Report from Photomedia Workshop

1 9 9 3

N o . 7 6

The Australian National University

Institute of the Arts

Canberra School of Art

GRADUATE DIPLOMA of ART

1 9 9 2

Trade Lewis

REPORT

CONTENTS

1 Acknowledgements

2 Introduction

3 Body Language

4 Costume

5 Masquerade

7 Graffiti

8 Conclusion

9 Study Proposal

10 Bibliography

11 Notes

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My twenty months of Postgraduate study at the

Canberra Institute of the Arts has been a rewarding

experience and it has been made more so due to the help and

support of the following people:

Anne Ferran and David McNeill for their constructive

criticism and encouragement.

Ruth Frost for her constant technical advice and

always being available for me.

Denise Ferris for the constant morale boosting.

Tim Rowston and Alan Koeninger who kept me supplied

day or and night with the equipment and materials I needed.

Janine Mikosza for absolutely everything.

Tess Horwitz, David Watt, Stephanie Jones and

Jeanette Brown for their interest and input.

INTRODUCTION

At the end of 1990, having completed a degree in Visual Arts from Curtin University of Technology, I decided to pursue an aspect of my graduating work which I found intriguing. Working with self-portraiture I had been disguising my face through the technical manipulation of the photograph and with some masking of my features using props such as gauze. I enlarged the finished images to over one metre by two metres and presented them in a dimly lit room with individual spotlights highlighting each photo. Underneath these large images I hung a series of snapshot size images of myself taken every day from the inception of the project, a total of two hundred images, each one dated and running in sequential order.

My work was concerned with the nature of photography as high art, snapshot or scientific tool while also concerned with the exploration of self and the changes wrought upon me through time and

experience. It was when the work was up that I became aware of the genderless quality of the large disguised images. The viewing audience was only aware of my sex on close examination of the small snapshots. Having always been interested in gender construction and feminist criticism I wanted to go on exploring this aspect of my work.

My Post Graduate study proposal combined my interest in self-portraiture with a desire to explore the meanings of gender identity and construction through the use of photography and aligned media.

The initial proposal dealt with the concept of androgyny which was apparent in my earlier work.I believed those images were without an obvious gender, being neither masculine nor feminine, but rather existing between these two, or as a possible third gender which could be called Androgyny.

Having recognised the ungendered character of my earlier works, I was intrigued with the idea of my image being androgynous and wanted to explore and understand the term and the processes that go into making an image ungendered. To do this I first chose to research the way that sexual identity is constructed in society. Focusing on the definitions and stereotypes that shape the concepts of masculinity and femininity, I believed that an understanding of the ways in which gender is created would assist me in defining androgyny and help formulate a way of communicating my

discoveries visually and within a feminist discourse.

The rest of my source material would come from the biggest influences on me visually, that is,

Hollywood movies, television and music videos.

Interestingly, some of my favourite images involved an element of sexual ambiguity or cross-dressing. (Fig 1) Reproducing certain elements from these media images and drawing upon information I would receive in my research into sex role construction seemed to be the most logical process to begin to produce work that would reflect my concerns.

BODY LANGUAGE

Masculinity and Femininity

As I mentioned, I began researching the way in which gender is constructed, looking at psychology, psychoanalysis, feminist theory and biology. At the heart of the major arguments I discovered in my reading, I was repeatedly confronted by the Nature vs Nurture debate. Put simply, the nature argument consists of ail the theories of gender construction which claim that most if not all gender characteristics are innate, immutable and fixated on genitals while the nurture argument encompasses all those theories that believe that the majority of gender characteristics are in fact learned or obtained after birth and are not reliant on genitalia.

All of these theories, however, agree on the basic definitions of masculinity and femininity if not on the manner of their construction. The most common characteristics include:

M a s c u l i n i t y ^ Activity, aggression, self-reliance, greater physical strength, selfishness, lack of empathy, greater body and facial hair and a deep voice.

