male gazing

The one-of-a-kind digital prints that make up the exhibition “Male Gazing” offer a sardonic look at white male archetypes within popular western culture in order to examine how these characterizations fit, or more frequently do not fit, into our contemporary cultural discourse.

In this body of work I have digitally appropriated and re-contextualized images from 20th century comic books – in particular depictions of cisgender, hetero, white men as cowboys, soldiers, businessmen, astronauts, and other stereotypical protagonist roles. Characters historically portrayed as flawless and self-assured are here presented in various states of fear, anxiety, insecurity, disinterest, desperation, sadness, resentment, and rage.

It is atypical to see characters from the comics genre of this era depicted in this way. Furthermore, the environments they inhabit in these images rarely reveal or clearly define the cause of these reactions, and their motivations when they take action are, at best, unclear.

This lack of context leaves to the viewer the responsibility of answering the questions “why are these white men scared, or despondent, or angry?,” and, more importantly, “ how does their emotional state make me feel?”

When the viewer is confronted with these works, to what degree they feel some level of schadenfreude, or concern, or empathy reveals a great deal about their previous experiences with the population these characters represent. Wherever individuals fall on this spectrum is valid.

My purpose in working with fear, anxiety, and desperation as subject matter is because they are the emotional states that can devolve into misogyny, racism, homophobia, jingoism, or a general distrust of the “other” when manipulated in a certain way. These works are by no means meant to condone such views or behaviors, but rather are attempting to separate them from their emotional origins.

It should also be said that the narratives from which the original images in these prints are appropriated are often complicit in this manipulation – which, in part, is the point of using them. I am giving these materials a new opportunity to be part of a constructive discourse.

In order to have productive conversations on such contentious topics, there must first be a space where we do not invalidate these initial emotions themselves or the real world circumstances that elicited them. The volatility of these topics is (hopefully) tempered by the use of the comic genre, which we typically consider to be harmless. (Those familiar with the work of Honore Daumier, Thomas Nast, or Matt Groening will recognize the strategy.) The fact that the imagery feels nostalgic, or at least familiar, is important. My hope is that creating and sharing these works can lead, in some small way, to creating the space for that dialogue.

Essentially I am using my privileged social position to borrow patriarchal narratives which originally served to manipulate and divert public attention away from injustice. Through subtle alterations and manipulations, I am turning these storytelling conventions in on themselves, altering them in a manner that weakens their designated power.