here's my response for the first art history thing

THE GAZE

This assessment is based on the reading in your course book on page 11, an extract from Griselda Pollock’s “About Canons and Culture Wars” in Differencing the Canon: Feminist Desire and the Writing of Art’s History (London & New York: Routledge, 1999), 3-6.

ALL RESPONSES MUST BE COMPLETED IN YOUR OWN WORDS.

1.What do you understand the term ‘canon’ to mean?

A canon is a rule or more often, a body of rules or principles generally created as a valid and basis in a field of art, literature, or philosophy. Its origins were that of religious matters. It represents nowadays, the best and most important texts or objects for literature, art and so forth in accordance to particular academic institutions that deem it worthy. A.K.A what must be learnt. Usually there are multiple canons competing against one and another.

2.What do you understand the term ‘the other’ to be referring to?

It is referring to the non acknowledged groups in certain canons, who have also played an influential role in the development of their canon’s history. Who don’t get the credit they deserve, as well as be excluded from educational opportunities and purposes for those yet to come, simply because they don’t fall under the ‘white male’ category. For example in American Literature, African American writers were bluntly ignored. In art, women for many years were excluded from the canon of art history simply for it was thought that only men were capable of being inspirational in this area.

3. What are feminist critics of the canon attempting to do?

They were trying to ensure female artists’ rightful place in the canon of art history which was dominated by males, and instead be placed a long side them as equals.

4. Discuss how Cabanel’s, The Birth of Venus, 1875, embodies notions of a ‘canon’ and how Manet’s, Olympia, 1863 breaks with established principles of the canon of the French Academy.

Cabanel’s “Birth of Venus” embodies the notion of a canon because it was seen as traditional and/or elegant in its time, even today. As in, the woman although painted in a somewhat luxurious manner, had a beautiful and spiritual quality to it. Meaning, even though she was naked, it didn’t seem idle or dirty to view. Manet’s painting of the naked prostitute however, was seen as disdainful. For she is looking directly into the viewers eyes with a hard stare, making her more  realistic or natural than the other woman, and too close for comfort for the viewer (especially in those days) to look at. So it breaks away from the canon, for it seemed more pornographic to a sense rather than a traditional art form. For society in those days, more so than today’s society were not as open about prostitution and preferred to ignore it and to use her as a form of subject matter wasn’t exactly welcomed opened with open arms. Even the setting of Manet’s played a role in it for she was simply in a room with a servant tending to her needs which gives the viewer a sense that they are interrupting something. While Cabanel’s work, the setting the woman is in, is more unrealistic, for she is almost floating on top of the waves and seems rather unnaturally large in comparison to the waves .This excluding the use of the five naked cupids on the whole for the discussion, for that alone sets the painting in a fictional sense where it is harder for the viewer to relate to, unlike Manet’s. Also the painting techniques are quite different to each other. Cabenal paints to be as realistic as possible, with smooth shading and lack of visible paint strokes. Every aspect of Cabenal’s work and its details are carefully painted to the extreme. This more follows traditional art. Manet’s painting, although also realistic, the brush strokes are rather rough in comparison. The shading not as realistic as they could be and the minor objects such as the curtains and even the cat simplified to a degree. Note the backdrop even though has tone in it has a flat 2-D appearance. So even though both artists painted a naked woman, Manet didn’t fall under the canon of traditional art as Cabanel did, because he strayed away by using a ‘real woman’ and placing her in a setting that seemed rather personal to her and used painting techniques/style that were again different to more traditional artists.