'Crowism' in the Academia - Case 1
An example of an influential and innovative act of Crowism is the recent book by Katy Hessel.[15]
[15] Katy Hassal. The Story of Art without Men, 2022. Penguin.
Katy Hessel wrote her book The Story of Art Without Men in 2022. In the book she declares the new canon consisting of outstanding and significant female artists who were not mentioned at all in “classic” art history books.
Hessel refers to Ernst Gombrich's well-known book The Story of Art. [16] A book which was published in the 1950s and is taught in nearly every art history class in the western world.
[16] E. Gombrich. Korot al-Hanet.1950. Phaidon.
In this classic book, Gombrich did not mention a single female artist. An omission that was acceptable among male writers. This important book was published in over 15 editions, and only in the 16th edition was a single female artist mentioned: Käthe Kollwitz.
Käthe Kollwitz was a German artist who lived from 1867 to 1945. Sculptor and painter who created mainly etchings. She became famous for her depictions of poverty and war. Kollwitz was the first woman to be elected to the Prussian Academy of Arts and receive honorary professor status.
Here is the place to challenge, examine and bring perceptual changes to structures and patterns of thought that dictated in advance, and to introduce the presence and influence of unfamiliar but important and brilliant women artists.
Hessel presents in her book more than one hundred talented female artists, starting from the 16th century to the present.
Hessel does not differentiate between central and influential female artists and less prominent female artists.
Hessel came to show the lack of female representation and the great influence that women artists have on art, culture, society and free thought.
It is of such importance to know that we have always had active and influential talented women who, despite the impossible and oppressive conditions, managed to create and reach impressive achievements.
Most of the artists that Hessel dwells on are great and significant artists who were not allowed to break through to change and appear in public for reasons of oppression and control despite their high and innovative achievements.
And here is the place to see the concept of 'Crowism' as a part of revealing, unencumbered thinking. Just like the crow that pecks, turns to look, asks, clarifies and sees all from above.
'Crowism' is the detective that asks questions and inquires.
The concept of 'Crowism' is looking after the personal voice. In this case the female influence on Western culture. Like the crow breaking the shell of the nut to get to the nut itself, to the real truth.
'Crowism' raises the excluded topics to public discourse.
Although women artists were not included as having an influence on cultural and artistic society, looking at them now and then allows a new, rebellious, transformative and significant reality.
Why Here?
I chose to present the concept of Crowism on this website because there is the possibility to move according to your own eyes and choose to see different angles of the concept.
Just like the crow that flies high and sees the evidence from above I put the concept here so to examine seeing, thinking together about the presence in culture, art and society.
The site allows you to simultaneously see photographs, works of art, thoughts, evidence and ideas according to your free choice.
'Crowism' in the day-to-day
The concept of 'Crowism' launched from familiarity with alienation of people within the family.
Parental alienation is a phenomenon in which the child ceases all contact with one of the parents and becomes estranged from him or her, as a result of the instigation of the other parent.
Alienation is a part of our lives that is only getting bigger and bigger due to the technological development that was supposed to bring us closer and connect us with each other. But instead, technology distances and separates us from one another.
Communication between people has become through technological means.
Today people contact each other on different applications and not in a direct way. This leads to distance, lack of understanding, fear, anxiety from each other and even alienation.
'Crowism' present in culture, art and society as a response to change
The concept of 'Crowism' awakens and mediates conflicts and crises and through this it develops ways of thinking and research that produce narratives of change.
The concept of 'Crowism' creates and enables a space for cooperation between cultures. A place to ask questions that transcend and across linear historical geographic boundaries.
The research materials and the cultural materials create a course of resonant repetition of the concept of femininity, gender, beauty, right, good and more.
The research, affects and develops from the use of contemporary materials in culture and art on the experience of time.
How does it all fit together into 'Crowism'?
Institutional goals are to educate toward structured thinking patterns, which govern, divide people into groups, separate, oppress and weaken humanity. Through observation with a 'Crowist' point of view we can uncover these institutional goals and address them.
'Crowism' enables me to examine art through the work in the studio, by using rejected and discarded items like broken and abandoned car parts, chairs, containers and more.
