, the three-dimensional positioning of the sculpture, small-sized breasts, and its bodily elongation shows it was of the period of 3rd and the 1st century BC. The sculpture is curved showing the legs are held together and she slides the drape over the hips. The nakedness is shown in contrast to the great effects from the light as well as the shade brought about by the well-detailed drapery (Gill, 2006). Conclusion Women issues of independence decision-making like choosing whom to socialize with, the ability to care for the children on their own, making choices on the products on opts to buy were part of what the post-feminists fought for. Empowerment was expressed in form of mead adverts. For example, products for the women to use are widely being advertised. This enables them to freely and in their own free will make a choice of what to purchase and use with out the interference of any person. It is due to that the women have been able to emerge slowly as one of the best artists in the whole world. However, in most cases this kind of empowerment has been criticized in the sense that it has been differently understood. Most post-feminist argues that such matters like the ones discussed above are not all ways in which a woman can be said to be empowered. In other words, it is such a cheap way of showing independence in woman. For example, a woman who has so many types of artistic skills does not mean she is more empowered. However, further critics have been given on the issues of for example a woman wearing some very high-heeled shoes to show how confident she is. References André, C. 2006. The Effects of Traditional Family and Gender Ideology on Earnings: Race and Gender Differences. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, vol. 27, no.1. Christine, M. 2005. The Aphrodite of Knidos and her successor. Cambridge: Cambridge press. Connell, R. 2007. Gender and power. Cambridge: University Press. Cornell, D 2008. At the heart of freedom: feminism, sex, and equality. Colombia: Colombia University Press. Driscoll, C 2002. Girls: Feminine adolescence in popular culture and cultural theory. New York: Columbia University Press. Fenstermaker, S. & West, C. 2002. Doing gender, doing difference: Inequality, power, and institutional change. New York, NY: Routledge. Gill, R. 2006. Advertising and Post feminism. Cambridge: Polity Press. Gregory, C.2003. Disarmed: the story of the Venus de Milo. Oxford: University of Oxford Press. Maltz, D., & Borker, R. 2002. A cultural approach to male-female miscommunication. In J. Gumperz (Ed.), Language and social identity (pp. 196-216). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press Wood, J. T. 1998. Gender Communication, and Culture. In Samovar, L. A., & Porter, R. E., Intercultural communication: A reader. Stamford, CT: Wadsworth. Read More

On creation, its left arm was originally placed below its eye level and just above the herm. In it was an apple held tightly. Customary, the sculpture is meant to be tinted, beautified with jewellery and placed in niches right in niche of the gymnasium. Much of its paintings and the bedecking found in its jewellery were actually to make it look lifelike to any viewer. However, at this particular moment in time, no traces of the paint can be found. In addition, the necklaces, earrings and any crown that it had are no longer there.

The only evidence of such is the holes through which they were attached. The art found in the twisted stance as well as the knee projection and the quality of the artistic three dimensional drapery are evidence of work done by Hellenistic art during the estimated period in third century before Christ. More evidence of Hellenistic art is the sensuous juxtaposition of its flesh as well as the drapery texture of its flesh (Driscoll, 2002). These also appear to be almost falling off its figure. Below is the representation of the Venus de Milo.

The painting above was done by Jean Baptise in 1921 to show the missing arms. The above painting was taken from Louvre museum in Paris. Venus de Milo was discovered in the year1820 by a peasant called Yorgos. It was in a niche buried inside an old ruin in the city of Milos. It was into pieces by then that are the lower part of the legs and the upper part. The one who discovered it was just digging, however it significance was discovered by Jules a French man who sold it to a French ambassador.

It was curved from six or seven blocks. One for the nude torso, one for draped legs, two for the arms ,one for the foot, one for the plinth and another one for the herm it stood on. The style in the lettering of the plinth shows it was done during the Hellenistic period. The Aphrodite of Knidos was the work done by Praxiteles who came from Athens in the fourth century BC. It is also called the Venus pudica because she is seen covering her private parts using her right hand. Its fame came due to its human being size of a nude woman and the beauty the curving showed.

It is a representative of an Aphrodite goddess getting ready to take a ritual bath discarding the drapery using the left hand as she modestly covers her private parts using her right hand. The position of her right hand does not represent modesty but its nudity. Initially two carvings were made, a fully draped while the other one was totally nude (Gill, 2006). However, the people of Kos rejected the one that was nude and purchased the one that was draped. The naked one was purchase by the people of Knidos and the placed it in a very open for public viewing.

Praxiteles used phryne courtesan for the sculpture of the model. It appeared so real that the real Aphrodite goddess herself on seeing it admitted it was her image. It was a tourist attraction as well as a cult image. The statue is made of marble takes from Paros. The lips are slightly apart and there is a smile on it. It is not placed on a stone pavement. It is placed under a tree. Beside it are some cypress trees. Some plants in the nearby are intertwined on each other. The vines nearby are hanging with grapes.

It is placed in a place where public ceremonies are held for the sake of couples to enjoy their love life. The two sculptures have a number of similarities as well as a number of differences. Some of the similarities are as follows. Both of them represent a female. There is a great remembrance between the two sculptures in the aspect of the material they were made of. Both of them were made of marble. They were a representative of a goddess. They both had features of a woman like the face, hair, breasts and the curvature of the legs.

They both had a leaning like posture. They were both curved with their heads facing on the left side. Both of their groins were curved and presented in a hidden form. In other words, their private parts were concealed. Both were big enough like the size of a human body.

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