(no subject)
I'll never understand how it is that people can pay two million pounds for misogyny, no matter how prettily packaged it is. Well, this particular painting, the Veiled Circassian Woman still isn't that bad, but oh christ his Oriental paintings.
Does anyone really think that women lounged about naked in the sultan's harem all frickin' day? If it's difficult to imagine a man as a sexual slave going about the inner palaces naked, then why is it so easy to put a woman in that situation? It's a shame that skill like his is put to fantasy like that. TBH I'm not sure of his achievements, but I just got so sick of his Orientalist paintings I don't want to see any more for now.
Harem Pool, another painting of his.
I lol'd badly in class when the Muslim guys presenting on this topic were all like "... Actually he's being really disrespectful because you're not supposed to have nude people in front of Koran verses."
Even though it's a text for class, I found Edward Said's Orientalism pretty interesting, two chapters and a brief skimming of his outline in. It feels a little like it's demonizing the Occident; it's like, either you make the Orient out to be inferior or you villify the Occident. Where's the middle ground? Though to be fair, in his new afterword/preface, added first in 1997 then in 2003, he seemed bewildered that his text was being read as anti-West. People interested in Orientalism: I found a book called Gendering Orientalism by Reina Lewis, which covers Orientalism from the gaze of women, rather than from the "privileged male gaze" (my lecturer's words, not mine).
I'm getting a little annoyed by my lecturer though. She's so second-wave feminism that she borders on misandry. :T
OH. AND. Artists/aesthetes, there's this exhibition of Chinese oil paintings at this building next to Cathay, I forgot what it's called, but it's all black and there's this cafe called Caramel situated in it. Just walk right in, admission is free, and you'll see some of the most gorgeous oil paintings ever. ;D
Does anyone really think that women lounged about naked in the sultan's harem all frickin' day? If it's difficult to imagine a man as a sexual slave going about the inner palaces naked, then why is it so easy to put a woman in that situation? It's a shame that skill like his is put to fantasy like that. TBH I'm not sure of his achievements, but I just got so sick of his Orientalist paintings I don't want to see any more for now.
Harem Pool, another painting of his.
I lol'd badly in class when the Muslim guys presenting on this topic were all like "... Actually he's being really disrespectful because you're not supposed to have nude people in front of Koran verses."
Even though it's a text for class, I found Edward Said's Orientalism pretty interesting, two chapters and a brief skimming of his outline in. It feels a little like it's demonizing the Occident; it's like, either you make the Orient out to be inferior or you villify the Occident. Where's the middle ground? Though to be fair, in his new afterword/preface, added first in 1997 then in 2003, he seemed bewildered that his text was being read as anti-West. People interested in Orientalism: I found a book called Gendering Orientalism by Reina Lewis, which covers Orientalism from the gaze of women, rather than from the "privileged male gaze" (my lecturer's words, not mine).
I'm getting a little annoyed by my lecturer though. She's so second-wave feminism that she borders on misandry. :T
OH. AND. Artists/aesthetes, there's this exhibition of Chinese oil paintings at this building next to Cathay, I forgot what it's called, but it's all black and there's this cafe called Caramel situated in it. Just walk right in, admission is free, and you'll see some of the most gorgeous oil paintings ever. ;D