Man as Object - Reversing the Gaze
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About the Exhibition Theme: Man as Object - Reversing the Gaze

Since the early years of Feminist Art, women artists have responded to their subjugation in art by male artists by using their own bodies as the subject matter in their work. We credit feminist art of the 1970s with giving artists today the "permission to be personal". There is a difference in women's art from the work of male counterparts. We see the nude woman from different angles. The feminist artist chooses a personal vantage point, apart from that seen in men's portrayals of women. The thesis of woman as both surveyor and the surveyed continues. 

"Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. 

The surveyor of women in herself is male: the surveyed female ... thus she tums herself into an object-and most particularly an object of vision: a sight".
Ways of Seeing, by John Berger 

The goal of this exhibition "Man as Object: Reversing the Gaze" is to turn the tables and to exhibit works that put the male in the position of object and spectacle. Not only will the male be taking on the female role, but the surveyor is now female, no longer a "masculine" part of the female, thus creating a truly Feminist stance. The male is the object and spectacle for the audiences enjoyment or mere viewing. 

This is effective in two ways: as the male viewer encounters the male nude, he is required like many women before him to tum the mirror on himself and secondly to feel the powerlessness of being owned and objectified. The individualism of the artist, the thinker, the patron, the owner, and the woman is transformed. The person who is the object of their activities, the man, is treated as a thing or an abstraction. By reversing the unequal relationship between genders, and gender identity, that is so deeply embedded in our culture, men will do to themselves what they have done to women for centuries. They observe themselves and their own masculinity as women observe their own femininity. 

RE-SEXUALIZE BLOG
Performance artist Chanel Matsunami Govreau will debut 'Hapa Bruthas' at the Nov. 4, 2011 Opening Reception. Included in the performance is her blog, Re-Sexualize, which documents her inquiry into Asian American male sexuality.

Click here to see how she is researching and developing her performance.