Femininity= Inactivity, passivity, dependence, physical weakness, selflessness, empathetic, little facial hair and a high voice.

Accepting these definitions as a starting point for my image production, I focussed my attention on body language and physical differences in dress and stance between men and women.

Body Language

Using the work of Maryanne Wex in her book Body Language"! as a guide, I proceeded to shoot a series of photographs in studio conditions with a uni-directional light source, wearing neutral clothing and no makeup.

Repeating the shoot and the poses but wearing more masculine attire, fisherman's cap, leather jacket and boots, I found that my body shape was too feminine; my shoulders were narrower than my hips and my face was too open and therefore easily recognised as female. The end product was interesting in that I had confirmed how body language affects how a person is read by others; for example in the poses where I was standing legs wide apart and head erect I appear confident and aggressive(fig 2,3), while in those where my head is bent forward and my legs close together I seem unsure and demure(fig 4,5).

I had also found that the more masculine the attire and pose the more I began to fit into the stereotype of the butch dyke,(fig 6,7) and this led me to decide to adopt stereotyped characters which could be easily read by an audience and would contain a wealth of meaning and connotation. For instance the butch dyke connotes aggression, independence, perversion, the masculinised femme etc.

Also I found that while in the exaggerated poses I became aware of play acting for the camera and began imagining I was different characters. I decided I would like to explore costume and makeup to assist in

disguising my identity and at the same time try and create an image of a character who would be

- - I'y

COSTUME

"What a strange power there is in clothing."^

Singer, i.B, Yentie, the Yesheva Boy

Deciding to depict stereotyped images of

masculinity meant making a decision on which images

to use. I remembered an image of my Grandfather as a

young man; his hair was slicked back with oil and he

was wearing a black suit with white tie and shirt and

the photo had been vignetted. It was an image which I

felt reflected its time not only technically but also in

the character of my Grandfather, a typical

between-the-wars Australian worker, the Aussie battler in a suit

for a cousin's wedding or funeral. I hired an old suit,

shirt and tie and set about duplicating this image in the

studio, including the vignette.(fig 8)

My second character was derived from my love of

1930s and 40s film noir, the suave but unsavoury cop or

private eye who was tough and intelligent but was

somehow concealing a perverse nature alongside his

gun. He was always dressed in black with a matching

Stetson and occasional moustache. (Spencer Tracy,

Bogart etc. (fig 9). This time with the suit and tie I

added a hat and false moustache, (figs 10,11)

The third character came from the 1950s and 60s

tough guy image; bad guy or Mafia goodfellow with

shiny slick jacket. Stetson or Homburg, moustache and a

very nasty attitude. Although dressed similarly to the

private eye, the attitude of the hood sets him apart;

aggressive, arrogant and sleazy, (fig 12,13) This

stereotype was revitalised in the 1970s and 80s with

films starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro which

depicted and then heroised Mafia and gangland

Fig 11

Fig 13

i

Al Pscino

as

Michael Corleone in his

60s-guilty shout past sins

fig 15

This series of work focused primarily on the stereotypes of machismo. I wanted to pastiche these images so as to provoke in the viewer (of the images) a sense of amusement that would counter the machismo. It would also create a tone that criticised the

stereotype, by exaggerating it.

While still concerned with costume and the depiction of masculine stereotypes I wanted to explore one of the most used male characters, the soldier. I took the English Sergeant Major as my model because of the wealth of images depicting this particular stereotype that I had grown up with. From Television programs such as "It Ain't Half Hot Mum", "1915", "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and more recently "Blackadder Goes Forth", I developed a strong impression of the character so universally depicted as vulgar, loud, bad tempered and prone to a bit of bastardisation.

It was now time to see if I was successful in my

desire to be convincingly male. In keeping with

psychological precedents I conducted a mini survey in

which the photos were sent or shown to people from

ages 4-50 of either sex and their comments recorded.

