Subject of the observed women within the feminist ideas and expressions

Subject of the observed women within the feminist ideas and expressions

Zehra Şonya

John Berger, in his work titled “Ways of Seeing” mentions about formation of women in this world as an object ad the observed and the one who observes, soon after opening their eyes into a patriarchal society. “Being born as a woman means being born in a specially framed, men-owned place.” Social identities of the women are developed because of their skills for being able to live in such limited and conditioned place. However, this was at the expense of division of her self existence into two.” Women, have to observe themselves continuously in the world of men. This is a reality which was imposed on her at the moment she was born, and which she was forced to learn so that she can exist. According to Berger, a woman’s perception of her existence is completed with the feeling of being admired by another person.

Berger in further lines of his book says that the men are as they act while the women are as they are seen. With bilateral relations, men watch women and women watch the being of to be watched. This situation determines not only the relation between the men and the women but also the relations of the women with themselves. The observer within the women is men and the observed is the women. Thus, women convert themselves into an object, – specially a visual object- an object for spectacle.

John Berger explains this situation with nude woman paintings somewhat is abundant with the Europe oil paints where women is seen and estimated as objects for spectacle, and verifies his theory with many examples. Certainly the examples he deals with are all made by men and they reflect how the women are seen, perceived within the western society, or put forward the desired women/object. Nevertheless Berger also states that the nudity and approach towards women within the non-Europe art tradition, displays even more passive situation than being an object for spectacle.

In today’s world of art existence of women artists increase and they try to put their identities forward despite centuries-long domination of men. While some of these develop within the axis of the feminist expression, there are artists who position themselves far from the dilemma of the observer/observed by exploring and fording onto themselves. The Gorilla Girls at the Istanbul Modern – Orlan, who restructures her face through surgical operations, but in fact disfigures herself, and Cindy Sherman who is recognised with her works, which criticise perceiving women as objects of sex – are only two examples for artists or movements who radically use the feminist expression. Despite that women’s adventure for seeking for themselves and re-structuring has recently started, when looked at existing examples and formations, it is seen that their field of influence increases each day.

This text –although having Berger’s theory as the starting point- with a reverse reading, will try and read or think on the subject of the women images created by women artists of the Turkish Cypriot community on the axis of the feminist expression. This reading essay will be limited with figurative works. Examples will be chosen from women artists whose questions are women and who are recognised for creating works over the image of women. These images will include the nudity; however will not be limited with the nudity. We can say that nudity includes much more different meanings for women, against the men point of view which sees women merely as the nude that is an object which is observed and get pleasure from.

Despite the number of women artists within the Turkish Cypriot community is more than the men, this majority is only a quantitative datum. Because the missions of fertility and to be the female bird of the home which were stipulated for women at the moment they were born, pushes her into a position where her major field of responsibilities are her home and raising the children rather than being the woman who succeeds in the difficult. Thus her working fields are limited and she is asked to have a profession which enables her to deal with it without neglecting her home, that is her husband and children, and to arrange her social relations according to this instead of having a profession which enables her to succeed with the difficult, to go beyond her limits, to create and to blaze a trail. It’s not just a matter of chance that the most ideal profession stipulated for women are being a civil servant or a teacher. This situation is also compatible with the image of a docile, compassionate and a loving woman which is specified by the society. Most of the women artists within the Turkish Cypriot community sharing this fate choose the fine arts or directed towards fine arts by their families to become teachers rather than the instinct or need for being an artist.

While her fertility appears as a physical need in front of us, theories asserting that fertility is used as a method for the domination of men or is being praised as a sublime mission are being studied and discussed within the feminist expressions. Whereas, according to some, necessity that “fertile women” should be “compassionate” was a standard of judgement thought us through the process of sexist process of socialising. (2) certainly, context of fertility of woman is not limited with the living beings she bears.

İsmet Tatar (1947), whom we are going to deal with her drawings, is one of the artists who ask questions on women fertility and find answers, and who try to determine their place, the women identity and their sensitivity. She continues the questioning process within the axis of women-nature.

The women images seen on figure 1, 2, and 3 are from the exhibition of Tatar in 1995, titled ‘ a stroll in the process of women life span’. With these images, the women fertility, by intensifying within the framework of the living being she bears, finds a place for itself within many works. Pictures at the exhibition are filled with images pictured as the instantaneous visions or phases of this process. Mother’s relation, strings of love, and dependence between the mother and the child are revealed with these images. While it justifies the thesis that a child fills every moment and field of the world of the woman, it strengthens the ‘sacred tie’ relations between the mother and the child. Absence of the men within the process with Tatar’s works is quite interesting. Absence of the men leads us to bring different dimensions and inquiries (social realities) to the case. In fact this indicates that the woman is on her own with the emotional tie she lives with a child and on responsibilities. It is an indication of how men are exclusive of the case and of the distances and rifts among couples during this hard and self-sacrifice required process. The uncertain state of the faces; unclearness dominating the bodies or pictures in general; being blurred; reflects an unseen or hard to perceive glance, the identity problem, in other words situation of women within the men-dominated society. As for the nudity in her works, it stands very distant from the vision presented by Berger (Figure 4). This nudity, rather than being an object for watching, and for getting pleasure from, a work created for men, contains sexuality within its own loneliness, a state of a body.

