If you were to go to her website you would learn that she's a "practicing professional artist.. with senusal subject matter combined with striking images and pschosurreal themes" who has been inspired by the boldness of feminism.
Check this piece, "Puppet Chick", out:
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| "Probably one of the largest paintings I have ever done, This piece has it all, surreal figures, flowing fabric and a dark, psychological subject matter dealing with female identity, self control and sexuality."- Jessica Ballantyne
And my favorite one titled, "Close for Comfort":
It's a close up of a female laying down and resting on her elbows. Ballantyne says she created this painting the way she did so as to evoke a feeling in the viewer of "closeness to the body."She says, "I wanted to comment on personal boundaries relating to the body and how easy it is to look at someone as an empty object, devoid of personality or spirit, especially in mass media images of women."
I personally, find her word choice (closeness) particulary interesting here. Used in this context, it seems to me that she means for her viewer to engage with this piece in a sensual manner, that's not only physically but emotionally engaging. Under this assumption, we could conclude that Balletyne almost forces her viewer to connect with this body, and give it meaning. The body portrayed is then no longer an object "devoid of personality".
I think Ballentyne did an amazing job here at portraying a subject sexually, without subjecting it to objectification.
Let me know what you guys think! Agree, disagree?
Also, if you're interested in learning more about her, you can visit her webpage here. I highly suggest it!
--Josephine Hicks
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I really like the first painting and how it deals with how women view themselves in sexual relationships. This painting portrays a larger woman controlling a smaller woman on her knee like a puppet. My interpretation of this is that it is speaking about how women take care to control their appearance and how they feel about their bodies and sexuality.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I believe the larger woman symbolizes sexuality. The color scheme and lace on her knee are a softer, more sensual tone and her presence seems more abstract and blurry, as if suggesting that sexuality is an abstract part of ourselves. However, the smaller woman on her knee appears to be more 'solid' but is clearly being controlled by the larger woman.
Looking at this painting, it makes me wonder if Jessica is saying that women see themselves through a third person perspective a lot of the time, constantly checking to make sure they are perfectly in control: looking nice, speaking in a way that is attractive ect.
Then again, I am not an art expert. Anyone else have thoughts?
- Sarah Reasoner
I'm not an expert either. Possibly, the third person perspective that you might be talking about may be the result of the "male gaze". Check out this quote by John Berger concerning the male gaze:
Delete"She has to survey everything she is and everything she does because how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life. Her own sense of being in herself is supplanted by a sense of being appreciated as herself by another....One might simplify this by saying: 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 woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object -- and most particularly an object of vision: a sight.”
Seems like it matches up to what you were interpreting. Does it? I'd like to know. If you're interested, here's a Wikipedia link containing info concerning "gazes", scroll down to get a blurb about the male one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaze
--Josephine Hicks
I think that one of the things that makes pieces of art like this so effective is that they tend to focus on sensuality above sexuality. The closeness is about intimacy with the subject of the painting. The gaze is not focused in a way that puts the subject on display, but rather in a way that invites the viewer in.
ReplyDeleteThis is something that is commonly seen in nude art (and art forms such as body painting) where artists are stripping away the taboo of nudity and viewing the human body as a piece of art or a canvas for it. I think that art is a great way to reduce stigma regarding a subject, and anything that makes people uncomfortable is usually a good medium that can be used to make a statement.
~Alex Duncan
That was very uplifting. Now that you mention it, it's weird thinking that nudity is such a taboo. I mean, having a body is one of very few things that EVERYONE has in common. (I guess it is important to note that naked bodies are often reminders of sexuality. And well, not everyone shares the same sexuality and sexual preferences.) However, I agree with you, art that makes people uncomfortable can make for a great statement. Ballentyne definitely made me uncomfortable with some of her other paintings, and I'll tell ya-- they all packed a huge message.
Delete--Josephine Hicks
I really like how the paintings don't show the women's faces or don't put much detail into them. They focus on the body shapes instead of a 'pretty face.' The subjects are also baring all with spread legs. Normally, it is seen as unladylike or slutty to open yourself up like that, but this desensitizes people and shows that, just like men, women are human and have sexual parts. I like the boobs being out because I believe that, just like a man's chest, they aren't all the sexual and we should be able to walk around without a shirt on in summer. Bras get freaking hot after all!
ReplyDelete-Erin Lucas
First off, yes- I also believe that female's breasts should not be as erotic as they are. I understand that they're representative of a woman's reproductive health, but, I mean- they're for babies for crying out loud.
DeleteAlso- I, too, thought that it was interesting that she had the two female subjects in "Puppet Chick" sitting the way they are. The way they are sitting seem natural to me, and it shocked me because I've not seen many images of women sitting like that.
--Josephine Hicks