Review Feedback

Module name and number
THA1233 Contextual Research & Concept Development
Date 02/03 November 05

Comments

• A good presentation, and thorough research.
• Be careful of reducing the idea of the woman to the body. In your presentation all the fictional women you showed were famous mainly for physical attributes, only the two real women were there for things they had done.
• There is a popular idea that all gender is ‘performed’, that we in a sense perform the attributes socially and culturally attached to our gender (to a greater or lesser extent).
• When you talk about Victorian optical devices, like the slides embedded in objects the relationship between the viewer and the woman is interesting. The difference between the way that women were portrayed & viewed in Victorian times, and in science fiction is interesting. There is an interesting chapter in the book “Women, Art and Society” titled “Sex, Class and Power in Victorian England”. There is also the idea of the female gaze, and the history of images of women. An 1970’s reader on this would be “Framing Feminism” or “Old Mistresses” by Griselda Pollock – but its very dated now.
• Look at the Flash generator “Hero Machine”
• Marsha Kinder “Playing with Power from Videogames to Mutant Ninja Turtles” for a discussion of cross gender identification in playing male characters in video games.
• Brenda Laurel had a games company called Purple Moon.
• Emma Westecott is an interesting female games producer.
• For imagery of people in video installations in a screen or mirror situation look at Gary Hill and Bill Viola.