Children under 14 were convinced they were all men.

Some people who did not know me were a little unsure

of the gender but most assumed it was a man and people

who knew me either did not see a similarity and decided

the images were of men, or decided it was me

cross-dressed, through the resemblance.

Having succeeded in my task I began to concentrate

on making the images sexually ambiguous, so that a gap

or intermediate zone between the extremes of

masculinity and femininity was in evidence. I believed

that within this zone I would find androgyny and be able

to make an androgynous image. I decided that the best

way to achieve this would be through mixing up the

gender signals; adding pieces of female clothing and

makeup to the male character until at some point the

androgyny emerged, (fig 18,19)

If the gap (zone) exists then in that gap lies gender

confusion and audience interest - "What sex is that?' 3

T R A N S V E S T I S M / D E F I N I T I O N S

" I had become a woman dressed as a man dressed as a woman.

"Transvestism alone is not a syndrome of cross-dressing. Instead it is a manifestation of the act of cross-dressing. Since dressing is traditionally gender coded almost everywhere on earth, cross-dressing is one highly specific act of gender cross-dressing." ^

Having begun the exploration of androgyny through the depiction of myself crossdressing, I thought I could better inform my work by researching transvestism, as distinct from gender roles in general, and its cultural meanings.

From my reading and practice I believe that androgyny is an unattainable ideal which,it could be said, attempts to find existence In the work of writers and artists who visualise the creation of a third sex or the fusion of both sexes to achieve a bi-sexed single form. This is separate to crossdressing and seems to be linked to it only through the association of artists and writers who theorised about androgyny or who depicted it through painting or literature and who happened to cross dress. Virginia Woolf, Radclyffe Hall and Oscar Wilde had all crossdressed to some degree.

Whether because a rebellion against strict laws governing gender and dress and even stricter laws governing behaviour appropriate to each sex was one of the few avenues for expression of lifestyle by the lesbian and gay communities in the ninteenth century, or for some other reason, there is a definite link between crossdressing, transvestism and homosexuality. This link between the gay community and crossdressing still remains today.

Cross-dressing is openly embraced by some elements of the gay community in the form of drag shows and drag queens (who should not be confused with transvestites who are not usually homosexual but are heterosexual and enjoy dressing as the opposite sex.)

It would seem that over ninety-five percent of transvestites are male but this may be due to the fact that female transvestites have received less attention from the scientific and media worlds and there may actually be many more women transvestites than is officially recorded. Cross-dressing is a term used by both gay drag artists and transvestites to avoid the connotations of perversion and psychosis which the term transvestism carries with it.

Finally, transvestites should not be confused with transexuals; transvestites enjoy dressing as the

GRAFFITI and IMAGE

After my research I began to look at my work from a different perspective. Having gone full circle and produced an image of a woman dressed as a man dressed as a woman and come to an understanding of the mechanisms behind this, I realised that there was no real reason for me to continue using myself exclusively in my images; I could use a real man just as effectively if not more so because I would have greater control behind the camera than in front of it. I did not want to abandon using myself in the work but rather use myself as a linking device throughout the image production. I wanted to continue to critique and not simply pastiche the dominant cultural view of gender and to do so using the general public as representatives of this

mainstream view. I saw pastiche operating as comedy rather than as criticism and felt that my work should reflect my politics more than it had to date. I aimed to highlight the prejudices about sex and sex roles that exist in varying degrees in everyone including myself.

My initial attempt at doing this was conducted on location in the centre of Civic at lunch time. I used a male model dressed in a suit, carrying a briefcase and wearing women's high heeled shoes. He walked around several malls while being documented on camera and a friend recorded both of us on video.(fig 20,21) I was hoping to record the reactions of people to the minor crossdressing that was on display but found that most people were too guarded as soon as they saw the camera to react spontaneously. I needed a more private and honest reaction.

y

To get this I photocopied a photograph of myself in gangster drag and posted it in the art school public toilet which is unisex. I posed the question "who is this person?" thus both prompting a reply and at the same time calling into question the sex of the image, (fig 22) The graffiti this image provoked provided me with just the reaction from the public that I wanted. The graffiti was questioning the sexuality and gender of my image and gave personal views about both. This was the honest and sometimes brutal response I was looking for.