İsmet Tatar with her exhibition in 1999, titled “My Name is Olive Tree” clarifies and conceptualises the women identity (Figures 5,6,7). By identifying herself with the olive tree, highlights the unrequited love of a woman, her bestowal, her fertility, her rooted state, her wisdom, her endurance, her patience, and her eye-catching and flirtatious sides. (3) Different than her other exhibition, multiplicity is sensed within this exhibition rather than singleness. In other words, the image of woman she presents instead of differentiating as a subject and highlighting the ‘I’, socialises by spreading into the general and joins into society’s value judgement.

Val Plumwood in her book titled “Feminism and the Mastery of Nature” expresses that both the dominant traditions where the men represent the intelligence and the women the nature, and neo approaches which sees the men as strong and savage, and the women as complaisant and domestic result with confirming the power of the men. At the same time, she thinks that the women-nature relation problem should not be eliminated, and should remain as a central issue for feminism. Because for her, women-nature relation is very important for a humanity model where the women could fit in and demand equality. (4)

Exactly at this point, we have to take a look at the women images of another artist – Günay Güzelgün (1949)- and her philosophy of life (figures 8-11). Güzelgün displays the local village life, and state, life, habits of the women within this village life at their purest and naked condition. State of the
women, who are reconciled with themselves and with their vicinity, their lives continuing in harmony with nature and, which encompasses the nature and equalises with it creates itself in many works of art. These “little women” who are within their own existences with flowers, the bright and lively colours of the nature, are faraway from the destructive world of men, which is formed by expressions on changing the world, while chasing the power. Flabby breasts, bulky hips, uninviting flowery dresses and above all, with an indifferent manner towards the men domination, they present the key for another world. When looked at the early works of Günay Güzelgün, we can see the price she had to pay to reach this world (figures 12,13). Images of women in these paintings are smashed squeezed by the hierarchic formation of the world of men, and they come down and vanish. Social realities are highlighted and the given roles for women increase their destructiveness together with the importance and the power attributed to the phallus of men.

On the other hand, situation is very different with Feryal Sükan’s (1963) who is highly acclaimed with the women images she creates almost in all her exhibitions (figures 14-18 ). Although the women in these images carry the grief and live within their loneliness, whether they are sensitive or look as if they have been hurt, they won’t hesitate to present themselves to men with a delicate lyricism, aware that they are being watched. Being aware that they are being watched, they are in effort to recommend their selves to men/watcher. Posture of bodies, ideal bodies with which the perfect is sought, fine and tempting dresses, the musical instruments they use, dim, dark or places of entertainment etc, increases the incidence of such a reality. It seams that even the sadness or the melancholic state of the women images are used for dragging the attraction. Images displayed by Feryal Sükan as a woman, strengthens the theory of Berger and goes as far as forming the centuries old role attributed to women by forming her as an object to be watched according the man-taste.

As for Özgül Ezgin (1965), she follows a totally different policy than Feryal Sükan with her work, which was displayed at the “Karekök”(Square root) exhibition held within the context of EMAA’s Mat Exhibitions (figures 19-24). Each piece of the thirteen-pieced work, stand against the standard of judgement which is settled within our culture for centuries. Hairy arm-pits and legs, flabby breasts, possible situations of an old body, hips with celluloid, huge breasts and bellies, pieces, which display the essence, natural body, the nudity of a women, which do not recall sexuality despite their nudity and which are not formed according to taste of the men. Ezgin, with the photos she took, displays the nudity of women almost forgotten by the women themselves, and remembers their natural fettle within its simplicity against the culture of beauty, which was formed according to taste of men for centuries. In other words, we can say that it makes it visible how women became estranged to their own bodies, and essences within this cult. To conclude, we can say that Ezgin, refuses to build the existence of women on someone else’s taste, and instead, remembering her essence, chooses to display herself with her barest and real situation. At this point, she tries to claim her identity, her personality and her ego by refuting John Berger’s theory.

Actually, it does not seem so easy for a woman in a men dominated society to question her, and by re-discovering her essence to try to form her ego outside of these rules. When she starts to questions the general rules, value judgements, the consuetude, traditions, which are established within the society, and starts creating a new system by rejecting or standing against the roles attributed to her, then the life becomes more merciless for a women. It punishes her by denying her existence, pushing her away from itself, and by closing her ways out, thus it ensures that she becomes isolated and tunes into a weak object. In a men dominated society, women continue to be the other and by being treated as a second-class human being, she is still perceived as a weak being. Most of the times, she cannot go further than being only an object of sex for men. As for the Turkish Cypriot community, increasing number of women artists, and questioning made by folding onto themselves shows that this questioning of identity and the problem of existence are still in a search. While some go parallel with value judgements of the society, the ones who dare to step out of this system are paying the price.

Notes
1. John Berger ; “Ways of Seeing” Metis Publications, Translation, Yurdanur Salman. Pn.46,1999 (7th edition)
2. Can Sarvan: “Woman Fertility, Compassion and the Silent Grief of 50 Pairs of Orphan Women Shoes” Afrika Sunday supplement. Pn 1-3 . 20/08/06.
3. Sevilay Sadıkoğlu: “A Courageous Giant”. Kıbrıs Newspaper, Pn. 26, 07/04/99.
4. Val Plumwood; “Feminism and the Mastery of Nature”, Metis Publications, translation: Başak Ertür, Pn. 35-36. 2004 (1st edition)