Since I started this blog, my goal has been to show that the details are where it’s at. A lot of times as designers we focus on the big picture and not the little details. It’s important to understand the little details so you can form a better understanding of your users and how they perceive your product.
It is a cliche that the most important details are often the ones we don’t notice. A woman notices when a man opens the door for her, but not when he pays for dinner. A man notices when a woman looks great, but not when she’s a good conversationalist. Both think the other has something to learn. And both are right.
Lately I’ve been thinking about details and gender in art. The most famous Renaissance nude is David by Michelangelo:
In many ways the most amazing thing about it is the face:
Look at that face, and then at this detail from another Michelangelo painting:
It is easy to see why it was so revolutionary to paint such natural-looking skin on women in the Renaissance; it’s still striking today. But look more closely at that detail from Michelangelo’s painting. The face has some of the same details as David’s, but they have been transformed—the nose is thinner and longer, the lips fuller and more sensual, the hair parted differently, parted above rather than on the side of her head, the neck long and slender rather than muscular and powerful. The details make all the difference between femaleness and maleness; they don’t simply create youthfulness or prettiness
I am going to teach you how to build a blog and then give you the details of why I decided to build my online presence using WordPress.
The first time I saw the work of Raquel Bender (previously), it was a series of hand-drawn sketches, black ink on white paper. The drawings themselves were simple, and in the beginning there wasn’t a cohesive theme that made it clear that these sketches were more than just doodles. But upon closer look, the details make an impact. Each drawing is carefully planned and drawn, with a confident stroke that comes from Bender’s ability to think through each detail.
The details extend to the subject matters: Bender’s art focuses on portraits, gender politics and everyday objects. Her subjects are often outlandish combinations that highlight the beauty of both human expression and physical objects; for example, her drawing of a woman with two hands holding a single cupcake (below).
As a feminist I am concerned about the historical erasure of women in art history, as well as the pervasive presence of women in the art world. However, my interest in this subject is not limited to this field. I think that we can see both historical and current biases towards men and against women in any aspect of our culture.
The exclusion of women from art history is just one kind of example for how male artists are privileged over female artists. This phenomenon is also observable in other fields such as politics, business, or sports. Men have been allowed to dominate these areas for centuries and it has shaped the way we think about these matters today.
The most important thing to address this issue would be to change the way we teach art history at schools, universities and museums.
This blog is an attempt to contribute to these discussions and reflect on them.*
