BA Photography · Student Book Archive · Our Own by Laura Deakins 2021

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brutalism ANd THE FEMALE FORM

The female form is one of the oldest depicted motifs in visual art. But with such art forms concurrently comes the objectification of the female body. Best described in Laura Mulvey’s seminal essay, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1973): “Pleasure in looking has been split between active/ male and passive/female.” These representations have been ingrained into cultural theory and art practice, subjecting women as subordinate and delicate characters. The work of ‘Our Own’ finds a place for the female form within a male created environment – Brutalism. Brutalist architecture has predominantly been designed and erected by men. Seen first in the work of Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in the 1940s, Reyner Banham then coined the term ‘brutalism’ in 1955, further followed by primarily more male architects. Critics believed the design of the architecture to denote a sense of masculinity such as strength, structurally innovative and firmness, a concept mirrored in the harsh materials used to create it. Male architect Louis Kahn opposed Brutalist structures due to what he regarded as ‘The muscular posturing of most Brutalism’. However, in recent years a debate has arisen regarding the true intent of the term brutalism. Establishing itself as a conscious approach to monumentalise modernist architecture, brutalism takes you outside of the everyday world. It goes beyond functional architecture, displaying more surface and sculptural qualities in need for individuals to have an experience in relation with it. Centring women in a male created environment generates a new vision for the female form.

visual pleasure has been split between active/ male and passive/ female LAURAMULVEY

We were always the painted and not the painters. MAISIE COUSINS

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THE INFLUEN MALE GAZE W STRONG I HA MISTAKEN IT FOR MY OWN IDEA OF BEAUTY. j

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BA Photography · Student Book Archive · Our Own by Laura Deakins 2021

Published on Jul 2, 2021

USW Photography

Our Own The female form is one of the oldest depicted motifs in visual art. But with such art forms comes the objectification of the female body. Best described in Laura Mulvey’s seminal essay, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1973): “Pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female.” The work of Our Own addresses the misconceptions about the female form perceived through the male gaze, finding a place for it within a male created environment – Brutalism. The women mimic the rigid and linear formations of the architecture through body language, enabling them to find their place amongst these buildings, constructed by men. Whilst they illustrate their ability to take on typically masculine characteristics, they also embrace their femininity and own their bodies, directing the viewer to ideas of authority and female power.