Portraits/People

1. Gaze
Who is watching and why? The Gaze is a psychoanalytical term brought into popular usage by Jacques Lacan. "Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object and most particularly an object of vision: a sight." (John Berger, Ways of Seeing. 1972.) Victor Burgin: "Looking is not indifferent. There can never be any question of 'just looking'." The range of meaning of the verb to see is so vast that a typical thesaurus contains a list of fiftyodd synonyms, among them to look, glimpse, eye, notice, stare, etc. While each word involves the act of perception, all have slightly different shades of connotation: for example, behold has religious undertones, scrutinize involves some sort of intellect, and gape indicates an element of surprise. From this long list of synonyms, however, gaze has almost been singled out for use in discussions about art. Jonathan Schroeder notes, "to gaze implies more than to look at - it signifies a psychological relationship of power, in which the gazer is superior to the object of the gaze." Daniel Chandler notes, "Some theorists make a distinction between the gaze and the look: suggesting that the look is a perceptual mode open to all whilst the gaze is a mode of viewing reflecting a gendered code of desire (Evans & Gamman)." The term the male gaze has become something of a feminist clich for referring to the voyeuristic way in which men look at women (Evans & Gamman). In Renaissance images, nude women were painted almost exclusively for the male viewer. Women are often depicted with their bodies turned towards the viewer while their heads are turned away and gazing in a mirror. The woman is aware of being the object of the male gaze. This awareness of male gaze is illustrated in the painting Susanna and the Elders (Jacobo Tintoretto 1555-1556). In contrast, Dutch painters of the 1600s, such as Rembrandt, painted women in a far less sexualised and idealised way. Van Gogh in a letter to his brother Theo (Saint-Rmy, 2 July 1889) describes a Tenderness of Gaze:

"And so what Rembrandt has alone or almost alone among painters, that tenderness of gaze which we see, whether it's in the Men of Emmaus or in the Jewish Bride or in some such strange angelic figure as the picture you have had the good fortune to see, that heartbroken tenderness, that glimpse of a super-human infinitude that seems so natural there - in many places you come upon it in Shakespeare too. And then above all he is full of portraits, grave or gay, like Six and like the Traveller, and like Saskia." Bathsheba at Her Bath Rembrandt 1654.

Who is watching who? "This piece of contemporary media is an example of how the woman has been positioned to be looked at by men in a way that comes across that she doesnt mind the fact that this is happening. She is not looking directly at us which makes us feel comfortable to look at her. She is also looking at her cleavage, which again gives us permission to do the same. Because she is not gazing at us, it doesnt feel like a stand off or that she is not wanting you to look at her, her stance is inviting. This woman is watching herself by looking at her cleavage, knowing that she is being watched by men." (Comment from an internet blog on Wonderbra's Hello Boys advert, 1994). Untitled (Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face) Barbara Kruger 1981. Artist Sarah Lucas J Stoddart. Le djeuner sur l'herbe Edouard Manet 1863. Yves Saint-Laurent Steven Meisel. Edward Hopper Lucien Freud Roderick Mills

2. Veiled
Definition: Partially concealed, disguised, or obscured. Indistinct. Assumptio (appearance) Ian McKeever 1997 1998. Assembly Painting Ian McKeever 2006 2007 Land Art (Christo and Jean Paul) Claude Monet Peter Doig

Johannes Vermeer Vilhelm Hammershi William Blake Caspar David Friedrich Robert Smithson John Piper Graham Sutherland Young Woman with a Water Pitcher Johannes Vermeer ca. 1662. Woman in Blue Reading a Letter Johannes Vermeer ca. 1663. Interior, Strandgade 30 Vilhelm Hammershi 1908. Bedroom Vilhelm Hammershi 1890. Interior with Woman at Piano Vilhelm Hammershi 1901. Entrance to a Lane Graham Sutherland 1939. San Marco Venice John Piper 1961-2. Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson 1970.

3. Connections - Self/Family/Friends
You could choose to look at your family, friends or acquaintances and study these people in great detail. Alternatively, you could choose to create a project relating to the self and the connections between you and who you are. Lots of artists have looked at the self-portrait for inspiration, or those around them.

Frank Auerbach Mauritzio Anzeri Lucien Freud Guy Denning Bert Simons Tracy Emin Dryden Goodwin Frida Kahlo

Vincent Van Gogn Paul Gaugin Henri Rosseau Henri Matisse Egon Schiele Francis Bacon

4. Anatomy
The history of anatomy extends from the earliest examinations of sacrificial victims to the sophisticated analyses of the body performed by modern scientists. It has been characterized, over time, by a continually developing understanding of the functions of organs and structures in the body. Human anatomy was the most prominent of the biological sciences of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/anat/hd_anat.htm
Jonathan Yeo Leonardo da Vinci Auguste Rodin Annette Messager Tony Oursler Juan Munoz Jenny Saville Paul Rubens Antonio Pollaiuolo Andreas Vesalius Giacometti Michaelangelo William Hogarth Damien Hirst Chapman Brothers Edward Degas

5. Interior/Exterior
You could interpret this as external appearances, or internal thoughts - the imagination, memory, thoughts, ideas, processes - or a combination of inside and outside the body. You could also investigate artists that study the conflict of internal thoughts through the exterior - such as Francis Bacon - inner turmoil is being portrayed through the painting. Roderick Mills Linnea Strid Andrei Varga Andy Denzler Barbara Hepworth David Oliveira Antony Gormley Francis Bacon Gerhard Richter Lucian Freud Mark Jenkins

6. Scale
Some artists choose to explore the use of scale in their work - from the very tiniest of installations, to artwork on the grandest of scales. They are impressive works of art and make you think about your own body and space in relation to the artwork. Chuck Close Edie Nadelhaft Ron Mueck Slinkachu Antony Gormley Marc Quinn Louise Bourgeious

Alexandre Farte http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/artist-creates-large-scaleportraits-by-chipping-away-the-plaster-off-of-derelict-buildings.html

7. Colour and portraits

The following artists study portraiture with a strong use of colour/experimentation with colour to portray expression, mood, feeling and character. Explore the following artists to see the different styles, textures and mark-making employed.

Franoise Nielly Ian Wright Lou Ros Merlin Carpenter Miles Donovan Andy Warhol Julian Opie Eliabeth Peyton Rich Pellegrino Shepherd Fairey Roy Lichtenstein