“Gender Euphoria is a psychological condition which consists of comfort or even joy when thinking about one's true Gender identity, often accompanied by a strong desire to change one's sex to better match their identity or to be called the correct gendered language.”
“Euphoria is actually the opposite to 'Dysphoria', or the absence of pleasure. It is thus pleasure, and is not directly attached to gender identity.”
“Can be split into top euphoria and bottom euphoria. Top euphoria occurs when “transmasculine people feeling top euphoria thinking about lack of breasts and masculine shoulders and arms, or transfeminine feeling top euphoria thinking about the presence of breasts on more feminine build. Bottom Euphoria is a term often used to describe one's comfort or even joy when thinking about their genitalia matching their gender identity.”
“gender dysphoria is “an important descriptive term”, but that it has “come to be seen by many people as the defining thing of being trans”. This is partly because a diagnosis of gender dysphoria marks the start of their journey in the healthcare system for many trans people.”
“Dysphoria is more familiar to us for another reason: it is easier to quantify suffering than joy. Many statistics reflect the weighty impact that dysphoria can have on people’s lives; Stonewall has found that almost half of trans people have considered taking their own life.”
“Gender euphoria is often experienced individually, but seeing other people experience it can have a ripple effect on the broader community. Theo* is a writer and emergency services dispatcher, who calls the feeling of gender euphoria a “small victory”. They say, “in recognising moments of joy and gender affirmation, we can lift ourselves and our communities up”. After seeing one of their friends start taking testosterone and glow with gender-affirmed happiness, Theo was able to reflect on what they wanted. They ultimately realised that starting on hormones was the next step in their gender journey. “It’s such a cool positive moment when you’re just looking at a selfie and you go, ‘oh wow. That’s me. I love this’,” they say.”
“As more people identify and name gender euphoria as a motivating factor in their gender journeys, conversations around gender will continue to shift.”
“Gender euphoria is incredibly valid. And it’s a blessing.”
these next quotes come from a book called Gender Euphoria: Stories of joy from trans, non-binary and intersex writers
“An unpleasant feeling of disconnect between our gender assigned at birth, and our own knowledge of our lived experience.” p.6 (Laura Kate Dale ed.)
“I’ve experienced countless moments of elation, pride, confidence, freedom and ecstasy as a direct result of coming out as a trans woman… and I know I am not alone.” p.7 (Laura Kate Dale ed.)
Describes gender euphoria as, “you try presenting yourself as something other than your birth assigned gender , and it makes you feel euphoric…” p.8 (Oliver Jones, 18, UK)
“When I changed my name and started using male pronouns, my relationships improved.”p.12 (Oliver Jones, 18, UK)
“Seeing myself in a suit felt incredible. I looked smart; I looked handsome. I was proud of myself for getting this far, and the boy I saw in the mirror was exactly who I wanted to be. I don’t think I could feel any more euphoric about my gender in one day.” p.15 (Oliver Jones, 18, UK)
“It hadn’t occurred to me that people might consider me the ideal candidate for prom king… I was walking up to that table to collect that sash and wear it with pride. I don’t think I have ever experienced a more gender euphoric moment. Undeniably, undisputedly, I was male.” p.16 (Oliver Jones, 18, UK)
“I’m a proud and confident trans man… looking forward to the future and whatever happens, I love and trust myself to get through it.” p.18 (Oliver Jones, 18, UK)
Gottmik (aka Kade Gottlieb) “(born August 19, 1996), better known as Gottmik, is an American drag performer and make-up artist. He became the first trans man to compete on RuPaul's Drag Race, tying for 3rd place in the thirteenth season.”. “Ever since I got my top surgery, I love having my chest out. I am living for it.” Gottmik said this on Ru Paul’s drag Race, season 13.
“The process of finding my drag makeup [aesthetic] helped me realise my gender identity. I didn't even have the language to know I was transgender; I knew something was off. I was testing the waters of what I was comfortable with. I was not a huge fan of how I looked when I was done up in girly, girly, girly makeup, but I did love expressing my feminine self a little bit. So how do I make this drag? It was very confusing. Then, when I painted my face white for the first time, not only were the colours popping more, but I felt like this alien creature. And I was still able to make everything pretty in a way. It was game over. I never looked back with the white clown face.”
Chas Bono:
“Ecstatic about having the [top] surgery, Bono said he hated his breasts from the moment they developed and that he has felt much better since having them removed.
"I never wear a shirt at home anymore, ever," he said.”
“Now, after being reintroduced to the world as Chaz, Bono said he had a newfound sense of peace.”
George Lawson and Wayne Sleep, 1972-1975. Acrylic on canvas – 80 x 120 cm.
Beauford Delaney was a painter known for his work with the Harlem renaissance during the 30's and 40's. the painting of his i have chosen to look at is an abstract, expressionist self portrait. there is a bold use of predominantly the primary colours which creates a striking image, the red serving as a vibrant background to his distinctive yellow and blue self. his use of line is erratic, it creates a sense of movement and business that makes the portrait feel alive. although i have not seen this painting in person it appears textured, not flat, because of the spontaneous looking way the paint has been layered. the squiggled orange lines tie the painting together for me. this portrait excites me because of the artist's choice of bold colour and irregular line.
