Reversing the Gaze - Creating a Counter-Perspective

Reversing the Gaze - A Critical Review of Jaqueline Van de Geer's “reversed” Cut piece – Yoko Ono

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By SHINAAZ JOHAL

April 16, 2020 

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The Suoni Per Il Popolo is a non-profit organization based in Montreal, Canada with one of their mandates being to provide a platform for artists to display their imaginative approaches to art. Fluxus Online- NO HAY BANDA- 2020 is a digital variant of this organization where artists in multiple mediums have been invited to share their interpretation of what it means to perform a Fluxus-inspired piece online. Amongst 12 other artists, Jacqueline Van de Geer presented her performance art “reversed” Cut piece – Yoko Ono on this platform. Encompassing a display of the nude Van de Geer in center frame, the performance video work displays the artist slowly dressing herself for a duration of 20 minutes. While applying a true “reversal” of infamous artist Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece by dressing herself rather than a form of un-dressing, Van de Geer additionally includes the reversal of the male gaze by applying an absurd amount of clothing on to her nude body at a considerably slow pace, ultimately resulting in Van de Geer’s face and torso being hidden from the view of the camera. 

Still from Jacqueline Van de Geer, “reversed” Cut Piece – Yoko Ono (0:17), 2020

As an approach to performance art, the 1960’s Fluxus movement “…created an equal playing field across race, gender, and culture, which created conditions for women to thrive within it.” (Terpankas, pp.1). Historically, works drawing from this movement included a vast variety of elements like absurdity, experimentation, and individual interpretations of “scores” written by artists. Jacqueline Van de Geer has displayed an interest in this genre through many of her works, typically pushing for an environment in which her audience can participate and interact with her performances with the hope of providing a real, intimate connection. The environment for her performances sit on a wide range, some of which including hotel rooms and more accessible spaces, pushing for a level of absurdity to stay present. Within her video work “reversed” Cut piece – Yoko Ono, Van de Geer displays an act of performance, painfully slowly dressing in pieces of clothing that are blatantly un-related, as it becomes clear that she is not attempting to create a “coherent” or “trendy” outfit. With the presence of this incoherent outfit on the screen, the performance comes across as an attempt to create a mask or disguise. 

Included within the title and the blatant inspiration for Van de Geer’s performance is one of the many leaders of the Fluxus movement, Yoko Ono, and her infamous performance Cut Piece. Within 1964 and 1966, Ono performed this intimate piece 5 times with her works having the inclusion of live audience participation. During these performances, Yoko Ono could be seen on a stage fully dressed, with the presence of scissors to invoke the participation of her audience in cutting off her clothing and intimate garments. Although there has been an abundance of analyses of Ono’s performance, common perceptions have included the confrontation of the male gaze within her performance(s) – confronting her audience as they gazed upon her, ultimately allowing them to act on their gazes and physically undress her. With this in mind, through the 2020 online performance, “reversed” Cut piece – Yoko Ono supplies viewers with a nude body to gaze upon, but as the duration continues, Van de Geer ultimately strips the viewers of the opportunity to gaze, removing this power of the gaze altogether, truly reversing the actions of the participants in Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece. This presence of an “escape” from said gaze is evident as the performance progresses, by the conclusion of the video Jacqueline has drowned herself in an abundance of clothing, with her nude skin completely disappearing altogether.

Still from Jacqueline Van de Geer, “reversed” Cut Piece – Yoko Ono (19:35), 2020

Furthermore, through Jacqueline Van de Geer’s performance, she has allowed for a “…re-appropriation of control” (Heyward, pp. 27) of the male gaze, a perspective in which the female body is objectified while the male viewer is entitled to empowerment. While introducing her video to those viewing, she stares into the camera lens for what seems to be an obscene amount of time. Her eye contact is impossible to miss, thus distracting the viewer’s gaze from her nude body. By doing this, Van de Geer directly acknowledges the viewer, creating a space of authority over them while remaining vulnerable in her nude state for an introduction of 45 seconds, further allowing for an “…interaction between spectacle and spectator” (Rhee, pp.96). 

As a woman, Van de Geer is taking back the control as a female artist that traditionally, was only given to the male viewer. The gaze allows for a space of voyeuristic tendencies of historically, primarily male viewers while presenting an opportunity to sexualize subjects presented in artwork, streaming from a place of entitlement. With the unfortunate and unjust reality being that “misogyny and inequality (along with other anti-human values) continue to dominate North American society in both public and private spheres” (Terpankas, pp.7), performances like Jacqueline Van de Geer’s “reversed” Cut piece – Yoko Ono and Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece allow for a contrasting exhibit of empowerment and uplifting notions, reversing the power behind the male, rather than assisting in the continuation of the male gaze in not only art but all areas of society. Along with this, the presence of this digital variant of performances inspired by the Fluxus movement has allowed for comparison to be made to the historical instances of the male gaze that have surrounded the objectification of females in art. In the present day, digital platforms allow art to be accessible to individuals of all backgrounds, ultimately providing an opportunity for any gender to experience it. In this case, Jaqueline Van de Geer’s performance has not only commented on the continuation of efforts being made by female artists like Yoko Ono to confront the male gaze, but it allows for a moment of reflection on the history of the gaze for individuals that view the performance from the comfort of their own homes. 

 

Yoko Ono, Cut Piece, Performed at Theatre Le Ranelagh, Paris, 2003

It remains important for not only female artists, but all artists to confront issues like the presence of the male gaze and gender inequality in today’s world. Jacqueline Van de Geer has supplied an important example of creating a counter-perspective through the “reversal” of historical limitations that women in art have experienced. The Suoni Per Il Popolo organization has allowed for an environment that challenges the traditional aspects of art through a digital platform. With the restraints that have been placed upon artists due to the current state of the global pandemic, a new wave of performance art has surfaced as many individuals have had the time to reflect and act on historical happenings and how their own, personal lives are still being impacted. 

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References

 

Heyward, Carl. “Forbidden Realms: Reversing the Photographic Gaze.” Art Papers 25, no. 3 (2001): 22-27. 

 

“Fluxus Online – NO HAY BANDA – Suoni Per II Popolo 2020. ” No Hay Banda, (2020). http://nohaybanda.ca/fluxus/

Kedmey, Karen. “What is Fluxus?,” (2017). https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-fluxus-movement-art-museums-galleries

“Mandate.” Suoni Per Il Popolo, (2018). https://suoniperilpopolo.org/en/about/mandate

Rhee, Jieun. “Performing the Other: Yoko Ono’s ‘Cut Piece.’” Art History 28, no. 1 (February 2005): 96-118. 

 

Terpankas, Andrea. “Fluxus, Feminism, and the 1960’s.” Western Tributaries 4 (2017).