Chapter 3

The power of the gaze in art is one of the most important aspects to a piece, or work of art. Most of the famous works of art that interpellate the viewer draw them into a gaze. When an artist discovers how to draw a viewer/spectator into the gaze they have developed a special skill that will undoubtedly make their work (at the least) more entertaining and most likely more popular among spectators. It was interesting to read about the history of the gaze in western art. Even in the earliest years of western culture women have been revered as objects of a man’s gaze. The book portrays several paintings proving the validity of that statement. As art progressed the portrayal of women as the focal point of the gaze in western culture still held firm. Today, this is STILL the case. Think about how much art has changed the past 300 years of western culture with computers, breakthrough techniques, etc. and one thing has remained the same: the allure of woman in art, advertisements and visual media. That really struck me as I thought about it. And I don’t think it will ever change. Obviously women are not the only thing in art that are used to draw viewers (especially males) into a gaze, but they are the most prominent in our culture. One thing that has changed about the gaze and sexuality is that the male, who was once seen as only a physical being in art, is becoming more feminine in his portrayal. Pictures like the cologne ad in the book are evidence that males are striking more feminine poses because of the changing viewers and society. The book talked about the cultural aspects that affect the gaze and what kinds of social anomalies artists are beginning to target. Artists of the future will begin to analyze the cultural aspect even more and implement both men and women as sexual figures in their art to draw the audience into the gaze.
Not only is the figure in the art a focal point for artists but so is the setting. The picture of the models working in the fields was supposed to have an exotic flair to it for the clothing company which in turn is supposed to draw viewers into buying the clothes. For men, I think the women in the picture are enough to be drawn to this particular clothing line. For women, however, the exotic location may show a unique aspect to the clothing company that they desire. Often times I hear people talk about how the way something is advertised does not affect them and that they in fact buy on pure unbiased impulses. Despite what they believe I think the way something is advertised and if the viewer is drawn into a gaze is highly influential in their decision whether they know it or not.