The Female Nude

In this video John Berger discusses the role of female nudes in most classical paintings, he suggests that generally the female nude is for the pleasure of the male viewer and not the model, she is owned by the artist and then by the viewer. 

She is put on display as an object, her sexuality is not her own and sexual pleasure is for the men who view her. Even in pictures where the woman is shown with a lover, her gaze is always at the viewer and her body is displayed, often unnaturally, to the viewer's advantage. 

Another interesting topic raised was the use of pubic hair in art, John Berger suggests that pubic hair represents sexual passion and power which is why in classical art, even before women generally removed pubic hair, women are depicted without any and men are not. Berger suggests that this is male artists trying to de-sexualize women. 

I was so inspired by Berger's video that I decided to apply his principles to my own work by photographing women with pubic hair. I intend to develop this and explore photographs of women with their bodies displayed naturally and portraying their own sexual power through the images.

I was also inspired by the work of Marilyn Minter (an artist I have already studied on my blog - http://rumbles193.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/marilyn-minter.html) who often addresses the topic of feminism in her work. The first work I ever saw by her was actually studies of pubic hair and I fell instantly in love with her work. 

These two pieces were my first attempts at this kind of work and want to explore the theme further.