I began producing a large number of photocopies which I then sent around the country to friends

requesting them to post the images in public toilets at work and at local bars, parks etc and then return them to me after seven days. Disappointingly I received only four back, all from the same place, a factory in

Tasmania where a male friend had posted them in the toilets on his break and retrieved them at the end of his shift three hours later. This graffiti proved to be the most provocative in its misogyny and homophobia, (fig 23)

Since all the other photocopies were either removed by cleaners or users of the facilities before they could be retrieved and I found the same thing happening to me when I posted them around Canberra, I decided to use the graffiti I had as a starting point and obtain more myself by photographing the graffiti

directly from the toilet walls.(fig 24) I also researched graffiti and found several books recording Australian graffiti which I had decided to reference.

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Grafitti seemed an effective and provocative medium to use in conjunction with my images. It highlighted the attitudes expressed anonymously by members of society, about sex and gender and in particular prejudice against transvestites and homosexuals, both groups that I personally identify w i t h .

All the photographs I had so far were full body shots, mostly costumed, so I decided to experiment with a change of format, recreating the characters I had developed in my earlier shoots but shooting close-ups instead of mid-shots. Because the face was now the focus of the image I had to do some experimentation with make-up and gained some valuable advice from a local theatre group. Using false stubble and moustache and wearing a Stetson and suit I took several roles of film with a flash unit, (fig 25,26)

The results were interesting in the way the makeup worked and the detail gained from the flash. However 1 found my expressions bland and the flash tended to flatten off the image by reducing the shadows to almost nil. It was the atmosphere created by the lighting in the earlier images that I realized worked best in them and this atmosphere was now lacking in the closeups. I reshot myself using modelled flash and a high contrast single light source to create shadows. I also introduced lipstick and false eyelashes to my makeup and worked on my expressions to try and create a more animated look, (fig 27,28)

Fig 25

These experiments contributed to the production of images I thought would work with the graffiti and so I began incorporating the graffiti with the self

portraits.(fig 29) At the same time I began experimenting with a model applying makeup and

The expressions and the lighting effects had to

reflect in some way the concerns of my finished work;

gender confusion, sexual stereotypes and the attitudes

of our culture. I wanted images that were sexually

ambiguous but were sexual and at the same time

menacing and confrontational. So I used stubble mixed

with false eyelashes and lipstick; I asked the models to

look directly into the camera and act manicaliy,

sexually or agressively.

I found that when asked to act in a certain way all

the models responded from their own experiences of

gender difference and stereotypes, drawing from media

culture for their expressions (soft core pornography,

women's magazines, the horror film genre etc.). This

added yet another layer of cultural stereotyping to the

images even before the graffiti was applied, (fig

32,33,34). At the same time it underlined the need for

me to make a critique of gender stereotyping that was

more than just a mimicry of it. In the final selection of

images to use in the completed work, I decided to avoid

the more stereotyped and high camped images for those

that would not be readily cosumed as popular media

images of the 'typical perverse transvestite".

From my criteria which included: gender

ambiguity; images which I felt referenced film and

media but did not mimic them; and those that contained

a hint of aggression and were also confrontational to

the viewer, (fig 35), I selected fifteen images that I

thought worked most effectively within this criteria.

Having decided on the images, I now focussed on

the graffiti. I had decided that the graffiti should

contain some of the sexual stereotyping and gender

specific language which was prolifically used in public

toilets and on public buildings. I then experimented

with the application of the graffiti onto the image.

My first attempts were using stencils and

photographic techniques and although they worked, the effect

they achieved was not what I wanted. The graffiti was

incorporated into the image rather than upon it which defied

the nature of graffiti which is additive and not a fusion.

