Lectio #27
Paris, France
2013
I believe this statue is in the Luxembourg Gardens. It may be selective memory on my part, but it seems to me there are a lot more works of art portraying women reading than there are men reading. I wonder why that is?]]>
Lectio #27
Paris, France
2013
Perhaps because more women of wealth had the leisure to read…and women were certainly more often the subject of art than men (except kings, dukes, earls, etc.) Have you read John Berger’s Ways of Seeing? A fascinating perspective (no pun intended) on viewers of art vis a vis creators of art, especially as regards the feminine subject.
Kathy, I suppose maybe this is somehow a sexist to say, or maybe it’s just the plain truth, I don’t know. But in my opinion, more art depicts women for the simple fact that through history more artists have been men and more often than not, they have been heterosexual men. Whether they are fully clothed or not, reading a book or not, it makes little different. Women draw the attention of heterosexual men more than other men do. I suppose that’s self-evident in my own series work on the subject of reading which started out being called “Girl Reading a Book.” I may actually have that Berger book–going to have to go look at those big stacks of books whose purchase I couldn’t resist due to their fascinating topics but which somehow I never find the time to read.
You make a good point, especially coming from a heterosexual guy! 🙂 Let me know, if you find & read the Berger book, what you think. It was an eye-opening read for me.
I found the Berger book! I thought I had it and if the bookmark in it is any indication, I’ve actually read at least 88 pages of it. The problem is I don’t consciously remember any of it! When it comes to reading books, my mind does a pretty darn good imitation of a leaking bucket; whatever I pour into it slowly drains out. I can only hope that some of what I’ve read has stuck around on a subliminal level, creating a more informed view of the world in my head without me actually knowing the source of my “wisdom.”
Finding the book was actually pretty easy. Now for the hard part, finding the time to read it.
Might I, indelicately, suggest the bathroom? 😉 It’s a little book after all.
Good idea! This is the kind of reading that, for me anyway, is best digested in short intervals.