Art or Porn? Nobuyoshi Araki

So, I borrowed a book from the library because I recognised the artists name from another book. It had an interesting front cover so I checked it out. It was full of naked ladies, which is fine, I am no prude and I have a liking for the female form. I venture further into the book and I find close ups of vagina's. I start to question if I have actually mistakenly found some porn in the library, I continue to flick through and find pictures of a cat, and toy dinosaurs and flowers, by now I really am questioning the artist. I take it home anyway.

When I get home, I look at it in more detail. I notice how certain objects appear in more that one picture, a flower, ropes, a toy dinosaur etc. I think this could hint at a childish side, a side where he can express some level of immaturity. It is also clear to see that Araki is a very sexual person. His photographs border obscene and are highly erotic. He also has a fascination with the Japanese rope bondage called Kinbaku. However, not all of them are about naked ladies masturbating. There are some that show a different side to him. This image shows that he may be more attached to this female, as she is dressed and it is a head shot. This is one of my favourites in the book as I find this woman is beautiful without being degraded like some of the others in the book.

Here are some more images that show more of what I mean and some ladies you might recognise.

Nan Goldin

'People who are obsessed with remembering their experiences usually impose strict self– disciplines. I want to be uncontrolled and controlled at the same time. The dairy is my form of control over my life. It allows me to obsessively record every detail. It enables me to remember.' Nan Goldin, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency- 1986

So, I bought this book for a project on intimate life, thinking I will probably look at the pictures and put it in the bookshelf among the hundreds of other books I've flicked through and forgotten and I almost did, until I started reading the text on the first page and within the paragraph I found this odd connection between Goldin and myself. Something I never realised about myself until I read the words as if they were coming from my own mouth. I cannot say I can compare myself or my work to the level of Goldin's or even to her personal experiences, but I can say that I have a new understanding of her and her work as something I can relate to and look to for inspiration.
 
 

 

One of the pictures in the book that strikes me most is on page 22, 'Self Portrait in Blue Bathroom, London 1980'. In all the other pictures she gets so up close and personal with the people she photographs, from people hugging to one man masturbating, yet in this image she seems physically and emotionally detached or even removed from it. Her tiny reflection in the corner of the mirror that is dwarfed by the blue walls it hangs on just makes me wonder why she might be hiding from view. Does she see herself in the background of her life, watching as opposed to being in the fore front, living it? For me this picture seems almost out of place in this book. Yet it is one of my favourites.

The Taylor Wessing Prize Feb 2011

When I went to the National Portrait Gallery back in Feburary to see the Taylor Wessing Prize, there were a few images that caught my eye. I had seen the winner posted on the BJP website and I wasn't overly impressed by it. to see a child hunting is not nice to see, especially when children are running around killing each other in the UK and this child is off hunting some animal that is probably near extinction.  Some of the runners up I also found a bit lacking, but I’m not a judge.

Not Even Magic Stopped the Genocide- David Graham was one of my favourites, not for its look as an image but because of the writing that sat beside it. I would have never guessed that is what the boy was about. I would have assumed some kid of a dirty estate, but not all pictures can paint a thousand words. The real story behind the image is of a boy called Rafiki, a street child from Rwanda who's father was a victim of genocide. He now lives in a charity run home where he can read Harry Potter books all he likes. The far reach of western culture into Rafikis live was what I think Graham wanted to show.

 

I also really like the image they used for most of the advertising campaigns. Wafa by Felix Carpio was my favourite. This stunningly simple look of this woman from Syria just captures my attention every time I see it, yet I don't fully understand why. Perhaps it is her daring look, and that she is looking right down the lens at the photographer in an almost challenging way. Caprio's series explores the gender roles in traditional communities in Syria.

 

I don't often enjoy gallery visits but I did enjoy this one and I will most likely be looking out for the next one!

Feminism

Modern western feminist movements can be divided into three waves, each of which describes different aspects of the same feminist issues throughout the last 100 years or so. The first wave was in the 19th and early 20th century which included the suffragettes working towards equal working and educational rights for women and children, resulting in women being allowed to study and work alongside men in the UK. The second wave happened post WWII in a time of renewed plenty. The 1960's through to the 1980's saw women seeking to change the inequalities in law and within the culture, and the roles of women in society, no longer chained to their kitchens. The third wave which is still currently going on, since the early 90's is seen as a continuation of the second wave where women are trying to right the failings of the second wave.