EXHIBITING ARTISTS at SOMArts

  • Roberta Ahrens 
  • Olga Alexander 
  • Zina Al-Shukri 
  • Juliane Backmann 
  • Hazel Bartram-Birchenough 
  • Joanne Beaule Ruggles 
  • Jasmine Begeske 
  • Tracy Brown  
  • Della Calfee 
  • Brie Castell 
  • Christine Cianci 
  • Katie Commodore 
  • Nicole Craine 
  • Tristan Crane 
  • Arabella Decker 
  • Liz Dodson 
  • Betsyann Duval 
  • Merrilyn Duzy
  • Lynn Friedman 
  • Linda Friedman Schmidt 
  • Margaret 'Margo' Garces 
  • Michal Gavish
  • Judy Gelles 
  • Ingeborg Gerdes
  • Christine Giancola 
  • Lisolette Gilcrest 
  • Rosemary Giusti Dillon 
  • Pallavi Govindnathan 
  • Chanel Matsunami Govreau
  • Corinne Greenberg 
  • Gail Gurman 
  • Karen Gutfreund
  • Tania Hammidi
  • Laura Hartford 
  • Trudi Chamoff Hauptman 
  • Marlene Hawthrone Thomas 
  • Katty Ryan Hoover 
  • Hedda Hope 
  • Aisjah Hopkins 
  • Annette Isham 
  • Patricia Izzo 
  • Lahib Jaddo 
  • Judy Johnson-Williams 
  • Christy Kelly-Bentgen 
  • Ellen Kieffer 
  • Tammy Kinsey & Jean Kusina
  • Karen Lance Klaber 
  • Susan Kraft
  • Allison Leach
  • Evie Leder
  • Lee Lee
  • Sharon Leong
  • Lynn Letterman
  • Amelia Lewis 
  • Lory Lockwood 
  • Michelle Lopez 
  • Jacalyn Lopez Garcia 
  • So Yoon Lym 
  • Sita Mae 
  • Kristina Martino 
  • Karen Mathews 
  • Jeanette May 
  • Cat Lynch 
  • Kristine Mays 
  • Shilo McCabe 
  • Erika Meriaux 
  • Carol Morris 
  • Janice Nesser
  • Molly Marie Nuzzo 
  • Colleen O'Donnell 
  • Brenda Oelbaum 
  • Beth Olds 
  • Priscilla Otani 
  • Arla Patch 
  • Heather Pilapil 
  • Karen Purdy 
  • Xian Mei QIu 
  • Nora Raggio 
  •  Lynda A. N. Reyes 
  • Judith Roth
  • Clara Saprasa 
  • Judith Segall 
  • Shizue Seigel 
  • Sal Sidner 
  • Bonnie J. Smith 
  • Priscilla Smith 
  • Madelyn Smoak 
  • Colette Standish 
  • Erika Swinson 
  • Yuriko Takata 
  • Patricia Terrell-O'Neal 
  • Lynne Todaro 
  • J Toffic 
  • Cristina Velazquez 
  • Christina Renfer Vogel 
  • Susan von Gries 
  • Theresa Walloga 
  • Ruth Waters 
  • Jennifer Weigel 
  • Corinne Whitaker 
  • Tamara White 
  • Sheila Winner 
  •  Nanette Wylde 
  • Emily Yost 
  • Karen Zack
Complete Listing of Selected Artists in the Exhibition Catalog:
Leslie Aguillard, Mel Ahlborn, Roberta Ahrens, Olga Alexander, Sharon Allicotti, Zina Al-Shukri, Carolyn Applegate, Juliane Backmann, Hazel Bartram-Birchenough, Joanne Beaule Ruggles, Jasmine Begeske, Erica Bendickson, Susan Bennett, A Binghamfreeman, Erika Brooks, Tracy Brown, Reena Burton, Della Calfee, Brie Castell, Claudia Chapline, Yuling Chuang, Christine Cianci, Janie Cohen, Katie Commodore, Nicole Craine, Tristan Crane, Tristan Crane, Arabella Decker, Deena des Rioux, Rosemary Giusti Dillon, Liz Dodson, Eileen Downes, Betsyann Duval, Merrilyn Duzy, Fran Eber, Roya Farassat, Sheila Finnigan, Lin Fischer, Eileen Fitz-Faulkner, Julie Fournier, Sandy Frank, Lynn Friedman, Linda Friedman Schmidt, Margaret 'Margo' Garces, Michal Gavish, Judy Gelles, Ingeborg Gerdes, Christine Giancola, Lisolette Gilcrest, Sarah Beth Goncarova, Pallavi Govindnathan, Chanel Matsunami Govreau, Corinne Greenberg, Gail Gurman, Karen Gutfreund, Tania Hammidi, Valerie Hallier, Sharon Hart, Laura Hartford, Trudi Chamoff Hauptman, L idia Hasenauer, Marlene Hawthrone Thomas, Deena Haynes, Karen Henninger, Katty Ryan Hoover, Hedda Hope, Aisjah Hopkins, Sara Hopkins, Cynthia Horn, Tedda Hughes, Birgit Huttemann-Holz, Annette Isham, Patricia Izzo, Lahib Jaddo, Ellen Jantzen, Annelise Jarvis-Hansen, Elaine Jason, Tammy Kinsey & Jean Kusina, Judy Johnson-Williams, Tamarra Kaida, Ashley Kauschinger, Christy Kelly-Bentgen, Elizabeth Kendall, Ellen Kieffer, Karen Lance Klaber, Corlia Kock, Susan Kraft, Diana Krevsky, Beth Lakamp, Sarah Lapp, Lark, Allison Leach, Evie Leder, Lee Lee, Sharon Leong, Lynn Elliott Letterman, Amelia Lewis, Lory Lockwood, Kelsey Livingston, Michelle Lopez, Jacalyn Lopez Garcia, So Yoon Lym, Cat Lynch, Sita Mae, Kelsi Mannhalter, China Marks, Louise Maloof, Kristina Martino, Karen Mathews, Jeanette May, Kristine Mays, Shilo McCabe, Alysanne McGaffey, Harrigan McMahon Bowman, Erika Meriaux, Carol Morris, Amy-Elyse Neer, Jill Nonnemacher, Barbara Neri, Janice Nesser, Nancy Netherland, Molly Marie Nuzzo, Brenda Oelbaum, Beth Olds, Colleen O'Donnell, Priscilla Otani, Jacki Orr, Arla Patch, Nancy Peach, Rachael Perisho, Heather Pilapil, Karen Purdy, Xian Mei QIu, Patricia Quilichini, Nora Raggio, Cherie M Redlinger, Lynda A. N. Reyes, Trix Rosen, Judith Roth, Laura Rusnak, Carla Sanders, Loredana Sangiuliano, Clara Saprasa, Elinore Schnurr, Centa Schumacher, Judith Segall, Shizue Seigel, Sal Sidner, Sarah Sipling, Bonnie J. Smith, Priscilla Smith, Madelyn Smoak, Jenny Snyder, Julie Snyder, Elizabeth Sowell-Zak, Susan Spaniol, Colette Standish, Julie Sutherland, Erika Swinson, Yuriko Takata, Lani Tanaka, Patricia Terrell-O'Neal, Deborah Mills Thackrey, RoByn Thompson, Lynne Todaro, Linnea Tober, J Toffic, Mette Tommerup, Cristina Velazquez, Christina Renfer Vogel, Susan von Gries, Alexandra Walker, Theresa Walloga, Ruth Waters, Jennifer Weigel, Susan Weisberg, Rachel Weissberger, Carolyn Weltman, Ellen West, Corinne Whitaker, Tamara White, Melissa Wilkinson, Sheila Winner, Kathryn Wood, Carol Witten, Jan Wurm, Jenny Wrenn, Nanette Wylde, Marian Yap, Kathleen Yorba, Emily Yost, Karen Zack, Lucia Znamirowski

    Header Image (left): Della Calfee, Men As Table, Archival paper, 14 x 11 inches, 1991.
    Header Image (middle top): Erika Meriaux, Heracles and Omphale, Oil on linen canvas, 48 x 28 inches, 2010.
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