Debunking the Theory of 'The Male Gaze'
There are many different ways of experiencing a figurative work of art in a gallery. Each time we stand in front of a picture there are many perspectives and sightlines crisscrossing around us, linking us subliminally and opening psychological ‘wormholes’ that connect us to others across history. According to James Elkins we may be aware of the following when considering a painting: there are the figures in the painting who look out at us; there may be other figures in the painting who look at other figures, or objects, or stare off into space, or have their eyes closed; there is the museum guard, who may be looking us as we look at the picture; there are the other people in the gallery who may be looking at us or at the painting we look at. And then there are also subliminal, ‘imaginary’ viewers: the artist who once stood in front of the painting, looking at it; the models for the figures in the painting, who once also saw themselves depicted there; and then there are the owners, c