Answer 1:
Lee Miller was an American photographer and model who worked in the Surrealist movement in the 1930s. While Surrealist visual strategies often emphasized the objectification and fragmentation of the female body, Miller reversed these strategies in her own photographic practice to express a feminist stance.
One way that Miller reversed Surrealist strategies was by turning the camera on herself and other women, using photography to reclaim agency and subjectivity. In contrast to Surrealist depictions of women as passive objects, Miller's photographs often show women actively engaged in various activities, such as boxing, cooking, and serving in the military.
Miller also subverted Surrealist visual strategies by using humor and irony to challenge patriarchal norms and stereotypes. For example, in her photograph "Lamp and Faucet" (1931), Miller depicts a faucet protruding from a woman's mouth, using absurdity to critique the objectification of the female body.
Another way that Miller expressed a feminist stance was by using photography to document the experiences of women during wartime. As a photojournalist during World War II, Miller traveled to Europe and captured images of women working in factories, serving in the military, and participating in the resistance. These images challenged traditional gender roles and emphasized the important contributions of women during wartime.
In summary, Lee Miller reversed Surrealist visual strategies in her photographic practice by turning the camera on herself and other women, using humor and irony to challenge patriarchal norms, and documenting the experiences of women during wartime. By doing so, Miller expressed a feminist stance and helped to shift the male-dominated narrative of Surrealism.
Answer 2:
Claude Cahun was a French photographer and writer who lived and worked in the early 20th century. Cahun's photographs often depict gender as a performance, challenging traditional notions of masculinity and femininity and exploring the fluidity of gender identity.
Cahun's photographs frequently feature herself as the subject, and she often appears androgynous or adopts different gender expressions. In one of her most well-known images, "I am in training, don't kiss me," Cahun poses in a suit with short hair and a stern expression, subverting traditional expectations of femininity.
Through her photographic practice, Cahun highlights the idea that gender is not an inherent characteristic, but rather a social construct that is performed and perpetuated through language, dress, and behavior. By challenging gender norms and presenting herself in a variety of ways, Cahun questions the idea that gender is fixed and unchanging.
In addition to her photographic work, Cahun also wrote extensively about gender and sexuality, and her work often addressed the ways in which social norms and expectations shape our understanding of these concepts. In her writings, Cahun advocated for a more fluid and expansive understanding of gender and sexuality, rejecting the idea that these categories are fixed and immutable.
Overall, Claude Cahun's photographs speak to the notion of gender as a performance by challenging traditional gender roles and exploring the fluidity of gender identity. Through her work, Cahun encourages viewers to question the social norms and expectations that shape our understanding of gender and to consider the possibility of more expansive and inclusive ways of thinking about gender and identity.