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Today’s project was to layout 12 photos from our collection. We specifically chose ones from the Big Anxiety Exhibition. In thinking about layout, we discussed how the exhibition was too much of an experience to capture the atmosphere in a single image. I suggest we overlay the images to create a sort of context, this would mirror the experience of all the gallery spaces combined and our memories of the time. We shared photos and then collectively assembled them. There was an issue of clarity when combining too many photos, so we stuck to 6 in each :)

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Assessment 2 Concept Statement

Contemporary art and design often looks at the idea of constructed binaries, such as man/woman, soft/hard, straight/gay, dirty/clean, organic/synthetic. Considering the history of these ‘pairs’, how can art and design interrogate these binaries and offers new insights?

In continuation of the concept of ‘gender binaries’, for assessment two, I decided to continue to focus particularly on the binary of man and woman, and more specifically on ‘feminine’ men. In order to gain a more well-rounded knowledge of the topic, I decided to study both the Western and Japanese perspectives on gender. Initially, I wanted to create a series of drawings based on the topic, however, I felt that I needed to figure out a way that I could present drawings in a more interesting, non-conventional way. The idea of creating puzzles came about when I was considering the different ways that I could present my body of work. I think that puzzles can stand as a metaphor of the ‘binary’- the ways in which humans are categorised by age, gender, sexuality etc. In the article ‘Everything you want to be’ by Basia Sliwinska, she speaks about a particular artwork called Revolutionary Love: I am Your Worst Fear, I am Your Best Fantasy (2008)- a performance art piece by Sharon Hayes. The artwork was intended to appeal to the basic human desires of acceptance, belonging and unity “beyond political divides”, and therefore encourage a change of attitudes towards non-normative sexualities. The piece epitomises the duality and ambiguity of queer identity within the visual arts. This is something that I hope that my artwork can also achieve, due to the fact that “even though queer culture is entwined with art and visual culture, there exist only a few publications on queer art, sexual cultures and performing subjects”. A review by Quaintance Morgan on the book Art and Queer Culture praises the author’s projection of the importance of representation of queer identities and sexuality in art, as well as the exploration of the impacts of queer culture throughout time.

As for my own work, I have combined all of my inspirations and created a set of incomplete puzzles featuring a range of designs that attempts to break the binaries of gender constructs and showcase androgyneity of so-called ‘feminine’ men. My first piece is more recognisable in the contemporary world- it features a man applying red lipstick; an action that is typically carried out by women, however is becoming more acceptable in society with the rising popularity of male makeup artists. The other two pieces focus on the traditional Japanese perspective on gender. As I undertook further research, I came across some articles online that mentioned an art exhibition called A Third Gender: Beautiful Youths in Japanese Prints featuring woodblock prints, paintings, illustration and armours dedicated to showcasing the ‘wakashu’ of Edo Japan (1603-1868). ‘Wakashu’ refers to male youth who were objects of desire for both women and adult men, due to their soft, feminine appearance. The very fact that there was the creation of a ‘third gender’ to categorise this group of young men  proves that Japan was very open minded in terms of gender ambiguity. I noticed particularly in the ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) that the young men were drawn in a way that one would draw a woman from that era- soft lines, small face, rounded features. This was quite interesting to me. This connects to my first assessment, as I was explored the ways in which man and woman were stereotypically portrayed in traditional Japanese art. Another crucial element that I added to my artwork is flowers, as they are a symbol of femininity and accentuate the androgyneity of the men. I have used traditional Japanese flowers such as sakura (cherry blossoms) and tsubaki (camellia) in the backgrounds of the images, however I have not drawn them in a traditional way. Rather than drawing them in a perfectly geometrical manner, I made them a bit ‘looser’ and more free flowing to represent the change of times.

I started by painting over an already assembled puzzle piece to conceal the design on it so that I could draw on top. I had to use quite a few layers of paint in order to cover the image. Once it was dry, I cut into the individual pieces to separate them. However, the pieces would not separate so easily and this resulted in the pieces looking quite rough and unrefined, so I decided that if I wanted to get a ‘cleaner’ effect, I had to paint the pieces individually. This did take more time, but I was able to achieve a better result. I left the puzzles incomplete so that it indicates that individuals do not need to fit into a particular mold in order to express their uniqueness. I chose to minimise my use of colour to red and pink- red to accentuate the colour of the lipstick and pink to highlight femininity.

I think this quote from the book The queer art of failure really sums up what the study of queer identities means in contemporary society, which can be applied in the art world: “Queer studies offer us one method for imagining, not some fantasy of an elsewhere, but existing alternatives to hegemonic systems.” (pg. 89)

References:

Halberstam, J., The Queer Art of Failure, 2011. Available from: Ebook Central, (accessed 10 September 2017).

Quantance, Morgan. ‘Art and Queer Culture’, Art Monthly, 2013. Available from ProQuest, (accessed 11 September 2017).

Sliwinska, Basia. ‘Art and Queer Culture: A Peephole into ‘Anything Else You Want to Be’, Third Text, vol. 27, 2013, pp. 808-810. Available from Taylor & Francis Online, (accessed 9 September 2017).

‘A Third Gender’, ROM: Magazine of the Royal Ontario Museum; Toronto, vol. 49, 2016, p. 8. Available from ProQuest, (accessed 12 September 2017).

