spaolini | wrong brain

IF YOU PUT A BAG OVER HIS HEAD â€“ Objectifying Men in the Age of Terror, zine lecture and slideshow by Phoenix Mayet.
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From the artist:
In its simplest form, objectification is regarding someone as a thing. In the case of sexual objectification, it begins with a gaze, one that consumes and obliterates the individual. The person is reduced, dehumanized, and made an item of erotic pleasure and/or repulsion.

Many feminists have explored the notion of the ‘female gaze’ and how it relates to the seemingly universal default ‘male gaze’. If You Put a Bag Over His Head began with a desire to identify my own unique gaze as a woman and feminist artist.

I began by placing an ad for male models on Craigslist. I invited the men to my studio where I photographed them, nude, wearing handmade bags over their heads. With their faces covered, I was free to gaze at their bodies according to my interest and desire. As I worked, some questions arose:

How is male-dominance expressed and supported by our culture?
What function does sexual objectification serve?
What is terrorism and how does it differ from war?
How do we define torture and who are its victims?

For this presentation I will offer images and ephemera from the making of this zine along with some of the source material that informed my process. In addition, I hope to offer some thoughts about the questions above and talk about ways in which individuals can examine their own personal gaze and its repercussions for others and themselves.
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Artist Phoenix Mayet (NH, USA, 1970) takes photographs that reflect her interest in sexuality, gender constructs, and the idea of the self. She lives and works in Dover, NH and her current projects include small constructions and still lifes.
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Zines $8. Suggested door donation $5-10.