Homoeroticism In Art History Essay

In Greece, homosexuality became common within their culture; which with this socially accepted involvement, some could say, provided the groundwork for the child molestation act of pederasty. It appears the Greek’s institutionalized sodomy to a new level for children that involved predominantly upper-class men in the 7th century B.C.; shamefully, boosted with pride concerning this ‘training system as their civil duty.’ They professed to be giving needed guidance to young boys (eromenos); who became effectively courted by older men (the erastes or ‘lover’). The Greeks became flamboyant with their exploitation of adolescents and cunningly gave personal attention to young boys to produce sexual cooperation. Distinctly, there existed a real challenge between Greek homosexuals, involving who would become the ‘dominating partner;’ (which transpires as an extreme shame if you were the lesser); therefore, an infinite number of repugnant circumstances arose, while using children’s passiveness to conceal the men’s perverted actions.

According to Halperin, “the 'sexuality' of the classical Athenians...was constituted by the very principles on which Athenian public life was organized” (Halperin 419). By this he is referring to the fact that sexuality in the Ancient Athens society was socially constructed, but not in the way that it is understood to be socially constructed in modern thought. The so-called sexuality of the Ancient Greek peoples in Athens was directly related to how the society worked, how it was built and how it was understood. Halperin provides a quote from a French anthropologist who is named Maurice Godelier in order to make this point more apparent. This quote states that “it is not sexuality which haunts society, but society which haunts the body's sexuality” (Halperin 419). This statement re-emphasizes the fact that sexuality is a socially constructed concept, entirely dependant upon the society in which it is created in order to be best understood. The history of sexuality, therefore, is a brief history in the sense that the idea of sexuality is constantly being rethought and changed. Halperin sums up the concept of sexuality very well when he says that “[it]...is not a cause but an effect” (Halperin).

In “The Myth of Homosexuality” by Christine Downing, there is the discussion of homosexuality and its meaning over the years. Downing begins the article by stating how a myth has classified women-on-women and men-on-men relationships to fall under the same term of homosexuality, but there is much deeper understanding to it than that. The classification under one word has caused a lot of shaping concerning how they are viewed or how they view themselves. In order to look past the surface of what defines the myth, Downing states that we must start with the culture’s myth and it’s origin.

Case Study: The use of assemblage and the found object in historical and contemporary art practice.

Women artists faced many prejudices in the art world. From being allowed only in some art academies to creating positive depictions of women in their art outside of the male gaze, women artists all reacted differently to the goal of representation. Depictions of women in artwork, especially by men, tended to be highly sexualized images, often objectifying the female body through nudity and scandalous positions. In the 1920’s, women began fighting for their rights more tenaciously with the continued pressure by The Suffragettes, an organized women’s group that advocated for a women’s right to vote founded in 1909. The group advocated more fiercely in the interwar period, demonstrating the feminist and more outspoken views of women at the time. Women were ready to take a stand.

Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South and Madonna Enthroned are very similar images that were produced by very different cultures. Both images were produced during the 13th Century. The image of Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South was produced in Tibet during an interesting period of the country’s religious history. The branch of Tibetan Buddhism is led by a religious and sometimes political leader called the Dalai Lama. It was during the 13th Century during the reign of Kublai Khan, around the time of the production of this painting, that Tibet experienced the first incarnation of the Dalai Lama. One has to wonder if this painting is somehow related to that occurrence. According to

However female homosexuality was never acceptable and was punishable by death. In contrast to the Roman views of female homosexuality, Ovid’s story about Iphis[3] suggests that he supported the behavior.

Which is more important color or drawing? These two have always been fought over for centuries by Poussiniste and Rubenistes. Two great pieces of art that were created in the 1600’s are Peter Paul Rubens’ The Caledonian Boar Hunt and Nicolas Poussin’s Landscape with Calm. While Rubens argues that color is the most important part of the painting Poussin argues that the drawing is more important. In the paragraphs below I will talk about the paintings each individually and then compare them.