For its spontaneity and history of graffiti use, I

decided to use spray paint in colours grey, white and red for

their visual impact against the black and white of the

photographs. Taking each image separately I experimented

with the style of graffiti writing as well as with the

content and decided on the most appropriate image to go

with the appropriate graffiti and style. This process

included experiments with the scale of the words and

images and with layering the graffiti over itself, as it is

found in public toilets. It also included the

positioning of the grafitti on the image, taking into

CONCLUSION

T h e final body of w o r k to be exhibited in

P h o t o s p a c e in S e p t e m b e r will c o n s i s t of fifteen 1 m x 1 m black and w h i t e silver gelatin prints. I d e c i d e d that the larger f o r m a t c a r r i e d m o r e visual impact t h a n the 8x10 a n d 2 0 x 2 4 inches I had been experimenting with.

T h e w o r k s , w h i c h are e x t r e m e c l o s e - u p s of the face, are of myself and three models (2 w o m e n and 2 men). T h e r e are three constants: false eyelashes,

false/real s t u b b l e a n d thick lipstick. T h e s e e l e m e n t s derive f r o m my earlier use of make-up and costume, as w e l l as being strong g e n d e r - specific signifiers. In mixing these together I hoped to achieve the sexual ambiguity I had in the earlier full body shots.

T h e w o r k will hang in pairs, threes and groups of four a n d will h a v e s p r a y - p a i n t e d graffiti over the top of t h e m a n d over the walls. The spray paint will be white, black, grey and red, (colours most c o m m o n l y used by g r a f f i t i i s t s ) w h i c h w o r k best visually with t h e black a n d w h i t e prints.

Both the graffiti and the photograph begin as private e x p r e s s i o n but both are c r e a t e d in the

k n o w l e d g e of future public display. I w a n t the viewer to be c o n f r o n t e d in p u b l i c by their own private

prejudices a n d their o w n gender construction a n d s e x u a l i t y .

T h e exploration of sexuality a n d g e n d e r c o n s t r u c t i o n w a s t h e starting point of my original p r o p o s a l along with the desire to locate the i n t e r m e d i a t e z o n e (gap) b e t w e e n masculinity a n d f e m i n i n t y . I s a w Masculinity a n d Femininity as rigidly s e p a r a t e d in a s y s t e m of d u a l i s m and o p p o s i t i o n . T h a t t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of masculinity are r e g a r d e d by this s y s t e m a s positive a n d normal, m e a n t that my identity as a f e m a l e w a s c o n s t r u c t e d f r o m negative

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s r e g a r d e d only as opposition to the n o r m a t i v e m a s c u l i n e .

I do not e n d o r s e this system nor its a c c e p t a n c e by society, yet I a m a part of the structure a n d in s o m e w a y s unconsciously support it. I w a n t my work to reflect my a n g e r and frustration by attacking the g e n d e r structure, using images that t h e m s e l v e s are a t t a c k e d by this s y s t e m . T h e transvestite, t h e t r a n s e x u a l , the h o m o s e x u a l do not fit within the dualism a n d are therefore seen as perverse a n d unnatural a n d work to u n d e r m i n e this s t r u c t u r e .

study Proposal

I am currently working towards a series of large format black

and white photographic prints which will be concerned with

theories of gender and identity.

I will be working with my self as subject for several reasons,

I am following on from my last major body of work which was an

exploration of self portraiture and because I find the concept of

gender construction and sexual identity particularly interesting

from an academic as well as personal perspective.

Having researched the nature and construction of gender

identity for my research paper I found that most of the theories

were psychological and relied upon field studies, clinical tests

and surveys mostly conducted upon college undergraduates in

the U.S.A.

