In most of the cases of critics discussing Diane Arbus work it is in a psychoanalytical context. Taking her pictures of dwarfs, giants or actors of freak shows they relate them to Diane Arbus´s own feelings of despair, alienation and depression which she expressed in her images. “In this view she exists in a psychoanalytic twilight world, out of time, in which her pictures carry a charge of pain that is both highly subjective and transhistorical.” (Budick 123) Her pictures of men, women and transvestite show us a different way of seeing Arbus´s work and makes it necessary to see the photographs in a social and historical context.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Diane Arbus and Cold War Culture
- Gender Roles in the 1950s
- Transgression and Deviance
- Impacts of Cold War Ideology on Diane Arbus's Work
- Presentation of Gender Roles in Diane Arbus's Work
- Gender in Diane Arbus's Work- Act of Performance?
- Critics on Diane Arbus-Only Voyeurism?
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This text explores the presentation of gender in the work of Diane Arbus, examining how it reflects the social and cultural context of the Cold War era. By analyzing specific photographs and placing them within the broader historical context, the author aims to demonstrate how Arbus's work challenged prevailing gender norms and stereotypes.
- Gender Roles in the 1950s
- Transgression and Deviance
- The Impact of Cold War Ideology on Art
- The Presentation of Gender in Arbus's Work
- The Role of Photography as a Tool for Social Commentary
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The first chapter of the text, "Diane Arbus and Cold War Culture," provides a detailed exploration of gender roles in the 1950s. The author delves into the pressures of conforming to societal expectations and the ways in which deviance, particularly in relation to gender identity, was viewed as a threat to American society. The second chapter, "Presentation of Gender Roles in Diane Arbus's Work," focuses on specific examples of Arbus's photographs, highlighting the ways in which they challenge and subvert these prevailing gender norms. The chapter analyzes the portrayal of individuals who transgress traditional gender roles, such as transvestites, and explores how Arbus's work contributed to the broader discourse on gender identity.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
Key terms and concepts that permeate the text include: Cold War culture, gender roles, transgression, deviance, photography as social commentary, Diane Arbus, representation, gender identity, and the American Dream.
- Quote paper
- Mirja D. Dauphin (Author), 2006, The Presentation of Gender in Diane Arbus´s Work in the Context of the Cold War Era, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/137206
