Browsing by Author "Morgan, Allison Leigh"

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    (2023-09-19) Morgan, Allison Leigh; Gadbois, Denis Jacques; Eiserman, Jennifer; Hardy, Michele
    "Though we see the same world we see it through different eyes" Virginia Woolf, Three Guineas This research and creation exposes how some social inequalities and machinations in society affect my performance of femininity. In this thesis support paper I reveal some foundational moments in my life as a cis gendered woman, that were directly and indirectly affected by a patriarchal logic. Through these experiences, I learned to adapt by modifying how I am seen; I perform my femininity as I have been directed. In this support paper, the theory behind The Gaze is used to decode what it feels like to be seen through a hegemonic male perspective, and then how this surveillance is used to construct societal and cultural foundations that I, and many women are expected to follow. My research responds to this by exploring visual strategies within a contemporary aesthetic, that elucidate and challenge how being seen is experienced. I examine significant moments in my life, that can be representative of many women, that were affected by the gaze of another and which influenced and then developed into a gaze of my own. This research looks at why this happens, and the outcome of when a lens turns inward. My artwork is structured through generative investigations that include case studies of contemporary feminist artists, feminist theory, literature review, and studio creation/installation, to develop a broader and deeper understanding of the underlying relationship between patriarchy and cultural phenomena that affect women. Through this research, there is an attempt to go beyond simply a critique of existing conditions and instead construct an autonomy from the male gaze structured through my self-realization as a woman.