Art and Audience – Vanessa Beecroft

Beecroft presents large groups of naked, semi-naked, or swimsuit clad women which resemble a high-fashion photoshoot. It creates a voyeuristic level of behaviour in the audience which brings attention to the ornamental portrayal of women in the media and also the way women are perceived in society. In reverse, she also depicts groups of men clad in military uniforms and aligned in military formations. The men are reversely depicted to the women as being anything but vulnerable and strong.

The performance invites the audience to observe and view them, but not to interact with them, it reduces them to a role of inadequacy in relation to the performers physical and behavioural perfection.