Specifically, through photography, my primary medium, I investigate the relationship that art has with the familiar western model of values that I grew up and was educated on.
For example, the tearing of the background that allows you to peek through the tear and see what is visible from behind.
Or, for example, the visibility of the lighting, the cables and the aids used for photographs are visible and not hidden from the viewer.
'Crowism' shows alienation as part of a process of separation from one another, that is, a process of splitting people into groups, into individuals.
The visual representation of 'Crowism' is achieved by emptiness, lack, something that has been destroyed or crumbled, something violent, aggressive, shattering and jarring.
The lack of focal point of the photo stands out and creates search and curiosity. Raises questions about where the figure, what is the photographic subject.
In my art work we can see movements that disrupt and sabotage the act of photography, and create a kind of alienation from the viewer.
There are broken and damaged car parts, a broken chair, destroyed containers, and other objects that are represented in the photo as a code language and are not resolved to the end.
Parts in the art work were damaged, deleted or missing. A phenomenon parallel to social or parental alienation, passes over the photograph. For example, the lack of a human image and the vehicle debris demonstrate disrupted vision, something missing, an aggressive experience, sabotage.
The illusion leads to an inability to distinguish whether we are presented with the object itself or a photograph of the same object.
Looking at the photograph prompts the viewer to examine these questions of what is present, and what exists only in the photograph.
Through 'Crowism' I investigate the assembly and disassembly of the photo set. Trying to create an illusion in which it is difficult to distinguish between the presence of the objects in the room and their photography that appears in the set itself.
This is the presence of the 'Crowist' gaze in art, the estrangement from the viewer.
The red and white tape marks a border and indicates a security event. It is shown in such a way that it adds depth to the photograph and at the same time distances the viewer and declares a violent event.
Furthermore, the fact that not everything is understandable to us in the photograph, that it is a clear anomaly, indicates distance, alienation, something annoying and incomprehensible for the viewer.
This is one way that social alienation looks like in art and culture, and how it appears within the photographic process.
In addition, the lack of the decisive moment, the lack of the central element of the photograph, subverts the basics of photography.
The flickering gaze searches for the reason why the photo was taken. A look that remains closed and at the same time very charged, activates us to examine, to check, try to understand what we see. An unpleasant, aggressive and stabbing look that doesn't provide us immediately with the solution and requires decoding.
'Crowism' appears in art in the way that the eye flickers, searching from one occurrence in the piece to another, trying to find the reason and the meaning of the photograph.
The viewer's eye passes over the work of art with a feeling reminiscent of adapting to a new digital device. On the one hand curiosity and investigation and on the other hand a feeling of something unclear, there is no obvious way how it works together.
In 'Crowism', not everything is clear and understandable until the end, there is a blurring and at the same time a flexibility to contain and to clarify what that part, object and place is.
Resonance in the Bible
The story of the flood In a 'Crowist' point of view
The first bird that Noah, from the biblical story of the flood, sent to check if there is land, was the crow. The crow disobeys Noah. It flies a short distance, does not stray far from Noah's ark, returns and defies Noah's commands to fly far in search of land.[4]
[4]The crow in the English language is translated raven. Because it is a type of American raven that is black all over. Compared to the crow that has both gray and black colors from Asia. Gensis 8:6-7
The crow refused to move away or far from the window of the ark. It is possible that the story tried to present the independent crow's approach, to teach rebellious and untamable thought which does not go without saying.
The 'Crowist' point of view shows the rebellious behavior of the crow and demonstrates its independent and untamable nature already in the story of the flood.
The thought of the crow defying God's command in the flood narrative resonates and illustrates the concept of 'Crowism'.
In this study I will present a phenomenon that we already know from different directions, I will state its features, give it a name place and time.
'Crowism' in the Academia - Case 3
'Crowism' is a concept expressed through visual means, but also represents thought and processes of action for resistance. Crowism allows to sound the oppressed, and marginalized gender voice and provide a new approach.
Therefore, it is important for me to present the article of Linda Nochlin in this context to clarify the broad meaning of Crowism and not just the visual means that is represented in my personal work.
'Why are there no great female artists? ' is a significant and influential article in art history from 1971 written by Linda Nochlin[21].