In ancient Greek society, Zeus’s plethora of sexual escapades were often seen as contradictory. There are many ways in which the Greeks could have rationalized these actions, but there are two main ways that could have been used. First, Zeus was one of the most powerful gods during his time, if not the most powerful. This could have influenced the Greeks interpretation of his actions. Secondly, in ancient Greece, polyamory was more common than monogamy, which would have lessened the overall contradictory nature of Zeus’s actions.

Images of male homosocial and homoerotic relations pervade Athenian culture. From plays to poetry and jugs to the justice system one can find these relations represented pictorially and in words. But do all these images align with each other or are there irreconcilable differences between them? To look at this question we will take two small pieces of culture, a philosophical treatise, Plato's Symposium and the lyric poetry of Theognis and Anacreon.

The art piece that I chose to critique is the sculpture of a figure kneeling down and getting shocked. It is located on campus near the Morris University Center(muc). When I first saw this sculpture it caught my attention immediately, because of how gruesome the piece was. I feel like I don’t have a good understanding of what the sculpture represents, but it seems like it would raise plenty of controversy, due to its erotic features. It seems like the artist was venting his emotions when he created his idea. The sculpture is fairly large in size, which makes it noticeable, among the other art pieces on campus. The sculpture media consist of wood and concrete, and metal mostly. The individual is keeling down toward the west and is supported

The selected statue depicts a pair of people attached to what looks like a carved piece of stone, dubbed with several markings and symbols on the bottom (Fig. 1). At first glance, the person on the right appears to be a young boy seeing as the figure is significantly shorter and therefore younger, but if you study the body shape more carefully you can recognize the difference between the proportions and overall structure of the torso and chest regions. While the male 's chest is flat with a slight arch near the center to define his pectorals, the shorter figure 's chest is much more protruded, with more weight distributed to opposite sides of the torso to represent breasts, in addition to a noticeable curve of the midsection that references a woman 's frame. Another observation is the lower half of the body where her naval is exposed, her waist is narrowed, more weight is distributed to the upper thighs to better render fuller hips, and a pubic triangle is purposefully carved into the stone. A second exception includes their choice in clothing. Although the woman 's upper body doesn 't indicate a top or brassiere, she is clearly wearing a long skirt or dress that lacks any further detail, but certainly reveals parts of her body underneath the fabric. The male is wearing a garment fitted around his waist, complete with a creased pattern draped over his right thigh, with perhaps a belt to fasten them together. This observation concludes that the carving is indeed of an adult

Media coverage surrounding alternative sexualities has also expanded in recent years and, in the wake of gay liberation and the emergence of lesbian and gay studies, an ever increasing flow of academic documentation pertaining to sexual orientation has flourished. We now know more about homosexual lives in general and about the experiences of particular groups such as those in prison those who offer sex in exchange for money and those who lived during particular historical periods. However, with the knowledge and awareness about what it means to be gay or lesbian has increased considerably, there remains an ignorance on a number of homosexual issues. Explanations of why sexual orientations differ are still inadequate, and in a

Unlike twenty-first century America, ancient Greece viewed human sexuality depending on the person’s control on their sexual impulses. Bisexuality was very accepted and the most widespread same – sex relation was between an adult man and a pubescent boy. This relationship was usually just for sexual pleasure, than an actual emotional committed relationship. Like mentioned before ancient Greeks did not believe in sexual orientation rather, it depended whether the person was the penetrator or the penetrated. As a dominant male centered society, men imposed their

The history of art dates back to ancient times. Artwork can be, and was, found around the world. What makes art interesting is that it can be created in any way, shape or form with any materials. It seems that the artwork can also tell us a lot about the artist. Art seems to be simply, a direct, visual reflection of the artist’s life. Therefore, one can assume that an artist’s life experiences and beliefs directly influence their art. If we look at examples from different periods of art we will be able to see the connection between the artist and the art.