Contextual Studies

Alex Talbott
Andrew Vass
Contextual Studies, Assessment Task 1
Visual Analysis

Pair 1 Hans Bellmer and Cindy Sherman.
Both Hans Bellmer’s La Poupe and Cindy Sherman’s untitled film still infer the changing and somewhat disturbing view of women’s sexuality and sexual objectification in the first half and late 20th century, the ways in which they approach and portray this contain both similarities and discrepancies as societies influence changes and the experiences of the artists as individuals differ.

Bellmer’s La Poupe on first glance looks like a still from a horror film; the forest setting, shadowed anonymous figure and distorted body. Bellmer’s use of photography is successful in making the viewer question the reality of the image, it may have affected viewers of the time psychologically blending the real with the fictional and perhaps questioning this relationship.
Bellmer seems to be foremost portraying the vulnerability of women’s sexuality and the corruption of innocence. Most basically we witness this through the nudity of the distorted female torso; open to scrutiny and seemingly helpless through the lack of identity compared to the clothed, what we assume to be male presence behind the tree trunk. Without a head the distorted doll is perhaps indicative of the simplicity of male carnal desire; even with no identity the female will always attract male attention.

Looking deeper into the image, Bellmer is exploring taboo sexual desires, seemingly influenced by the theories of Sigmund Freud. The childlike shoes on the figure and the use of doll imagery are indicative of paedophilia, consequently the image portrays an innocent victim of rape and an unidentifiable attacker. Looking more widely at the image is Bellmer above all questioning the fine line between civilisation and chaos? The distortion of the figure suggestive of the atrocities we as humans are capable of inflicting for our own pleasure or purpose, this viewpoint perhaps a poignant yet harrowing outcome of the reality of the First World War.

Finally, it is perhaps necessary to look into Bellmer’s use of the woods as the setting for this image. It could be interpreted that Bellmer is juxtaposing the natural setting against the distorted somewhat alien figure, posing the question how far have we as humans abandoned the simplicity and innocence of nature? Metaphorically Bellmer could be employing the concept of sexual discovery and understanding; “into the woods” the woods a metaphor for the complexity of understanding humans psychologically and that by science at the time attempting to rationalise this area “woods”, as the unknown represents what is still to discover.

Cindy Sherman’s Untitled film Still similarly to La Poupe seems to question the nature of female sexual identity, the use of the doll again seems to indicate the objectification of women and perhaps question the idea of the manmade ideal woman. Whilst Sherman’s doll takes a more traditional female form the impacts of women attempting to fit an “ideal” are evident through the heavily applied make up and the female head that seems to be trying to escape through the torso. Is Sherman indicating women’s struggle for a voice in trying to overcome being viewed as a sexual object even after the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the continuing success of the women’s rights movement? It is interesting that Sherman uses a black sheet over the lower half of the torso, perhaps in an attempt to desexualise the doll in contrast to Bellmer whose manipulation of the figure heightens this link. Contrastingly Sherman may have employed the use of the black sheet to leave the sex of the doll ambiguous, Sherman is playing with the idea of the transvestite and gender stereotyping, is the woman inside trapped in a man’s body? The complexity of sexual identity as a taboo subject is visually explored.

When looking at the two images it is necessary to note how our perception of the doll has changed with the sexual revolution and the liberalisation of sex in society, Sherman’s doll has little hint of innocence and is perhaps challenging the viewer to question what distinguishes her art from a doll as an object of male desire? A stark contrast to Bellmer’s use of the doll to portray female vulnerability and the taboo of paedophilia.

Consequently, both Bellmer and Sherman use dolls to highlight the complexity of sexuality in an environment where our psychological understanding of desire and gender identity is constantly being challenged and reassessed, Bellmer depicting the threat of male desire and a distorted view of the female form, and Sherman exploring the relationship between gender, sexuality and an idealised depiction of women as sexual objects.