I decided that I would use some of these methods of

With the graffiti I collect from these images along with

statements from my research as a counter point I will attempt

to assemble segmented images of myself in drag,with the

collected text, into images which will not only be sexually

ambiguous but will also create unease about gender identity and

its social construction. I chose to segment the images of myself

because the full images were not as successful at disguising my

gender as only parts of my body were.

I hope to highlight social and cultural stereotypes and

prejudices collquially by the graffiti and more academically

from the psychological theory and at the same time produce a

series of successful self portraits.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bell-Metereau, R. Hollywood Androgyny. Columbia University Press, NY, 1985.

Doane, MA. 'Film and the Masquerade: Theorising the Female Spectator', S c r e e n . Vol 23, Nos. 3-4, 1982.

Garber, M. Vested Interests. Cross dressing and cultural anxiety Routledge Press, New York,1992.

Metcalf, A. & Humphries, M. The Sexuality of Men. Pluto Press, London, 1985.

Modleski, T. 'The Terror of Pleasure'.Studies in Entertainment. Bloomington Press, London, 1986.

Money, J. Gav. Straight and Inhetween - The Sexolonv nf Frntir^ Orientation. University of New York Press, NY, 1988.

Newton, E. Mother Camo: Female Impersonators in America. University Press, Chicago, 1972.

Straayer, C. 'Bisexed Performance', Screen. Winter, 1987. Wex, M. "Let's Take Back Our Space". Movimento Druck, West Germany, 1979

Zolla, E. The Androgyne - Fusion of the Sexes. Thames and Hudson, London, 1981.

NOTES

1 • Wex, M. "Let's Take Rack Our Snacs". London 1979.

2. Singer, \. B. Yentle. the Yeshiva Bov. Penguin, London, 1962, Pg 188. 3. Lewis, T. Journal, 24/10/91.

4. Lewis, T. Journal, 10/07/91.

5. Money, J. Gav. Straight and Inbetween - The Sexology of Erotic

Qrientation.

APPENDIX : TECHNICAL NOTES

Having come from a printmaking background I found it difficult at first to use photograpliy in a way that would produce the images I visualised and much of my first six months was spent familiarising myself with the medium. I now feel reasonably comfortable with the medium and have gained a great deal of knowledge through experimentation and discussion.

Since I owned a 35mm camera and a tripod my first photo shoot was dictated by this format and style, in other words I shot on 35mm in the studio for the first six months. I used black and white film, because I was familiar with it but also because I preferred the quality of it to colour. I was impressed with the grain of 400 ASA film despite its lack of detail and tonal range. In the studio I first used two lights which created an unpleasant double shadow so I then switched to using one light from an angled position for the most effective shadow produced behind the model. This seemed most appropriate to the gangster character, but I tended to use it for the effect, for all my initial shoots.

After gaining some insight into the nature of film quality I switched from using 400 ASA film to slower speed 100 and 50 ASA. For close up work under single lighting conditions this film gave me greater contrast, greater detail and fine grain. I bought a better camera and began experimenting with macro lenses for close-up work and exposure metering to make denser negatives and therefore less hard work in the darkroom.

I experimented with a studio electronic flash unit, at first using too many units which created great detail but little shadow which I wanted. I began modelling the flash, highlighting one area of the face only which produced effective shadow without losing detail.

Deciding that the final images would be enlarged to one metre by one metre square, this produced

problems with the 35mm format I had been using which lost detail and became grainy when enlarged. With instruction and a borrowed camera I began

experimenting with 120mm film which was a square format unlike 35mm which I had to crop to fit my ideal I m x i m format. Having a larger negative made

enlargement easier and produced less grain. I also did some experimental work with 4x5 inch negatives on the off chance that the 120mm negatives would not work out.

My studio work with the 4x5's was unsuccessful and so I used the format to re-photograph 35mm photos off a copy stand. These images were more successful. However I found the 120mm format the most convenient to work with and the results on enlargement were good.

negative enlarged onto it and developed. This was not only a time consuming exercise but it also produced inaccurate results because of the difficulty of registration.