[21]Linda Nochlin: January 30, 1931 – October 29, 2017,was an American art historian, Lila Acheson Wallace Professor Emerita of Modern Art at New York University Institute of Fine Arts, and writer.
An article that became a milestone in the history of research.
In this article, Nochlin argued that absence of great women artists in the history of art stems from economic, cultural and political restrictions as actions of control, oppression and exclusion of women that have been prevented from creating and developing their aspirations.
Nochlin presents the restrictions that were placed on women. What were they allowed to learn, to work, to be, and to develop – all in a very certain direction.
The restrictions and barriers in the economy, culture, academia and politics, that women faced, prevented them from studying in the academy, exhibiting, seeing each other and dealing with important issues. They were not allowed to be active as part of society.
Moreover, Nochlin presented a perceptual change and called for women to show their talent and be an influential part of culture, art and society.
In her article, 'Why were there no great women artists?' Nochlin goes against the consensus of exclusion, that prevented and worked against the development of women as part of human society.
Nochlin gives an example of a social cultural act of resistance to oppression, against exclusion and a call for action toward the advancement of women.
In Nochlin's article we can see a way to act and recognize the significant and influential female part in society, especially in art, despite the difficult and limiting conditions.
'Crowism' always accompanied us in history, culture and art throughout the years without giving it a name, a place, a thought and importance.
'Crowism' is something very strong, opposing, alienating and enduring.
Like the crow that is untamable, wild, nonconformist and rebellious.
'Crowism' has existed throughout history and will exist in new manifestations.
Now we have the opportunity to act, to free the crow, and change to a new way for women's sisterhood.
To remind each other and resonate with as many female artists or writers as possible, journalists or in any other field.
To create a clear sisterhood of women for each other.
'Crowism' in Academia – Case 2
To understand 'Crowism', we will observe a leading influential and important Israeli theoretician that we should take into consideration, Dr. Ruth Markus.[18]
who wrote the article 'Why are women excluded from the history of Israeli art?'
[18] Marcus Ruth is a Doctor in art history, Artist, Founder of The Association for the Study of Women's art and gender in Israel and a retired lecturer in the Department of Art History at Tel Aviv University. Dr. Markus has won awards, held senior positions, wrote books, articles and is a very influential figure in art and culture.
Markus presents the excluded and marginalized state of female artists in Israel despite the feminist revolution in the 1970s that bypassed the Israeli field.
Markus shows an action of exclusion and change, a typical 'Crowist' action of revealing society's alienation towards influential female artists who have already received recognition and awards.
The alienation towards a weaker part of the population is present and we should not ignore it. Instead, we need to recognize it and continue to create creative solutions. 'Crowism'
Markus main claim in her book Women Artists in Israel 1920-1970' [19]
is that there were many women artists and she enumerates and proves her words.
[19]Ruth Marcus, "Creative Women in Israel, 1920-1970" 2008. HaKibbutz Hamaucher Publisher.
Markus’ second claim is that there were many well-known, talented, forgotten female artists who exhibited in large and significant group exhibitions, were mentioned in positive reviews in a reputable newspaper and won significant awards in Israel and abroad.
Despite all this, they did not receive their place in the Israeli art field and did not present solo exhibitions or retrospectives.
Markus points out and proves the convention of excluding women and promoting men at their expense.
The social gender construction that was accepted in the country, was that women create inferior art that deals with less important and essential issues and therefore it is possible to rank them in a distinct way.
To this day, I receive dismissive responses from male artists and curators who see works of art on female subjects, and claim that these are pieces dealing with subjects that have already been discussed too many times, trite and boring subjects and certainly are no longer relevant to engage with.
And here is the place to mention the distinct action of the Crowism. The process of exclusion, erasure, is an action that we should think over and see how we can change it.
'Crowism' comes to point out some of the institutional goals, which educate for structured thinking patterns, which police and divide into groups; they separate and thus oppress, weaken and divide humanity. Like the division of women versus men.
Some of the policing institutional goals were to see women's art as less important art that deals with issues that do not concern men and therefore were not considered significant issues.
Markus, just like the detective crow who sees all the details and nothing is hidden from his eyes, brings the women artists back to the front.
