Karin Janssen
Raw Skin: Uncompromising visions of the visceral body
2013.
“RAW SKIN challenges the dualistic view that the body is merely a seat for the mind, a shell which, with willpower and discipline, can be moulded into a perfect shape, something that we have influence over. This idea denies the reality of our living bodies, our corporeality. The exhibition RAW SKIN aims to research what happens when internal emotions start bleeding into the body, changing, morphing, transforming and exploding it, causing it to clash with the external world around it.”
How do you believe this image addresses the needs and concerns of your students?
Raw Skin challenges the view of the body by just seeing the shell in which we all have on the outside of one self. That mold that each of us is trying to achieve the “perfect shape”. In my class, we talked about the living body and the dualistic view that we all have about our bodies. Bringing this image to the VTS lesson is another way of talking about and emphasizes body image. Will my class of older students see this as something that each and every one of them are dealing with on a day to day basis? I think through art images like this one we can open dialogue for students to be honest about these issues.
In what ways do you believe it will challenge them?
This image changes the traditional conception of understanding the body and would suggest the values we put on ourselves. Communication about the body and the relationships that all students have with their own body can be worked out in their art in a healthy way.
I have to find more stimulating images for this group. In finding this one, I see my students really opening up about the imagery and wanting to know more about this artist. Second, this is a 3-D wok of art and my students are drawn more to those than the 2-D works. So I do hope this work pushes the boundaries in the next VTS lesson.
Fascinating image! Do be sure to give them sufficient "wait time" as they will need to silently process what they are looking at before speaking, I suppose. I suspect, also, that your less experienced students will wait for the more experienced to comment before chiming in. Yenawine says we want to challenge viewers, but not confound them. This image is a daring choice that walks a fine line. I could be wrong, but I think it will really challenge them. Looking forward to a follow-up report on how this goes!
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