BRI CIREL
NSFW Propaganda Paintings Probe the Politics of the Female Nude
“The realization that women and their images have been narrated by men for all of history lead me to wonder, who are we (women) really? What do we want really?” Cirel says. “I’ve never connected with femininity, but I think that’s because it’s been unnaturally crafted to suit the needs and desires of men.”
"I started off in film and video actually. My background in film has inspired my painting aesthetic by compelling me to deliver story through combinations of elements that build and compete to create context and direct commentary."
Issue #65
Issue #31
“I make paintings of women that employ the standard male gaze to attract attention, but then fracture the composition and make commentary with text and negative space to question the conditioned attitudes we hold towards female personhood and sexuality.”
"Why, at a time when women’s voices are being raised more powerfully than ever, are they policed so differently from men’s in the public space? And whose values do media censors supposedly represent, anyway? "
THE NEW NUDE
Curated by Walt Morton
Issue #86
"The female gaze seems like it’s always in-reaction to the male gaze... I feel like it's recent with YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook that we have our own. We turn the camera on ourselves and if anything that might be the female gaze. We are doing it to ourselves, and we get to see ourselves."
"Images of women in art and advertising are often not about the woman whose image is depicted. The image is of her, but not about her. My work often explores this disconnect and its relationship to society’s view of women. I’d like the viewers to be more conscious of how women’s bodies are being categorized and commodified."
