The Brief

Reflect on the pieces of work discussed in this project in your learning log and do some further research of you own.  Here are some questions you might ask yourself:

• How do the images make you feel?
• Do you think there is an element of narcissism or self-indulgence in focusing on your own identity in this way?
• What’s the significance of Brotherus’s nakedness?
• Can such images work for an outsider without the accompanying text?
• Do you think of these artists are also addressing wider issues beyond the purely personal?

How do I feel?

I looked at two collections by Brotherus, Annunciation and Carpe Fucking Diem in Project 1[1].  Both were related to each other in that they told the story of Brotherus’ unsuccessful attempts to become a mother through IVF.  When I look at the both series, the sadness and feelings of futility of the narrative comes across strongly.  However, when I look at the individual images, the feeling I get is more akin to being slapped than one of ‘ah bless’.  What I mean by that is that as individual images, they have impact as opposed to simply working together to evoke some emotional response in the viewer.   The narrative can almost be created by a single image, particularly where Brotherus has included herself in the composition.   Brotherus physically is a contrast to look at, not from the perspective of a middle-aged heterosexual man, but as a visual element.  Her body is slim and lithe, giving an impression of graceful movement despite the images being stills.  Her  figure is contrasted by the very strong angles and edges of her facial features.  Again, not a commentary about her attractiveness but more about the imbalance that her face and body have as a visual.  What is powerful for me is the way that she uses her body to portray vulnerability and ‘the natural’ and her face to portray disappointment, anger and in the case of Carpe Fucking Diem, defiance.  I believe that a combination of face and figure that are more in in balance would have less of an impact on me.  I first noticed the combination when looking at a video artwork of hers called The Human Perspective and a subsequent interview with Brotherus about her work [2].  The artwork is a number of short film sequences of the artist walking out into a beautifully calm lake at different times of the day.  She is nude and as she walks into the water, her impact on the still glass-like water is apparent.  However as she moves further into the water and takes her shallow dive into a swim, she becomes part of the lake and landscape.  She then turns and swims back to shore, eventually walking up onto dry land with the same slow pace.  What struck me about the first part of the clip was the beauty of her naked figure gradually entering the water.  It conjured up images of a mermaid or the lady of the lake from English literature and this was because of her beauty.  However, the return to shore worked in the opposite for me.  Now we see Brotherus’ face as part of the composition.  Her figure is unchanged, but now the imagery felt like a person, a woman emerging from being hidden.  Instead of vulnerable, she takes on a confidence similar to that of someone leaving something overwhelming behind.  I would say that her use of her body in her work is outstanding.  In further research, I also looked at a series that she created called Artists at Work from 2009[3].  This series was considering the relationship between the gaze of an artist in a similar way to Model Studies which had just preceded it.  The series has Brotherus as the model for a pair of life painters and begins with a shot of her posing in an empty studio space.  She is clothed and apart from her shutter release cable and a step ladder the space is completely empty.  The series that follows features a gradual build up of additional elements and Brotherus as the nude life model.  The photographs capture the process of painting and the artists’ individual interpretations of how they see her, but also images of her posed among the finished works.  This series made me feel curious about how self-image and the perception of others can be so similar but also so different.  Brotherus was also exploring how her watching the painters would affect their work and the resulting series of images do reflect where they were putting their attention.  Some compositions were almost hyper-realistic when it came to the details of her body, but very vague when it came to her facial features.  Perhaps her act of gazing on them as they worked was too much of a distraction or perhaps they were sexualising her in a way that life drawing/painting isn’t associated with outside of the sniggering schoolboy.   Whatever the cause, the image series shows me that Brotherus has a fascination with how people see her body whether as a contextual element or just as a naked female form.

Narcissism or self indulged?  The significance of her nakedness

It’s clear that Brotherus is comfortable being the subject of her work and particularly comfortable being partially and completely nude.  From my own perspective as someone who isn’t comfortable in that way, it would be very easy to regard this as self-indulgent or narcissistic.  However, I believe that she has a definite purpose to using her body that I believe is more than just “look at me”.  The image that struck me in Project 1 which was from Annunciation used her body to complete the narrative, at least in my mind.  When I looked at the picture, I immediately thought about how her distraught facial expression worked with her bare breasts to create the sense of “why can I be a mother?” with the statement that she wasn’t able to do what is perhaps the most natural human act there is; that of feeding a baby.  I don’t believe her use of this imagery has anything to do with wanting people to examine her give her some attention of some kind.  Brotherus has been the subject of her own photography for over 20 years and only a small amount of her work strikes me as being overtly about her.   What I see when I look at her pictures is her using the one canvass that she has to work with, her physical form.  She uses it to portray strength and natural beauty as well as vulnerability and the frailty of the human condition, from self-image to how others react to us.

Do they work without the accompanying text?

Since starting this unit, I’ve learned that images that tell stories do benefit from the additional text.  I don’t believe that Brotherus’ images are any different because they use the artist as the subject.  I think that the narratives that can be created for the images are affected by our interpretation of the human body.  For many years the imagery in magazines and news outlets has used the human form to sell fashions, beauty products with very specific messages behind them.  For example, an advertisement for a shower gel might include a model with perfectly smooth skin being washed by the product.  The clear narrative of “use this and your skin will be as nice as this” doesn’t need any accompanying text.  The image of smooth skin is something we recognise and in most cases, aspire to have so the use of the body in the advertisement is all that is needed to get the message across.  What is lacking, though is any other narrative that might accompany such a visual.  Our perception of the body isn’t going to change with such strong contextual elements.  In the case of Brotherus’ photographs, our view of the naked  human form shapes how we see them.  Some people will see something sexual or at least deeply sensual, which would create a narrative that is different from someone who has issues with their own body.  In looking at Brotherus in one of her more vulnerable shots, empathy with her situation could be the narrative.

Do they address wider issues?

In the case of Annunciation and Carpe Fucking Diem, Brotherus is telling her story from the perspective of suffering and pain associated with IVF.  This is something that affects millions of people, many of which I’m sure can relate to what she went through.  To that end, I believe she addresses wider issues although they are related to something very personal.  I think that Model Studies and Artists at Work both address the idea of self-image vs. body image, which is a symptom of our 24/7 information culture.  The Human Perspective deals with how people fit into the environment and takes the viewer right back to the basic, naked state of people as a species.  In the context of the battle to address climate change, I think the contrast and symbiotic nature of that artwork addresses the wider issue of what we are doing to the environment.

References

[1] Fletcher R, 2020, “3) Project 1: Autobiographical self-portraiture”, C&N Blog Post, https://richardfletcherphotography.photo.blog/2020/07/31/3-project-1-autobiographical-self-portraiture/

[2] Lund C et al, 2018, “Elina Brotherus Interview: The Human Perspective, Design Ark, https://dezignark.com/blog/elina-brotherus-interview-the-human-perspective/

[3] Brotherus, E, “Artists at Work”, Artist Website, http://www.elinabrotherus.com/photography#/artists-at-work/