Exceptional Desires: Male Homosexuality in Painting
| Autor: | CHEN, HUNG-CHI, 陳泓圻 |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Druh dokumentu: | 學位論文 ; thesis |
| Popis: | 105 Chen Hung-Chi’s work explores the theme of desire, an intimate view into the eyes of the voyeur and their relationship to the male body -- arising from the individual’s own sense of self-identity, and, in this, the dichotomy between the the desires of the “homosexual” perspective contrasted against the standards and essentials of a heteronormative society. Chen expresses this message through bright colors and sensual images, triggering and evoking the inner lust of the viewer. His work represents the peculiarities in the art of male body, and in particular, the personal experiences of not just the male gaze on male bodies, but also into the homosexual “gay” community itself. As a direct address to the sociopolitical conflicts in this topic, Chen’s work actively chooses to challenge the duality of censorship, both the modern erasure of homosexuality in media (external) and the psychological battles of one's own self-restrictions (internal). This polemic stems from the contentions between the discriminations of the outside (e.g. LGBTQ rights violations) and the turmoils of the inside (internalized social homophobia). It is from the tumult and confusion of this censorship and its duality that Chen reveals the invisible cage for which society and the self builds for us all. The cage keeps us civilized, but closets our candor. It erects walls between what is art and what is pornography, between the binary of what is male and what is female, and, especially, what is “in” and what is “out” of the closet. Chen looks deep into this secret social space of “the closet,” for which his work gathers inspiration from his experiences both within and outside of it. As an artist, his work carries its own life stories and self-introspection; his art represents an opening of this closet, and in this, an opening of its hidden contents and community. In the first two chapters, Chen elaborates on his background and motivation, the subject of male homosexuality and its ideology under such social disciplines. He identifies the true culprits of sexual discrimination and dissects how, often times, the victims restrict themselves, a form of outer discipline coupled with inner punishment. In the third chapter, he addresses the integrality of metaphor and the symbolisms found in early paintings as they approached this unorthodox thematic material. Chen’s work fervently argues against acting under constraint in the presence of power – that is, in a very real sense, a depression of the self from social pressure. In the last chapter, he explains how his work eventually turns back to documentary and embodies an earnest and explicit factualism of his time through his experiences. In this raw realness, the motif of his art shifts to address Chen's own environment and community -- the issues of gender/sexual equality in human rights and general education in Taiwan. Through the exhibition and reproduction of homosexual lust, Chen reaches out to his audience, to invite them (and society) to see the innate desires found in every individual. From those scattered fragments, Chen displays the universality of desire and the common narrative of the individual experience. Ultimately, as a study of gender and sexuality in contemporary media, Chen uses his art as text, and gives the viewer a rare and unconventional look through the lens of the [homosexual] male on male gaze and, with it, the myriad of social implications it presents. |
| Databáze: | Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations |
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