#writtenwork

but for you ill trust in love again.

Hans Bellmer was a Surrealist artist and photographer from Germany. I wanted to research specifically his work surrounding the human body, femininity and mutilation. I was instantly drawn to his sculptures and his series of photographs entitled ‘The Doll’ or ‘La Poupée’. I find the way in which the body is presented quite disturbing. There is a strong connection to mutilation, abuse and violence captured within these photographs and the sculpture itself. Structurally, the shapes used seem quite fluid, like they are formed by gravity, weight or pressure. Furthermore, the smoothness of the shape and texture of the doll on the left makes it seem to posses this viscous appearance. You can see the surrealistic qualities within the work, especially the subversive and disruptive way that he presents the female body. Bellmer is showing this female body as something irrational, something that doesn’t fully make sense or goes against how we as a societal collective want to view our or others bodies. I see Julia Kristeva’s idea of Abjection captured within Bellmer’s work. Its hard not to see this doll as some type of corpse or reference to a corpse. As well as this obvious connection to death, I can also see the connection to mutilation. While viewing these photographs, I do think about photographs taken during World War 2 both on the battlefield and in the concentration camps. I think about injured soldiers on stretchers, hospitals and those who bodies were left behind. Dismemberment of the body instantly has a strong impact as it reminds me off my own physical body, morality and all the horrendous injuries and events that could possibly happen to me. Bellmer often photographed ‘The Doll’ wearing young girls’ little white socks and the black patent leather shoes. Incorporating children’s clothing, especially these items that are widely considered connected to school, childhood and innocence is very bold and impactful. Maybe this is due to the disturbing link of these items to the fetishisation and abuse of these young school children that is unfortunately always been a reality in our own society throughout time. Maybe Bellmer is trying to present this idea of abuse as something inconceivable, unthinkable and something that he cant, or the audience can’t make full sense of.  Abuse and more specifically sexual abuse are concepts that straight away make people feel very uncomfortable, similarly to the uncomfortable sensation of viewing these photographs. There is a sexual element to some of these photographs while others do feel very sexless. There’s definitely a confrontation between Bellmer presenting the sex and sexuality of the female body and Bellmer photographing the female body through an unforgiving and asexual lens. I lean towards the idea of Bellmer emphasising the breasts and genitals to create an uncomfortableness, presenting the obscene and pornographic but in a confronting rather than over sexualised way. Corruption of innocence and the corruption of this doll’s body is used in a way that makes the viewer think about their own corruption and sexual thoughts when faced with these images. 

For that was when there was an us and not a ‘you and me’.

~Cass

almost all the gags of the fic (from nearly veering off the road to profound buc-ees confusion to double penguins) were stolen from conversations with my friend, who also made me finish writing this one. so yay to that

but i feel deeply that her love of music and her desire to provide makes her strive to be someone like worth seeing, worth loving, even beyond providing. but to be a musician is to be a father!!! if she sets her sights on someone and she knows that person is nothing like her father (even if sometimes they get a story parallel (cough heart at 100.4)), then she can safely aspire to be that and to assume that role without also hating herself for following him. 🤔