The 'Crowist' gaze, researcher examines, probes, pokes, inquires, which is expressed in a humorous and elegant way, the excluded subjects are given a meaningful look and are part of humanity.
The Pants Study - Discovering through Crowism
On the 'Pants Case' I learned in an exciting seminar course with lecturer Dr. Naama Klorman Eraqi.
In the 19th century, a heated debate arose regarding the prohibition of women coal miners in several European countries from wearing pants. A subject that was so essential and important at that time disappeared and was pushed out of history books and became a marginal and dark issue in the school library [22].
[22] Patricia Penn Hilden, Woman Miners and the Woman Question, 1993, P.130-153. Oxford Academic
The issue of prohibiting women wearing pants made waves and aroused gossip about their sexual propriety. In addition it became a photographic attraction for photographers who traded in these photographs and even printed them in large size[23]
[23] Natasha forst, The Women Moners in Pans Who Shocked Victorian Bitain, 2017 Atlas Abscura.
Wearing trousers was an essential issue because it allowed them to work safely in the mines for a livelihood. These women simply tried to save their families from poverty and went to work under very difficult conditions.
Reports, prints, photographs and discussions tried to characterize those women as promiscuous, and society placed restrictions and fines on their indecent clothing.
The excitement surrounding the issue at the time and the attempt to oppress and control women just because the sight of women in a pair of pants unsettled and provoked some of the men who were invited to visit the mines is infuriating and irritating.
This sensitive issue of wearing pants shows the status and condition of women at the time and today. A subject so important has been excluded from the history of our culture, is not studied and does not receive acknowledgement[24].
[24] Patricia Penn Hilden, Woman Miners and the Woman Question, 1993, P.130-153. Oxford Academic
The idea of deciding on a woman's body, what is good and right for her to wear, because of the desires and whims of men resonates even more strongly today.
Here and thanks to Dr. N. Klorman Eraqi we may turn to the 'Crowist' gaze and simply observe, examine and check the reality.
It is interesting to dwell on the case of the pants as classic 'Crowist' evidence in two respects:
From the first point of view, this case can be seen as an attempt to control, oppress and even prevent women from earning a living and working in the coal mines.
And it's just because men were not used to seeing women in pants and this excited an increased sexual attraction among them.
From the second point of view the case itself was not taught in schools or documented.
I first heard about the Pants Study thanks to Dr. N. Klorman Eraqi in her seminar course at the University of Haifa.
It was very difficult to obtain more information on the subject. It is interesting to see this lack of resonance as an action of exclusion and alienation. The acute resistance to the prohibition, allowing women to work in comfortable clothing, is 'Crowism'.
Due to the resistance, women managed to prevent the act of oppression and began to walk around with pants freely.
This pants study is wild and distinct in its appearance, it characterizes and demonstrates the concept of 'Crowism'. How could such a big change not leave a lasting impression?
What is 'Crowism'
And What does it look like?
'Crowism' is a concept that discovers and reveals the position and status between marginalized populations and society, civilization and culture. In this study I will focus especially on femininity and women.
'Crowism' grew and developed from working in the studio as a metaphor for an action of alienation, separation from belonging, something untamable, wild, nonconformist, uncompromising, defiant, rebellious, independent, enduring, opinionated.
'Crowism' can be seen visually as a code language expressed through the means of humor, exaggeration, colors, objects loaded with meanings that are taken out of their context, lack, burden and disruption.
'Crowism' allows a broad understanding, resonance and reflection of historical, cultural, economic and political changes, as resistance to the forces exerted on femininity, on women and all genders.
These forces are expressed through means of oppression and policing that bring the person to obey and act according to the dogmatic values of religious and patriarchal [1] control.
[1]The concept of patriarchy: the rule of the father male elder who has absolute authority over the family group. It is also true in a social cultural structure such as council that has absolute authority over the entire community. Encyclopedia Britannica 2024 Patriarchy entry.
'Crowism' enables us to shed light on influential events that have been forgotten, have gone unstudied or unmentioned; they were erased and concealed from the view history.
'Crowism' makes it possible to observe and compare the characteristics of the crow and project them onto the relationship between the state and the people’s cultural motivation.
