Visualizing Voyeurism: Authored by Emily Mendelson and Eta Pastreich, Binghamton UniversityMain Menu"Visualizing Voyeurism"What is Voyeurism?Opening ViewParisian TypesNudes AlbumMyths and Biblical Themes ViewMyths and Biblical ThemesIntimacy Corner ViewThe Rise and Fall of the 3rd StreamEmbraceThe Captivating Desire: AIDS #4Rooftop SunbatherFeminist Photography ViewUntitled Film StillsGallery Wall of SketchesThe Desublimation of RomanceDanae and the Golden Shower; VitrineGallery Wall ViewPainter Sketching and Nude Model in a HatMeet the AuthorsBinghamton University Art Museum Fair Use StatementHilary Becker8acde8ddd866de3e1500ef02591b1ae693bb7788Written by Emily Mendelson and Eta Pastreich, Binghamton University
Rooftop Sunbather
1media/2010.42_thumb.jpg2020-05-04T13:02:51-07:00Emily Mendelsondf4e2cd2c9dea5ae8f1ce363794d93386798b8e8373371Hilo Chen, (American b. 1942), Rooftop Sunbather, from the “City Scapes” portfolio, 1981, Silkscreen, 22 x 33 inches, Gift of Susan & Louis Meisel. Source: Binghamton University Art Museumplain2020-05-04T13:02:51-07:00Emily Mendelsondf4e2cd2c9dea5ae8f1ce363794d93386798b8e8
Chen’s photorealist print depicts a topless woman in bikini bottoms with meticulous detail that lends it an almost pornographic quality. Consider how he places his subject as the object of his male gaze, even as the rhetoric around his artwork concerns itself only with color and space--commentaries that justify the objectification of the women Chen depicts for viewing pleasure. His subbather’s glasses seem to emphasize his thematization of several “looks” at once: her gaze at some unknown object; the spectacle of downtown Manhattan behind her, with the Twin Towers rising up in the distance; and, of course, our gaze upon her. In this exhibit, the subject can now ‘see’ Sherman’s work [directly to the right] reclaiming her own imagery in the context of the male gaze.
