Gaze

I want to talk about the male gaze in my extended project. I believe that the male gaze will influence the images that male photographers will take. I believe this is because men and women see the world differently. Many things can effect someones gaze, for example any Experience can influence us. But I think gender does also have an effect. To investigate this I will look at Ansel Adam’s work, as he is a well-known landscape photographer. I will compare his images with a female photographer that was around at the same time, Dorothea Lange. My first thought is that Adams approach to his landscapes is quite predatory, his images are harsh and dominating. For the following images, they show a different subject. One thing to note is that Lange’s images were effected by her working for the FSA. But they still choose which images to take.

I have looked at female photographers who were around at the same time as Adams, who also used similar approaches. One is Dorothea Lange. Both artists photographed the Manzanar War Relocation Center during the second world war. The center was a concentration encampment in California, which held over a hundred thousand Japanese Americans. There is a clear different in their approaches and what they are trying to show. Lange’s images show the difficulties the people faced. Her images showed emotion, they showed sadness and sorrow. For example here is one of  her images (see fig. 1), showing the difficult living conditions. Each ‘room’ is separate by a cloth sheet and there are several to a room. There appear to be a lack of seating and anything of comfort. In contrast, here is Adams image (see fig. 2) of the accommodation. It shows two people sharing in comfort. There is a bed, setting, the people look content, one is reading, the other is crafting. This is very different to oppressive feel of Lange’s image (Palumbo, Unknown Author). 

In another image (see fig. 3) Adams shows a young women practising with a baton, she is posing and appears very happy. Yet in Lange’s image (see fig. 4) there is a boy and his grandfather, both looking sad and upset. They are not happy. 

Adams images show hope and comfort. Almost as if they people who owned the camp had commissioned to images, to make them look better. But Lange’s show the real desperation and sorrow. There is a stark contrast in these images, one from a female perspectives and one from a male perspective. This could be an example of the differences between a male and female gaze. It is not a matter of men representing women in a sexual way, this is not the case here. But it shows the differences in approach and though-process. It is a matter of what they choose to show, their objectives. I think the difference between a male and female gaze is simply how we see things. Because there is a difference. Adams images show the untouched landscape of America. His images are technically precise and perfectly focused. They show how beautiful the area is, when people haven’t been there, his images show emotion. Adams shows the beauty. Whereas many of Lange’s landscapes show have an agenda. They document social and political issues, they weren’t about showing beautiful landscapes (Palumbo, Unknown Author).  

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Bibliography

Palumbo, J. (2019). Did Ansel Adams’s Male Gaze Influence His Landscape Photography? Available at: http://langeandadamstakingastand.weebly.com/comparison.html# (Accessed on 2nd of September 2019).  

Unknown author. Photographic Comparison: Lange and Adams. Available at: http://langeandadamstakingastand.weebly.com/comparison.html# (Accessed on 2nd of September 2019).  

Stewart, G.

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Figures

Fig. 1. Lange, D. “A typical interior scene in one of the barrack apartments at this center. Note the cloth partition which lends a small amount of privacy” [Photograph – Online]. Available at: http://langeandadamstakingastand.weebly.com/comparison.html# (Accessed on 2nd of September 2019). 

Fig. 2. Adams, A. Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Shimizu. [Photograph – Online]. Available at: http://langeandadamstakingastand.weebly.com/comparison.html# (Accessed on 2nd of September 2019).  

Fig. 3. Adams, A. Baton practice. Florence Kuwata. [Photograph – Online]. Available at: http://langeandadamstakingastand.weebly.com/comparison.html# (Accessed on 2nd of September 2019). 

Fig. 4. Lange, D. Manzanar Relocation Center, Manzanar. California. Grandfather and Grandson of Japanese Ancestry at This War Relocation Authority Center. [Photograph – Online]. Available at: http://langeandadamstakingastand.weebly.com/comparison.html# (Accessed on 2nd of September 2019).