In art, 'Crowism' affects and appears through various visual means that threaten the conventions of the medium itself, canceling it, changing it and rebelling against the agreed principles.
Moreover, the 'Crowist' gaze raises issues that reveal actions of exclusion, cancelation, sabotage and destruction, whether it is through photography or other materials and media.
Using the 'Crowist' gaze, it is possible to see influential and important events from the past that still enable an alternative course of action.
The 'Crowist' gaze has a distinct quality of untamable independent thought, which cannot be restrained by a regime and cannot be adjusted to the pattern of Western society.
How 'Crowism' Began ?
The concept of 'Crowism' began from working on another image – the female rhinoceros.
The rhinoceros was my model for independence, power and motherhood. She raises her young separately from the herd, cannot be tamed and is an herbivore.
As a mother and a woman who managed to get out of a violent marital relationship, the rhinoceros was a source of optimism, strength and modesty for me.
I chose to turn to the crow because of the rhinoceroses' attributed meaning of conformist, derived from the play 'The Rhinoceros' by Eugene Ionesco[2].
[2] Eugene Ionesco wrote the play Rhinoceros and attached to the rhinoceros the attitude of walking with conformism and lack of independent.
The crow is an inspiration for me as a strong, threatening and free animal that has the ability to see like a detective that investigates the evidence scattered before his eyes. Like the wise and frightening crow that symbolizes the loss that appears in Drora Dekel works.
Drora Dekel is an Israeli-women artist who deals with the image of the crow in contexts of death, loss, and wisdom.
The Orans[5]Gesture - Deletion
The change in the early Christian representation of the 'Divine Mother'
from a representation of a leading woman to a submissive mother
[5] The Orans gesture is a position in which women or men spread their arms to the sides and direct their gaze at the viewers. This gesture is a representation of higher clergy like a Bishop, an apostle or a leader.
The gesture called the Orans gesture is an attribute I researched in a seminar paper: 'Reflecting the important position of women through their representation in the early Christian art'[6].
[6] Seminar led by Dr. Fishhoff Gill, The University of Haifa.
There are few surviving depictions of women in the Oran's gesture. Most of them were destroyed or covered.
Christianity, which began as a small movement that was supported and operated mainly by women, was a persecuted religion. Until the fourth century AD, when emperor Constantine embraced Christianity and turned Christianity into a dominant religion.
At the same time as the spread of Christianity, restrictions began on women reaching high clergy positions. We know this from documents. For example, in his correspondence Pope Gelasius complained of the too-high status of women in Christian clergy, which allows them to hold liturgical ceremonies, mass and other functions that he claims are intended only for man[7].
[7] A. Kateusz L. Badini Confalonieri, 2021, Women Leaders in and around Fifth-Century Rome, Oxford University, p. 248
In addition, there are several frescoes[8] found in the catacombs in Italy which depict women Bishops performing various traditional liturgical rites. There are also scriptures in which we see descriptions of women in high clergy positions.
[8] Fresco is an ancient technique for wet painting on a wall using different pigment from nature.
When Emperor Constantine adopted Christianity, the move to exclude women from high position in clergy gained momentum.
This move of transforming the image of female representation of the Christian religion from a missionary and leading woman to a submissive woman is an example of a 'Crowist' point of view.
A leading and central image in our culture that affects the female perception changed to controlled and oppressed woman.
Looking at this case is like the crow from the song 'Crow Alights' By Ted Hughes. The crow investigates death, sees everything and nothing escapes his notice. So is the concept 'Crowism'. The crow is a strong, threatening and free animal that has the abilities to see like a detective that investigates the evidence scattered before his eyes.
The action of calling attention to the deletion of depictions of women in frescoes from the beginning of Christianity in the catacombs is an example of a 'Crowist' view.
The deletion, exclusion and concealment are shifts that existed since the beginning of mankind.
The prevention of women from the ability to lead, to act, to be influential, appears throughout history. Following the change of the emperor Constantine who adopted Christianity, the representation of The 'Divine Mother' changed to a humble submissive woman who does not dare to raise her head.
A leading and central image in our culture that affects the female perception changed to a subdued, controlled and oppressed woman.