David Hockney is a print-maker, painter and photographer from the UK whose work looks at nature, sexuality and relationships. In this work he uses two distinct colour pallets throughout his work consisting of soft neutrals and bold, vibrant shades. I find his use of tone very impressive, the subtle changes in the tonal values creates a deep softness within the painting. Contrasting to this softness is his use of clear lines which creates focal points through segmentation. For me the focal point is the doorway, further enhanced by the framing of the standing figure by the lines of the door and the open door itself which draws your gaze through the doorway beyond the figure. The lines further create a large inconspicuous background that highlights the seated figure within the foreground.
Delaney’s 1962 self-portrait
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter whose work consisted of self portraits around the themes of nature, Mexican culture and her own personal struggles. the painting i chose is quite interesting to me; the smaller portrait of her husband on her forehead symbolises how he was always on her mind, however the tears on her face and hair around her neck suggest she felt saddened and trapped by her thoughts and feelings for him.it looks like a very emotional painting. the colours in this painting are warm and deep, pulling your gaze into the picture which is dominated by her image. the lack of negative space further focuses you on her image like she wants you to see her and maybe understand her. throughout her portraits there is consistency on how she presents herself, she doesn't idealise or alter her image making her relatable. the absence of light seems to further indicate a possible melancholy, supported by her lack of expression. her honesty in the way she depicts herself inspires me.
Frida Kahlo's Diego y yo (Diego and i) 1949
This is one of nick caves sound suits. It's made of human hair in various colours.
Overall, I can describe the artwork as a wearable sculpture. As the suit wearer moves and dances it changes the whole surface of the piece
The suit has a long-rounded head which cave has likened to the head of a missile, Klansman uniform and the head of a condom, all things he connects to power.
Most of the suit if brown hair with patches of red, green, yellow, orange, purple and blue.
He uses the formal elements of shape texture form and colour.
At first look the visual texture is flat, smooth and almost slippery. As the piece moves the texture becomes fluffy.
nick cave made a lot of his earlier stuff, but he now has teams of seamstress' that construct the pieces.
His process starts with him looking at objects, finding a piece to base his work on. He then decides which part of the body he should put it on by placing it everywhere possible to make his decision. The other object then fall in place. The work makes me feel a sense of whimsy whereas knowing the reasoning behind the work makes me feel a mix of sadness and hope. Sadness because of the places nick cave gets his inspiration from. But I feel hope from his ability to communicate through his art and for people to view and understand it.
The background consist of red lines that make up odd quadrilaterals. The negative space is filled with black. This is an example of her infinity nets.
In the foreground there are nine mushrooms of different colours shapes and sizes. One of the mushrooms has an infundibuliform cap (cone shaped) and the rest are campanulate (bell shaped)
The lines are quite rigid as opposed to the freeform organic shapes; it creates an interesting juxtaposition of organic vs inorganic.
Kusama uses vivid and striking block colours that conflict with the natural subjects of her paintings.
She uses the formal elements of shape colour and pattern in her work. Although she doesn’t use tone in a traditional way I feel as though some of the patterns she uses , specifically the dot gradients, create their own unique form of tone.
The most recognisable aspect of Kusama's work is her patterns. In this piece alone she uses eight unique patterns such as dot gradients, dots, brick patterns, swirled brick patterns and 3 net patterns.
Most of Kusama's paintings are made on large canvases with thick paints, usually acrylic or gesso. This painting was done on a 24.5 x 33.5 cm canvas with acrylic paints.
The picture is a treat to the eyes, so much colour and shape, expressive and lively mark making, It feels slightly overwhelming to look at but has an odd aspect of calm to it.
Before looking closely, the painting looks like a jumble of patterns, the canvas overwhelmed with shape, line and colour.
Now I have looked more closely, I feel a certain sense of movement, almost a ripple like motion within the background.
on march 21st we went on a research trip to London natural history museum and the design museum. in the natural history museum i aimed to focus on finding organic shapes. i spotted some beautiful and intricate corals full of texture, shape and form. my favourite is the first picture on the left. the jagged lines and rough surface contrast with the negative delicate shapes within. the second coral intruiged me because of its form, it resembled cut, folded fabric. the third coral has the same jagged-ness as the first coral. the negative shapes look like small flowers.
the design museum had a fashion exhibition of recycled and sustainable materials.
past work-reflecting forwards
within my past work the overarching theme is gender and visual language is organic shapes and colour. i think this demonstrates how i express myself through art.
After evaluation.
After writing my evaluation I've chose to develop my project. At the start of the project I purposefully chose organic shapes as my focus. For a development I will look at geometric shapes instead.
Alice Ziccheddu living clothes
Inspired by the study of minerals, Ziccheddu creates her garments in 3D software first in order “to reproduce textures and volumes belonging to the natural world.“
Unlike many other designers who experiment with technology as a novel way of form making, Ziccheddu pushes her collection one step further by also adding technology into the garments themselves. Using a light sensor, Lilypad Arduino and nitinol, Ziccheddu creates clothes that collapse and pop-up, changing their shapes in response to light.
i enjoy the how the shapes create shadows within the clothes.