Summary of Pygmalion
Pygmalion is a sculptor in Greek mythology who was bitter about women who were sexually in control of their bodies – prostitutes. Because of this, he remained single. These prostitutes understood that their bodies were a currency and “played the game”, which Pygmalion and Venus were horrified by, since women are “meant” to be in complete obliviousness of their sexual attractiveness to men. They had to be punished for being aware of their effect on men, so Venus turns them into granite; a rough and imperfect material.
He instead decided to sculpt a “genuine girl” out of “snow white ivory”, which has huge connotations of virginity and purity, as well as smoothness and a want to touch, in contrast to granite. Sculptures are also considered “otherwordly” as they’re often made to look perfect and of mythical beings, making this sculpted girl beyond flesh and blood. He made her so realistic that he thought that she was going to move, return his kisses and would bruise by his touch, which might have undercurrents of assault?
He showers her with gifts (other materials) which are shaped to enable the body to incorporate them, thus making them jewellery, only to strip her of the clothing to reveal her naked body: “No less beautiful when naked”. This leaves us thinking that women are only allowed to be sexual for him and his needs, since she’s naked for his eyes only and is “beautiful” but the prostitutes are as ugly as granite. He also felt the need to dress her up in order to be a “real woman” and then play an erotic game of undressing her.
Venus then grants his wish of having his sculpture become a human because she pities him, but she doesn’t just turn her into a human straight away, as she turned the prostitutes into granite; it had to be done through him touching and kissing her.
Ovid’s myth of Pygmalion and constructions of the feminine ideal
- Themes of gender construction and embodiment identified in the poem
- Ovid’s Metamorphosis book 10 investigates themes of sculptural transformation, corporeality and the desire for idealised somatic forms
- The myth offers insights therefore into key tropes relating to gender configuration and discourses of materiality when creating/fashioning representations in visual culture
Plot/theme: Creative Construction of woman into object to be looked at
He carved snow white ivory… giving it shape, a beauty which no woman can be born
- Idealised form from own imagination (no original source as inspiration)
- Idealised form materialised in ivory (flesh-like tone, unblemished, purity and innocence connoted)
- Statue as gendered object/creative, active, desiring male
- Female as passive, silent, stasis – non-threatening sexuality
Had witnessed these women leading reproachful lives and repulsed by the defects nature had bestowed in such abundance upon the female character, he took to living as a single man..
- The defects? – sexual agency – awareness of how to use their bodies as currency, active in the construction of themselves as desirable to men (and must be punished!!)
- ‘real’ flesh and blood women disgust Pygmalion (not perfect, unblemished, beyond his control)
Fashioning femininity: what does it mean to ‘become’ a woman?
Pygmalion is in awe and stokes the fires of passion… for the simulated body… he brings gifts… he adores the limbs with clothes… puts jewels on the fingers… necklaces around the throat..all this becomes her…
- Sexual desire manifested in rituals that heightened sexual consciousness and ‘shape’ feminine identity
- A body adorned and decorated = fetishising certain ‘parts’ (all female bodies are therefore simulated and disavow ‘naturalness’)
Material Bodies: representing corporeality
yields as Hymettian beeswax re-melts and made pliable by the thumb, it is moulded into many shapes…
- Liminal material – malleable forms
- Reminder of connotations of materials when making objects and representing somatic forms: ivory/flesh, stone and granite, wax and corporeality
- Textures and tactility: shiny, smooth surfaces, tarnished, rough, blemished (and accompanying connotations of ‘real’/’natural’/simulated)
Describe a recent piece of studio work you have done.
Description:
- Vintage type film based of nostalgia/being home
- Used vintage filters
- Radio tuning noise in background
- Political references – “Strong and Stable” voice clips from Theresa May debates and interviews
- Musically influenced
- Lightning strickes
Analysis:
- Used vintage filters to create a feeling of nostalgia to the viewer
- Used nostalgia as a disguise for the political undertones
- Lightening strikes were meant to refer to flashbacks – is nostalgia a good thing? Is is a lie?
- Could use different clips, perhaps more artistic ones that don’t require as much explanation
- Use sounds that I personally feel nostalgic about instead of only using places/general nostalgic sounds
How can I relate this to my practice?
I’ve been looking into dressing up women’s bodies after reading about Pygmalion. I’m stuck between using the whole of a woman’s body or a particular body part, such as a fetishised part. I could use contrasting materials, such as silks and lace against rough wood to signify this myth and patriarchal society.
saratrouble 