Ch. 3 Power of the Gaze

I think the first thing that establishes power within a relationship of an objected being viewed and the viewer is whether or not the object knows that it is being viewed. Take a naked woman for example: if she doesn't know that she is being watched then the viewer has all the power; but if she understands that she is being watched, whether or not the viewer knows that she knows she is being watched, then she has a great ability to influence the viewer, and this would give her much of the power. Next you have to distinguish between whether or not the object is animate or inanimate. Most inanimate objects that are created are created to be seen by someone. The creator is trying to convey some type of message within the context of its culture and time period. I think that this gives the object much of the power within the relationship. It gives people an idea of what they're supposed to feel when they see it. The object is supposed to interpellate them. Then when the viewer gazes upon the object they can determine who they are within the context of the object. The viewer can either put themselves within the context or they can ignore the image. But they really can't give any feedback to the object itself, so the viewer's power is limited. There are some objects that are not supposed to be seen, just like there are some people who do not know they are being watched. In this case the viewer has much of the power. They are seeing something that is personal that was not intended to be exposed. They now have information that they weren't meant to have, and this gives them power. Some people like the idea of seeing things that they weren't meant to see. This is called Voyeurism.

Any time we see something there is much power in gazing, or looking long and hard at something, with an intent to understand it. Many times all we do is glance at objects or scenes. We lose out on understanding a lot of the creative design that the object holds.