Crash Course Art History: Bodies in Art

Introduction

• Greek statues often depicted as naked
  • Focus on beauty, desire, or something else?
• Human body in art through ages
  • Cultural differences in beauty standards
  • Constant change in notions of beauty

Art and Portraits

Portraits as Records

• Record specific moments in time
• Reveal class, status, values, character
• Example: Mona Lisa

Ancestor Portraits (China’s Qing Dynasty)

• Commissioned by wealthy families
• Showcased status and lineage
• Example:
  • Shaen Ying, lieutenant general
    • Peacock feather and fur (military symbol)
  • Lady Guan's full-length courtly dress (high-ranking symbol)
  • Verbal descriptions idealized (female portraits)

Artistic Embellishments

• Portraits are idealized versions, not always truthful
• Influence of concepts like constant change (aging, different perspectives)
• Example: Cindy Sherman’s “Untitled Film Stills”
  • Multiple personas showing fluidity of identity

Nude Figures in Art

Classical Greek and Roman Sculpture

• Celebrated nude figure as ideal beauty
• Male nudes: beauty, strength, determination
• Female nudes: sensuality, fertility, modesty

Power and the Gaze

• Dynamics of power between viewer and the viewed
• Male Gaze: Men as viewers, women as objects
  • Male nudes: confident, active
  • Female nudes: passive, inviting gaze

Art Challenging Gender Norms

• Representation of nontraditional gender and sexualities
• Example:
  • Hermaphroditus sculptures (intersex)
  • Contemporary: Cassils’ “Becoming an Image”
    • Critiques narrow gender ideas, uses body in performance art
    • Highlights violence against trans communities

Social Critique in Art

Edouard Manet’s “Olympia” (1863)

• Female nude that isn't passive
• Direct gaze controlling viewer's access
• Challenges traditional depiction
• Historical context and representation of class

Representation of Race

• Inclusion of black individuals as symbols of status
• Example: “Olympia” – Lore, black woman in 19th century France
  • Neither sexualized nor impoverished

Modern Interpretations

• Yasumasa Morimura’s Recreation of “Olympia”
  • Challenges gender/ethnicity norms by dressing in drag

Conclusion

• Bodies in art: Beyond physical appearance
• Reflect and critique social relationships
• Understanding biases through art can promote equity

Next Episode

• Focus on global exchange of goods and ideas in art history

Acknowledgments

• Filmed at Indianapolis Museum of Art
• Support via Patreon