'Crowism' is an inseparable part of art, culture, society and political actions. A concept that illuminates phenomena of exclusion, control and oppression.
The act of erasing cases, canceling them, concealing them, and not echoing them throughout history is an accepted and widespread process throughout history, determined by historians and elected officials based on political and economic considerations.
Thus, here and now we have the opportunity to think it over, characterize it, give it a name, resist and suggest something else – CROWISM.
Miss Piggy - Humor and tragic humor
What makes us laugh ?
Miss Piggy, the character of a female pig who survived the 70s and became a celebrity, is an example of 'Crowism'.
The Muppets Show’s aversion to and laughter at Miss Piggy, which educate the audience to laugh at alienation and humiliation, demonstrate the influence television has on collective memory. This is 'Crowism', a concept that is present and penetrating in our living room, without us ever remembering how it came to us. This is how television educated us to consume culture, enjoy it and laugh at it[13].
[13] Samantha Brennan, Miss Piggy’s Feminism, Jim Henson and the Magic of Maythem, p. 23, 2015, Rowman & Littlefield Publisher
We know Miss Piggy today as a strong positive and rebellious feminist figure. But initially, Miss Piggy was famous because of her extroverted violent and impulsive behavior. Miss Piggy was a despicable and humiliated character, and despite her transformation, when we want to describe a violent and untrustworthy despicable person we compare her to Miss Piggy. Despite all her misdeeds and impudent behavior, Miss Piggy had courage and self-confidence.
Furthermore, Miss Piggy did not conform to the known and accepted female beauty model of the time, which was a thin ideal.
Her representation as a weighty figure is not understood by society today in the same way as during the original airing.
At the time, Miss Piggy seemed heavy with movement due to being overweight. However, Miss Piggy did not give up and showed very good athleticism and physical ability both on the television show and in her various photo shoots.
Miss Piggy is an example of alienated bond behavior. A hostage behavior. The behavior of a violent, offensive, humiliated and despicable female character who reached the status of a beloved celebrity despite and because of her aggressive and ridiculous behavior.
'Crowism' is a critical point of view. The way in which society maintains an alienating relationship with the character of Miss Piggy is an example. The 'Crowist' gaze shows the great success of the female character in reaching the status of being popular by means of laughter, aggression and injustice.
Like Ted Hughes’ poem, the detective crow sees everything and looks at the evidence from above.
'Crowism' shows us the truth that we laugh at.
I felt sorry for Miss Piggy as a child. When I watched the show and saw Miss Piggy behave in such a violent manner and be humiliated. I didn't understand why everyone thought it was funny. It was an experience that accompanied me as a child and led me to examine this subject and understand it.
Today I understand that society creates rules, dictates fashion trends and educates us to choose, love and consume them.
The 'Crowist' action demonstrates reveals violent, aggressive and degrading behavior towards women and gender in general.
What gives us 'Crowism'?
'Crowism' is a phenomenon that exists in us by virtue of being human beings and part of nature. The law of survival is present in society despite the policing culture and the limits that humanity sets for itself.
'Crowism' came to awaken our attention and change the course of exclusion. To give a phenomenon name and prevents populations from being silenced, marginalized and humiliated.
'Crowism' dwells on erasure, exclusion and uncovers all the evidence and helps us understand the relationship with the environment, nature, countries, cities, the sea, agriculture, people, groups and more.
To see what is present and what is not present. What was written in history and what was not written.
What is allowed to be photographed and presented, and what is not.
Like the erasure of the female figures in the early Christian frescoes which were evidence that women were in the position of bishop, which was perceived as too high in the eyes of certain men.
The familiar representation in Christianity to this day is of a submissive woman who does not dare to look straight ahead. A representation that changed at the beginning of Christianity from a leading woman to a submissive woman.
Another example of a 'Crowist point of view was the attempt to forbid women who worked in coal mines in the nineteenth century to wear trousers.
'Crowism', which presents those dark cases that did not receive fame or reference, provokes thought and a course of action.
Despite the widespread opposition, women did in fact go to work in the coal mines in trousers to save their children from poverty.
