Body, Art, and Argument

I'm interested in how the body conveys and can be used to convey argument. This is a collection of images that I see as examples.(Header is Frantisek Kowolowski ; Avatar is Jacquie Jeanes)

[bodyartandargument]

This blog is a collection of images of bodies of all types in many situations. The images are chosen because they in some way make statements about human nature, the human condition, social constructs, or the individual.

Some of the images may be seen to dehumanize and/or enfreak the people depicted. Reposting the images can be seen to further that focus. In the face of this, I ask you to consider what the creator is portraying and the social and cultural ideas and ideals it relies upon. Does it reinforce or lead us to question common cultural beliefs? What about the image makes those connections?

It is important to question and work to understand what we see and how it might reinforce or argue with what we (often passively) believe. It is a constant process that should be approached with curiosity and joy, not self-reproach... we are here in this life to learn and love, and asking genuine questions is one way to affirm that.

Freakery: Cultural Spectacles of the Extraordinary Body. Rosemarie Garland-Thomson (ed.) (1996)

The Creatures That Time Forgot: Photography and Disability Imagery. David Hevey. (1992).

[burntundertones]

[cryingonthefreeway]

iksoxo

[mementomoriiv]

"Age dysphoria" comes from being affected by the societal idea of what and age SHOULD look like, what we are told that should feel like, and how you actually look and feel.

We need to prioritize and honor our own experiences, bodies, and desires. The unease comes from comparison, and when it becomes possible to focus on one's own life instead of those being projected, past or present, we can find a safety and health for ourselves. Age is a number for our physical selves, but we can adorn and engage with them as WE see fit.

How YOU look and how YOU feel is the truth. Let that be what guides you.

[adamthegirl]

i feel quite a bit like this 

[pmamtraveller]

[thoughtportal]

Mr. T

[chantssecrets]

Hans Bellmer, "Self-Portrait", 1971

[kyrasaphira]

Eye of Horus neck tattoo on the mummified remains of an Egyptian woman who lived 3,000 years ago, found in Deir el-Medina, the village of tomb builders

Smithsonian, photo by Anne Austin

[endlingmusings]

The preserved hearts of the last known pair of great auks, part of the collection of the Natural History Museum of Denmark. The birds were nesting on the island of Eldey, off the coast of southwest Iceland, when they were killed on June 3rd, 1844. The single egg they'd been incubating at the time was crushed in the process. [ x ]

[shinugodda]

god of earth and heaven, joel-peter witkin

[mementomoriiv]

[neshamama]

ana mendieta, untitled works at zapotec tomb, oaxaca, 1976

[earthcoversearth]

The “Trenches Christ” carried by Portuguese soldiers Into The Trenches with them during WW1

[thanatologia666]

[rentedstarship]

art made by a 10 yo girl, shared by Judy Tuwaletsiwa

mother giving birth wearing different masks

[elierlick]

This project is too cool! See more at Vice: https://www.vice.com/en/article/ak3z9p/roman-manfredi-butch-photos

“There is a lack of representation of butches and studs in all aspects of mainstream society. I think the reason for that continued invisibility is linked to consumerism, that our identities are not seen as marketable.”