Please watch the following video and browse the accompanying webpage about John Berger and post your thoughts about how the human form is represented and more specifically, try to determine how working from the unclothed figure from a screen creates a different experience both for us as artists, for the model, and the viewer of our drawings. There are no right answers for this post—I am simply seeking a dialogue about how our use of media alters the experience. Consider how viewing the figure thorugh media alters how we consider the figure (respect, understand, empathize).
Based on our class discussion about the human figure and the difference between drawing from life, and drawing from a screen, I was reminded of a pivotal work by John Berger, Ways of Seeing. He provided a base for decades of discussions surrounding the gaze (how we view, who views, and why it matters), through a historic lens. Although the video is very dated (I thought the video would be easier than the reading itself), it provides a great deal of context on the topic of the gaze, the photograph, and how we use images in our culture. Times are changing, but not too rapidly when you follow his perspective through history (primarily from a Western art perspective). There are 4 videos that represent his book Ways of Seeing; the following segment explores the figure, specifically the objectification of the female form through history:
The following is supplemental information about John Berger to better explain the importance of him in these discussions. Please scan the article for context and watch any of the supplemental videos if of interest.
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For the following two texts, please address what information you discover that improve your understanding of the human form.
I posted the following book during week one, but please read through this, and pay particular attention to proportion, structure and anatomy. This book is helpful in seeing how the parts relate to the whole and is a great reference for line use and an intro to value (shading) on the figure. Also please take a look at head, hand and foot construction.
The following book presents proportions a bit differently and is another resource worth having. For this week, read pages 52 – 69 about line and rhythm, analyzing poses and equilibrium and from 76 – 87 on pose, motion, drawing the hidden parts, foreshortening, motion and tone/value.
