Theory and Methods ARH 411

  The Creator, the Viewer and the Appropriator In the writing Meaning, Identity, Embodiment: The uses of Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology in Art History Amelia Jones describes multiple different type of creator and viewer relationships, how origin and identity correlate all while referencing French man Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s collection of theories and ideals. She starts off her writing with a powerful statement that there is a “.. hallowed notion of the female body as a site of human generation, the ultimate “origin” of life and meaning.. (pg 4).” Ameila Jones begins her writing by discussing the relationship between identity and origin. She talks about how works become the identity of authors. She talks about how the creator or author’s interpretation is exactly a representation of self-identity. Jones makes very obvious assumptions about how a work can be expressive of identity. Then Jones spends the length of her writing referencing Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s works in correlation...

  Third World Women and Inclusive feminism In the article Difference “A special Third World Women Issue” by Trinh T. Minh-ha, who is Vietnamese. She creates films, is a literary theorist, musical composer and professor. She received two masters as well as a PH.D. from the University of Illinois. In this writing Mink-ha discusses the generational and institutionalized sexism and racism around the world, the abuse of the minority and the fact that women who are minorities are discriminated against far more than white women.  Minh-ha starts off her writing by explaining the standards that women are held to. She mentions the “made women(pg 12),” the made women would be one that has conformed, one that follows the rules or social normalities. A made woman knows her place essentially. The irony lies where a women can be made but she could also be an oriental women, african women, or indigenious women and still be discriminated against. Also a woman who is not made is disobedien...

  The Death of the Author, Roland Barthes, and Sherrie Levine In the writing The Death of the Author by Frenchman Roland Barthes the idea that the author is absent from a work throughout the rest of its life is heavily emphasized as well as the idea that an author or creator's message is no longer relevant when a work is in the hands of the viewer. There are a few ideas that are contradictory, one that stood out to me was the idea of enunciation being an unnecessary element of literature.  To begin his writing Barthes explains society's fascination with “the Author.” Society is most interested in the persona of the author or elements of the author's character. Society is also intrigued by the author's lives, their preference and personal interests. Another point Barthes makes is that an author is their work, or their work becomes a part of them almost like a description of their identity. Barthes' most important idea in this writing is the death of the author. ...

The Oppositional Gaze and Black People’s Relationship and Representation in Cinema  In the writing The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators author bell hooks explains the domination of white supremacy engrained in the gaze of black people, the effects of blacks looking and being looked at and the representations of blacks in the cinematic experience. Hooks statements about the white gaze and the black gaze as well as its relationship to many different things is accurate. I think it is important that blacks are represented in a way that does not reinforce white European culture and values.   In the beginning of this chapter hooks talks about the child's relationship with the gaze. When children are young they are told not to stare but they are also told to look at adults when they are being scolded. This control of children’s looking is an example of how making eye contact and not making eye contact can mean and result in different outcomes. Then hooks explains that ...