So, as a woman you would think I would find the subject easy to write about, however, I do not! There are certain points I agree with within feminism, some equal rights and that we should be respected equal to men, but my general opinion is that feminism, especially today's feminists are using it as an excuse for some women to dress and act like men. Grow some tits ladies and stop burning bra's! A woman has the right to say no when a man asks her to pose naked or to do explicit things, take responsibility for your own actions ladies, we wanted to be treated equally then act respectfully! There are some things you just have to accept will never change!

Former American President or the Devil Himself

'The word Semiotics comes from the Greek root, seme, as in Semeiotikos, an interpreter of signs. Semiotics as a discipline is simply the analysis of signs or the study of the functioning of sign systems.' - Introducing Semiotics, Paul Cobley and Litza Jansz - 1997




So, the science behind the sign, the essential building blocks of language and communications, what does that mean to us? Here I have a standard image of George Bush but what do you see? A harmless middle aged man or the Devil himself come to haunt the world in his human form brandishing his Satanist hand gesture? It is a well known fact that George Bush is the devil himself. He tried to destroy the world with his greed for oil and world domination but did you actually recognise the hand gesture with its true meaning?

In Italy this hand gesture is aimed as a curse to a man with an unfaithful wife, yet in many other cultures it is used to ward of evil and bad luck. There is very little hint at it being used as a sign of Satan worship yet when you have a man with long hair, a beard, who is sweaty and pumped up on the vibe that is metal music and possibly riding in on his Harley Davidson, people assume he is worshipping the devil, a common misinterpretation. So now when you see this sign, what will it mean to you?

There is so much more I could say about Bush and his relations to the Devil, but I hope this gives you a round about idea of what semiotics is about.

Real Men Don't Cry

What I think strikes me most about Sam Taylor Wood's series 'Crying Men' is something I’ve grown up with as a child, as I guess many of us have, and that is that real men don't cry or portray too much emotion as it is associated with being too feminine, too girly. What I like about this series is that these are men who don't often play a role where the man will cry and it is humbling to see them out of character and out of a comfort zone for many of them. How many times have you seen the likes of James Bond ( Daniel Craig) crying because the ladies said no for a change?

This image from the series has caught my eye because, not only is he a famous British actor but because he alone in this stark room looking right down the lens as if to pierce your heart with his sadness. Most people will avoid eye contact when they cry, to hide the true emotions and reasons but Craig hides nothing.

So how about world known funny man Robin Williams, have you ever seen him look so sad? Not even in Mrs Doubtfire when they tried to takes his children away from his did he look this sad! Yet in contrast to Daniel Craig, Williams looks closed in as if his surroundings are almost hugging him, consoling him in his time of sadness. What i think gets me most about this image is that Williams is well know for being a funny man, not a crying man. Most of his roles are films aimed at kids. I remember his iconic voice in Aladdin by Disney and how happy he makes me feel as the Genie! It is a reality that men do cry when they are alone and think nobody is looking even the worlds hardest and funniest men.

Here is a few more of the images that hit me the most for one reason or another...

The Wonders of Stephen Shore and Vintage Armani

Stephen Shore's Vintage Armani editorial for Amica - a well known Italian fashion magazine is one series of Shore's works that caught my eye. Unlike most of his somewhat deadpan pieces from the 70's of pancakes and armchairs this piece stood out to me visually with his use of long vertical lines and soft colours which create a careful balance between model and the setting. This shot from the editorial has more of a connection between model and location than some of the others in the series as she almost looks like she is part of the background. the link between the model, chimney and lamp post which struck me as odd at first but now I can see that it gives the image more depth on many levels. The distance between Shore and the model makes her stand out less, making her blend more with her setting. It is unfortunate however that we cannot see more of the beautiful lace detailing in the dress which helps to give this piece an air of elegance, including the tiny fluffy dog casually walking across the road.

In this image you can see the same relationship between the model and location as before, by the way that Shore has placed the model at the same angle as the wall as if to finish off the line it creates. The wall and stairs give this image a good range of depth of field like in the first image but she looks less elegant and shorter, she has a somewhat diminished look to her in the casual side of vintage Armani. This image feels less warm with more blues and greens to cool the image but as I am already over the word limit I struggle to find why that is important. Overall, although this series is more recent you can instantly guess at it being by Shore, which is something I couldn't do last year!