Contextual Studies: Gender Equality in Photography

This morning we were looking at photographers that show gender through their pictures. I was quite interested in how women show gender in their picture because not many female photographers are famous for their photography.

Julia Margaret Cameron 1815-1879

Cameron was a British photograper born in India. She became known in her time for her portraits of celebrities in her day. Her career as a photographer was very random and decided to become a photographer after she got given a camera as a present. Her style of photography wasn't very popular in the 1800's but nowadays her work influences a lot of modern day photographers, especially her portraits that have been cropped down to show the close details of the people.

This image above is one of Cameron's close up cropped portraits. This picture is of scientist and photographer Sir John Herschel who was one of Cameron's close friends. I think that this image was taken just as Cameron was starting out with her camera as a 'photographer' using her friends as models before broadening out and using other people.

Tina Modotti 1896-1942

Modotti was an Italian photographer, model and actress. She was also a revolutionary political activist for the Komintern (a Communist International group). Because Modotti was a Human Activist she was a target of the Mexican and Italian police. When she died from heart failiure in the back of a taxi in Mexico City people didn't believe that she died from 'natural causes' but believed that she was assisinated by the police.

This image is called 'Workers Parade' it shows the workers in 1926 all parading around the streets.

Annie Leibovitz 1949-

I have researched Annie Leibovitz before but not in the context of gender. When I researched Leibovitz for gender it came up with a lot of pictures of Caitlyn Jenner, who used to be Bruce Jenner. This gives off a message that she's not afraid to take pictures of people who have changed genders.

Leibovitz also did an image that is very similar to an image that Lewis Hine took in 1920. The image is showing the tennis player Martina Navaratilova what looks like an old mill from a mine. It is very similar to Lewis Hine's image of a man doing a similar thing. This implies to me that Leibovitz is trying to show through an image that women can do the same as men.

Cindy Sherman 1954-

Cindy Sherman is an American photographer who is best known for using herself as the model to show gender stereotyping. She addresses feminist issues throughout the 1980's and 90's and critiques gender stereotypes and gender identity through her pictures.

Cindy has done some work for MAC in the past and this one is showing the stereotype of someone who wears MAC makeup. I think this is quite a clever idea but it could also been seen as quite offensive by people who wear MAC makeup who don't look like the 'stereotype'. A lot of people who wear MAC makeup don't actually look like a stereotype person.

Laura Mulvey 1941-

Laura Mulvey isn't a photographer but she came up with a phrase that is used widely in photography, the male gaze.

The Male Gaze is: a concept coined by feminist film critic Laura Mulvey. It refers to the way visual arts are structured around a masculine viewer. It describes the tendency in visual culture to depict the world and women from a masculine point of view and in terms of men's attitudes.

Imogen Cunningham 1883-1976

We didn't look at Imogen Cunningham but I got told about her and thought that I would research her and see if I liked what she did. She reminds me a bit of Julia Margaret Cameron and a bit of Tina Modotti. She reminds me of Julia Margaret Cameron because she took a lot of pictures of close up portraits but she also eminds me of Tina Modotti because Cunningham was a very opinionated woman just like Modotti was, however Modotti was a lot more opinionated.