'Crowism' instills a set of values: the wild, which goes against the concepts and constructions that serve the doctrine of the patriarchy and creates a new and enabling reality.
For example, the words of Dr. Ruth Markus, who presents first-rate Israeli women artists who were excluded from art history and did not receive reference and representation in the art field in Israel. This is a Crowist action.
'Crowism' reveals a bigger picture and the marginalized populations’ impact on society as a whole.
'Crowism' shows other ways to allow creating and sustaining a more conscious reality, that makes room to see influential women as part of society.
In summary, this small study tried to shed light on specific, individual cases of erasure, that were suppressed and did not receive any resonance in human history.
In addition, the aim was to present a possibility that enables improved and shared thought and action.
'Crowism' is inseparable from my art. It is present in the way I observe reality, choose to represent, think and create.
Through the 'Crowism' I explore, develop and discover additional parts of my work and approach to creating art.
The use of cues in the photographic technique as a code language is part of my style. The exposure, the discovery, the broken objects or crooked objects placed carelessly as if testifying to the relationship with the cultural society.
The use of recycled materials in sculpture, broken, rusty, punctured, run-over materials, reveal society, tell more details about the relationship we have with the environment, society, consumer culture and the place of art.
The visual representation of the objects present in the photographs indicates the type of relationship we have to the environment in which we are living.
This is 'Crowism' that reveals, examines, sees the place of art and culture in our society and help develop learn and get to know myself.
Representations of 'Crowism' in art, culture, society and history
The 'Decisive Moment'
The photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson came to the distinction of the 'decisive moment' in photography. It refers to that ephemeral and spontaneous moment of the photograph in which the essence of the fleeting event appears.
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer (1908-2004). A pioneer in the genre of street photography, and developed the concept of the 'decisive moment'.
In my works the "decisive moment" in which the photograph takes place presents the background, the lighting, the composition, but the central object that drives the action of the photograph is not present, is missing. It looks like a glimpse of the set just before the action.
The idea of erasure, concealment, lack of an object, a lack of a photographic motive, raises a 'crowist' observation.
The 'Crowist' point of view on art and culture creates a complex and activating relationship with the viewer.
A nexus of thought inquiry and observation from several non-human angles. Contrary to the concept of the 'decisive moment', the 'Crowist' gaze is aimed at several places, it does not have a central focus in photographs.
The idea of abstract as a form of defiance that goes against clear representations of distinct forms is part of the concept of 'Crowism'.
When we look at something that is not fully deciphered for us, the 'Crowist' gaze allows us additional meanings and distant perspectives, like a crow.
Undeciphered or not fully deciphered images, meaning an abstruse or undefined form.
Defiance through abstract.
The abstract leaves the viewers staying for a moment, stopping, thinking and interpreting what they see, what is understood from it and what remains unfathomable or receives meaning from the viewer himself.
The 'Crowist' gaze comes to rebel against what is dictated to us by the legality and rules of photography, art, society and culture.
Thus, the 'Crowist' gaze is an independent point of view that is expressed like a code language through humor, undefined forms, fractions and segments.
It is possible to adopt the characteristics of the 'Crowist' perspective and examine with it the culture, society, politics, economy and more.
It is like spectacles that sharpen the perspective and enable investigation and examination of choices, social and cultural constructions and influential economic and political moves.
I will present some examples of 'Crowism' in historical, social, political, and cultural movements that exemplify this concept.
Bibliography
Ally Kateusz, 2019, Mary and Early Christian Women, Rickmansworth, London.
A.Kateusz L. Badini Confalonieri, 2021, Women Leaders in and around Fifth-Century Rome, Oxford University.
E. Gombrich. Korot al-Hanet.1950. Phaidon.
Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven. 2019. Barnes & Noble Press.
Gardner, Richars, 1987. The Parental Alienation Syndrom and Differentiation Between Fabricated and Genuine Child Sex Abuse. Creative Therapeutics.
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Daphna Reves
In my work the winding line in the drawing with a black pen figuratively depicts an implicit image, which is erased and revealed, of a crow looking to the side. A line that gives details and erases them simultaneously.
The line that draws and erases at the same time corresponds with the elusive concept of 'Crowism' that presents and influences society, culture, and art.
