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| DELGADO Paula |
“Cómo sos tan lindo”
[How come you are so beautiful]
Itinerant project
2005-2006
PROJECT BRIEF
Throughout history, visual production, whether artistic (specially after the nineteenth century) or commercial, is riddled with female bodies - thin bodies, large bodies, dressed bodies, naked bodies. Bodies that matter as such and as little else. Actually, throughout history, the access to such visual production has been held pretty much exclusively by men.
I have always noticed a big lack in the image -and imaginary- production of man as an object of desire, and particularly, of man watched with a heterosexual, erotic sight, and from a woman point of view.
Though we are enlivening a slow discovery process of man as an object of desire, mainly in the area of advertising, still the firm conviction prevails that women are beautiful, while men are not. I wish to return male beauty to the place it belongs to.
Paintings, photographs, movies and adds have been and remain focused on the female body. But what about men? Sheltered behind the camera, men have fed the conviction that their physical attractiveness is not what matters. This gave them the freedom to develop as persons and not care about aesthetics, and meant even less freedom for women, depriving them of the pleasure of contemplating the body of a man without taboos.
Man’s body is not attractive.
Not true. The fact that we have yet not been stimulated to appreciate male’s beauty ought not to determine our ideas in such way.
And after all, what is being attractive? What does a man think makes him attractive?
What influence do mass media stereotypes hold on men’s self perception and self appraisal? How do these stereotypes vary in different cultural contexts?
The project
The first stage of this project is a call for a casting through the press. The add shall explain what we are looking for: attractive men wanted, over 15 years old, for a video with possibilities of international diffusion. No experience required.
Those who attend shall be photographed and taped in video, individually. There will be no selection, all attendants will have part in the exhibit. Nobody will be rejected.
The definition of beauty and eroticism is somehow given by men themselves. They are the ones who suggest attitudes, looks and poses, and, most important, they are there because they deem themselves attractive.
There is not a monetary payment for attending the casting. This fact reflects the wishes of a culture turned to “spectacularisation”, where people get used to show themselves and be “chosen” -Is this a global boom?
Interviews take place in a hotel room. A hotel is a universal space, a point where all the cities where the project is carried out get connected. It is an impersonal though intimate place, which gives a more suggestive atmosphere.
During the photo shots I am alone with each attending man. I take the pictures and hold the interviews.
The two chosen media -photography and video- provide the two dimensions of this project.
On the one hand, there is photography. The sole, static image. Tribute to male beauty. Cute, attractive, seducing, sexy. All in as much as they want to feel themselves or as the public wishes to see them. The treatment of the image is not an advertising–like one. The type of image I choose is one preserved from the commercial content advertising entails: I prefer a domestic image.
On the other hand, there is video. Analysis. There is the conversation with each of these men. Questions and answers. How did you learn about the casting? Why did you come? Why do you consider yourself attractive? What makes a man attractive? What effect does being attractive have on your life?
ITINERANT WORK
The main idea of the project is to carry it out in different cultural contexts. Latin America, Europe, Asia. This will show the influence of culture and –within it- the value of aesthetics on the image men have of themselves.
Uruguay, Austria, India, How do men from each one of those countries live the relationship with their body, with their physical image? Which role does culture play in each one of them? Does it exist a similar idea of what “being attractive” is? Is there a sole way of posing? Do they follow local aesthetic patterns or imported patterns proposed by the media?
The Latin American stage
The project has already started: Montevideo, 2005 (dvd 8 min.30sec.), Buenos Aires, 2006 (edited October 2006). I am now coordinating the third step: Santiago de Chile, (February 2006).
The Latin American stage will be completed with Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and Brazil.
Why Austria?
Due to its location, Austria is a perfect place for developing my project. Situated in the heart of the continent, Austria is next to countries and cultures deeply different.
Working in touch with artists from the region is very important for me and for my project. Not only because of the opportunity to exchange ideas with other artists, but also because I need to get familiarised with the region and work in touch with fellow artists from each city were the project takes place.
Download Pdf - Exhitibion at the quartier21/Freiraum
-> Projektinfo download [pdf, 7.7 MB]
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