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Assessment 2 Final

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‘wakashu’

I decided to explore the traditional Japanese insight on gender binaries, since I have predominantly looked at the Western view on gender. I was surprised to find that a ‘third gender’ was born during the Edo period (1603-1868), with the popular appearance of sexually ambiguous young men known as wakashu in the traditional ukiyo-e prints of the time. 

The art show titled A Third Gender: Beautiful Youths in Japanese Prints “explores a social structure and cultural system that does not fit with gender binaries and heteronormative sexuality...” - Asato Ikeda, curator

It is hoped that the exhibition will invite viewers to “think differently about sex, gender, and sexuality and to reflect on our own social practices and current gender politics.”

https://hyperallergic.com/367604/the-hidden-history-of-wakashu-edo-era-japans-third-gender/

Here are some images:

Hosoda Eisui, “Wakashu with a Shoulder-Drum” (c. late 18th or early 19th century) (image courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum, ©ROM)

Kaian (Megata Morimichi), “Dancing in a Kabuki Performance” (19th century) (image courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum, ©ROM)

Suzuki Harunobu, “Two Couples in a Brothel” (1769–70) (image courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum, ©ROM)

Attributed to Utamaro School, “Woman and Wakashu” (ca. 1790s) (image courtesy of the Royal Ontario Museum, ©ROM)

Isoda Koryusai, “Night Rain on Harushima of the Matsubaya” from the series Eight Views of Famous Women of the Red Light District (1773–75)

I am planning on appropriating some of these images onto my puzzle piece, and creating artworks in response to this.

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Another experiment...

I painted each puzzle piece white to obscure the image underneath, and chose pieces that didn’t fit in with each other to make it difficult to solve. I got my brother to attempt to solve the puzzle, however he found out that the pieces would not fit together. I thought this provided a nice metaphor for my final work, as it is symbolic of gender fluidity, there is not one particular ‘mold’ that one fits into anymore- gender has become more ambiguous than ever before.

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Some sketches of possible designs for assessment 2. I have drawn images that highlight gender ambiguity and androgyneity; using the colour red to indicate lipstick- which I see as a symbol of empowerment and beauty. The designs include: women wearing men’s suits, men wearing makeup and the universally recognised symbols for ‘male’ and ‘female’. I am planning on drawing these onto the painted puzzle pieces with black pen and red paint.

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Week 8 Activity 

We had to create an artwork in 20 minutes that related to our chosen topic. I decided to create a symbolic representation of the ‘nuclear family’ that accentuates the gender binaries of male/female. This was an interesting activity however I will not use it in assessment 2.

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Experiment #1

I painted over an already assembled puzzle to begin the construction of my new artwork, which will later feature some drawings on it. I chose the colour white because I want to make the drawings quite simplistic and stand out in black pen. However, this meant that I had to apply quite a few layers of paint in order to cover the previous design that was on the puzzle. So finally after applying close to five coats of paint to the puzzle, I achieved a somewhat opaque surface. Once the paint was dry, I used a stanley knife to re-cut the edges of each puzzle piece that got stuck together in the painting process. I realised after cutting half of the puzzle pieces, that it left the puzzle with a rough finish- which I didn’t really like the look of. For my next experiments I am thinking of either leaving the puzzle pieces uncut to give the illusion of a puzzle, painting the pieces individually, or separating the pieces before the paint dries.

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Self-Portrait (1987) by John Kirby

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More inspiration...

Photography by Magnus Hastings

Australian drag queen Courtney Act as seen on the cover of Why Drag?

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Inspiration for assessment 2

I found it interesting how these two images from different time periods reflect a similar message. On the left, is Frida Kahlo’s 1940 oil painting Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair, while on the right is a 2016 photograph taken by Albert Sanchez of American drag queen Violet Chachki. Both of these images project a sense of gender ambiguity that push the boundaries of gender binaries. The use of the suit is typically a symbol of masculinity, however it is subverted in both images, as Kahlo poses as herself- a woman; while Violet wears heavy drag makeup to showcase androgynous beauty. 

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Assessment 2 Inspiration

I am interested in the idea of presenting art in a puzzle format. Since we are given the freedom to create a body of work, I have opted to create a series of artworks based around the concept of ‘constructed gender binaries’. However, I want to push my boundaries a little bit, therefore I have decided to explore the different ways in which artwork can be presented. I also think that puzzles hold a lot of symbolic meaning, which could add another dimension to my body of work. 

Artist Tim Kelly has worked with thousands of 24"x 24" foam core artistic puzzle pieces in collaboration with schools, corporations, communities, arts groups and galleries, organisations and support groups in over 20 states and 10 countries to create a communal artwork that celebrates individualism and diversity. The ‘goal’ of the artwork is to encourage participants to communicate a message that holds personal significance in each puzzle piece. (Pictures of the installation are above).

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Week 6 class activity

I was “affected” by the sheer simplicity of these two works. I also like the minimalist appearance of the natural textile. 

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Excursion to the powerhouse museum last week.

I was particularly interested in the wedding dress exhibition and the ‘This is a Voice’ exhibition.

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A better photo of my poster hanging on the wall.

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Concept Statement

5. Contemporary art and design often looks at the idea of constructed binaries, such as man/woman, soft/hard, straight/gay, dirty/clean, organic/synthetic. Considering the history of these ‘pairs’, how can art and design interrogate these binaries and offers new insights?

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The completed poster for assessment one.