Taxonomy Questions

20 Questions

  1. Image 1: Looking at Rocco portraiture, a status symbol at the time, what connection can I make with modern day status symbols?
  2. Image 15: By looking at this image which contrasts Medieval symbolism of wealth, status and the ideals of beauty with modern day art work which has become a key status symbol, is it possible to find a link to gender? Because artists creating these works are male what does it say about how it is considered a status symbol?
  3. Image 16: Is the depiction of women nude in art meant to be empowering or sexualizing depending on the gender of the artist/the women’s background?
  4. Image 17: How does an object become a symbol of status?
  5. Image 20: If I were to explore gender and power how much importance does money play in my research?
  6. Image 6: As gender I explore gender and status, what daily objects subconsciously dictate gender and status?
  7. Image 9: What does American money say about gender perception in the US?
  8. Image 32: If I’m going to explore gender and power, how much of my research will be influenced by history?
  9. Image 5: As I explore how status relates to gender, what do I need to know about how sexuality has dictated gender roles in the world?
  10. Image 29: If I am going to explore gender, more specifically women empowerment, what importance should the depiction of the body play in my exploration?
  11. Image 27: If I were to explore how identity connects to gender and power, how can this object help me understand the importance of identity?
  12. Image 25: If I were to explore women empowerment, how will paintings influence my topic?
  13. Image 19: How do sacred objects throughout history influence the perception of gender, as many of them could be considered gendered?
  14. Image 12: How do different materials and textures convey gender and status?
  15. Image 2: If I were to explore women empowerment, what questions should I ask myself about how the female body is constantly sexualized?
  16. Image 18: By exploring objects that relate to gender and status, what can be said about the actual importance of these objects?
  17. Image 33: To what extent does pop culture dictate the perception of gender and status in our society?
  18. Image 31: How do the relationships we form influence our “gender role”?
  19. Image 14: If I were to explore gender and status from a historical perspective, what questions do I need to ask myself about warfare and its influence on life?
  20. Image 23: How can technology influence gender?

What location did you visit for your visual research and what did you find?

I visited the MET as I am fascinated by Rococo portraiture and Ancient statues. In the MET I found that most objects meant to symbolize status feature  predominately male figures. This supported my research on the connection of status to gender. Other places where I found my images were at home, restaurants, the streets of New York and galleries.

How did the locations (museum/gallery/etc.) you visited expand/broaden/deepen your understanding of your topic? (this could be visual, contextual, historical, material based, etc.)

I believe that my visit to the MET provided an interesting contrast to the modern images I collected from my daily life. The MET allowed me to explore my topic from a historical point of view, which would have been difficult to do otherwise. This was important as my the core of my topic revolves around history and how our society has developed over time to form these ideas about status and gender. The Whitney was also influential in my research as the contrast between modern and classical art provided me with more insight on how our society has evolved with its perception of gender. Exploring the objects at home allowed my to see how much of my own life is dictated by these ideas. Since the other places I collected my images from were also places I spend a lot of time in recreationally it was challenging to find objects relation to my topic. However, this was also interesting as I was able to explore these places from a completely different angle and with a purpose. These places deepened my understanding of my topic as it made me realize just how ingrained gender and status are in our society not only from an artistic/pop-culture point of view, but on an individual scale as it dictates a large portion of our daily lives.

List the symbols, metaphors and visual references you put in your taxonomy and explain how/why they are relevant/important to your topic.

Portraiture was a major component of my taxonomy as though the investigation of how the individual is portrayed in the piece shows how gender has been represented in art throughout history. The miniature portraiture on the snuffboxes I saw at the MET created a strong link between portraiture and status as they were a major wealth symbol in France.  Through portraiture the artists also created sacred objects for example the two African pieces in my taxonomy. This provided me with an interesting perceptive on how gender plays a role in sacred religious practices.

Another visual reference seen in my taxonomy is clothing. This is significant as clothes are some of the most gendered objects in the world and are also a big status symbol for many. Through my investigation of clothing/accessories I was able to take my research to a new level as previously it was mostly based on art, which made it harder to apply to daily life.

A third symbol which I found significant was color. My taxonomy featured several images that were predominantly pink. Color is something that has over time becoming gendered, what surprised me was that I was naturally drawn to the objects featuring the color pink – a color that is often considered a very feminine color. This made me curious if colors actually have a gender and what perspective that could provide on my topic as colors have so much symbolism behind them already.

What did you learn from Monday’s critique about your taxonomy that was new or helpful?

Because my theme is so broad I found critique very helpful. I was provided with a variety of ideas on how I could make my research more specific, what themes I could look at and even possible outcomes for my final project. An idea that appealed to me is looking at Western American culture, specifically Western movies and investigating how gender is portrayed. This appealed to me as I’ve wanted to do a project where I explore the other half of my cultural identity in some way as I am half  Texan. I also found critique helpful in simply hearing how my images were decoded by other, creating a new dimension to my taxonomy.

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