Art Studies 2 Art Around Us: Exploring Everyday Life First Exam Reggie Anne D.

. Pamatian 2005-38290 May 15, 2006

The self-photograph of Jo Spence and the artwork made by Jackson Pollock are two works of art made under different conditions. Pollocks work was made first. And basically, the artists condition during the time he made his artwork affected his technique and the way he expressed himself in this artwork. Figure no. 2 is already part of his paintings at the time he was already known for his action-painting technique. And it was not easy for him because art is constrained by the possibilities of time and place; it has standard practices. So there must be some art agents to help him out and actually tell him what possible artwork he can do that would eventually be put in a museum, impress the art critic and be sold by the art patrons.

Jo Spence, on the other hand, used her own body to express something and actually question the societys notion about the body and art. She used the bodys own lived experience (her being a cancer patient) to be able to tell that human body can, in a way, like a machine which if damage can be repaired. Or you can even remove some malfunctioning parts. Here, the body is shown not just an ordinary body but something more of a representation of the person (in this case, Jo Spence). Here, art can

transform any experience into beauty and by doing so, transforms its horrors in such a way that they may be contemplated with enjoyment. (Microsoft Encarta, 2005 edition Aesthetics). Jo Spence transformed her experience to be able to cut the conventional beliefs of her own society and confront it with the reality. Aside from this, the production of this work did not undergo the same process as what Pollocks have gone through.

This is just Jo Spence self-image; she just photographed herself and s he was able to produce something that draws the attention of many people and convey something.

These contexts gives shape to notions about artist and their roles in society in such a way that they give us the thought of art being a language for artist for them to be able to express what they feel or what they think about. Artists moves around in the different art worlds and they are greatly influenced by different canons or standard practices of the society. But their roles are also established from these canons, they are here to actually challenge these canons and make it more resilient so that art would not be just inside a closed box. They are here for the society to see the different forms of art and give them a different expression with it. They are here to create not just an art to see but an art which a person in a society can actually relate herself and distinguish the problems and conflicts being presented in the artwork. In this way, artists have social relevance. They actually can be of influence to our culture, society and nature. And they have this extraordinary way of talking or relating to us the norms which we neglect to see sometimes.

I havent watched a series on TV depicting a hero or heroine character quite lately but I remember watching the Charmed series in Studio 23 before. The story is about three sisters (three witch sisters actually) and they have different superficial powers to fight the demons and other forces of darkness. I liked the series because of its magic and its so fun to see girls kicking butts of the bad forces. The names of the three sisters were Prue, Piper, and Phoebe. Among the three, I like Prue the most.

Why? Well first because I think shes the most beautiful. She has the most expressive eyes that seem to pierce every time you look at them. And also because of her power to throw the enemies just by moving her hands. She also decides for her sisters what to do whenever theyve encountered problems. For me, she is also the most dependable because many times from the series, shes the one always rescuing her sisters because they did not listen to her advice. Although sometimes, her weakness also causes the problems they have. Her character in the series seems to make an connivance with the others because her weakness can meet up with the others strength and vice versa. I also like Prue because she defies the common notion about women being weak. She is not one of the women Aristotle is referring to as inferior to men therefore must be ruled by men. The question now is what is feminine? Does Prue falls under the feminine category? Feminine (according to Mr. Webster) is the conventional

characteristic of women conventionally believed to be appropriate for a woman or a girl. It has something to do with again, standard practices. I think that yeah, Prue falls under the category of feminine. And her character being feminine is not governed by being soft and gentle at all times. She is otherwise; shes tough, strong and dependable. So she also exhibit the character commonly attributed to men yet, she still falls under the feminine category . This maybe influence also by the society shes into. Because

gender roles vary from culture to culture In America, men and women have the same social relevance; if a man can do it, then women can to.

Prues character is like any other character of a heroine whose strength must be drawn from within. And if we look at it with the context of women in our society before, womens strength must be drawn from the people she value, like her family. And like any other character, Prue has weaknesses that she must overcome for her to be able to

fight the dark forces. And maybe another reason why I like her is because I see in her the character I also want to exhibit. I also want to have her strength and conviction. Many of us now wants to be regarded not just a woman but a woman of value in the society. We are not mere supporters of men, we are not decorations. We exist in a way that we do things that affect and change our well being and society. I guess that is also what femininity is about; Having the character commonly attributed to women and at the same time, can exhibit characters of men in times of need.

It was so sad that Prues character died in the Charmed series. Maybe that was what supposed to happen to her from the start. But if ever I would be given the chance to alter the script and change the way the story went, I would probably change the part which Prue was killed. If I were to write it, she would be alive up to now. She would not be killed by the bad creatures because in the first place, she has power. And her other sisters also have special abilities. But then again, every strong living thing has its own weakness and maybe to make the story more believable, they have to kill somebody who is strong and that somebody is Prue. My poor Prue.

But I am still glad that Charmed was able to portray a different side of a woman. The sisters were not weakling. In fact they are strong enough and they can really kick butts of those demons. Its like saying beware of us because we are women. Yet, the characters attributed to these women can still be under the category of feminine.

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The advertisement image Ive got was the closest Ive seen from the magazines that we have at home. The image shows two women, a black and a white American. Both look like theyre observing or watching something, maybe some cute guys nearby. Their faces were anchored on their left but their body are angled towards the one looking at the image. Somewhat the same as the Olympia by Manet but different in a way that the gaze of the woman in the Manet painting is at the people looking at it.

The gesture of the nude woman was quite close with that of the white american. But the expression was a lot different. While the nude woman in the painting seem to be telling about the way woman stands in the society before and she also seem showing the nature of a woman as being seductress, the woman in the advertisement is showing a more relaxed figure and the simplicity of woman. The way the women sit in the advertisement more likely shows a more comfortable claim of distinction in the society. Unlike the nude woman in the painting, its like her role is embodied on the social standards set by her society.

If we take a look, the woman in the painting is inside a room in a house. Again, it shows that women are to stay at home. She must do what is expected from her. She is tied with this ideology. While the women in the advertisement seem to be more

outgoing, like they could go outdoors or stay inside to relax. Their outfits also tell so that they are ready to go anywhere and they will be fine. And again, the expression tells us that it is alright if they work out or stay in.

The nude woman in the painting also have a servant with her which I supposed, helps her to do things. This shows again that women need somebody to depend onto, while the women in the advertisement seem to be independent of each other. They

seem to have a link but one can do without the other. They can actually carry their own self.

The picture and painting Ive got both have white and black characters, which differ in the position they have in the frame. On the painting, the black was on the right and on the advertisement, it was otherwise. Both white characters do not care about the other character based on their expressions. But this creates a good contrast in the whole thing. And both works expresses the thing that women love being looked at. While the woman in the painting seems to say Look at me, the women in the advertisement seem to say I know you are looking at me and I love it. Also I noticed that the advertisement seems to show that the two women are real. Its in their nature of being simple yet sporty. No pretensions. They are who they are. The painting also tells the same thing. Because of the nakedness of the woman, it seems that she bares it all to the viewer. No disguise. It is her in flesh. It is her bare self.

But one can say that in all, the expression is the one which has something to do with both of the painting. It seems that they react with the attention of the one looking at them in such a way that again, femininity is involved. This proves that no matter how society changes, there is still remains a common thing about the attributes given to women. Women are still feminine. And will always be feminine.