Investigating the contemporary perception of the female body with the aid of studio photography and graphic design

Abstract

The female body has been depicted since the earliest times in history, and it has carried different significances throughout. Indeed, women have invariably been considered as the carers, the mothers of the children, the housewives and the sexual partners of their husbands. Consequently, this had a huge impact on how the female body has been depicted in art and advertising. For the majority of Western history, painters and sculptors were male, and so the female body has been stuck with these connotations even in the 21st century. This dissertation aims to discuss women as sights, the private-public notion, the cognitive perception, and women on social media. It is a work which aims to spread awareness on the subject of the objectified perception of the female body.

This research seeks to understand the motives of an artist when portraying the female body, in order to appreciate the artist’s perspective. Through the use of interviews and a focus group, the views of a selection of professional artists and student artists were used to investigate the research question. The findings reveal different perspectives as well as recurrences in some instances, which act as the inspiration for this project. Through studio photography and graphic design, these findings will ultimately have an impact on the end product.