Second Painting in Triptych Released

Lala Drona continues her project on “The Female Frame” finishing the second painting in the triptych.

The project “Female Frame” is a response to the question “What would the world look like through female eyes?” She states: “While growing up, a lot of emphasis is placed on how girls look and present themselves to the world. Images of “the trophy wife,” an object used only to increase the status of the man next to her. The “instagram look,” where women are augmenting their bodies, both surgically and digitally, in exchange for audience approval in the form of likes and comments…”

Female Frame: The Stage, 2019, Acrylic on Canvas, 20cm x 20cm

“…When it comes to scrutiny, women’s bodies have always been open game. Open game to be commented on by passerbys on the street, to be ridiculed for how they dress or present themselves. This is why the stage is an appropriate setting for the next room represented in this project. Women are born into the role of entertainer to the masses; when they leave the home (private space) and go into public spaces, they are put on stage. And it’s once the entertainer is on stage that the public feels that they are permitted to comment on her, right? Because, after all, they wouldn’t go up there, on stage (into the public world) in front of everyone, if they didn’t want the attention, right?” This piece examines the societal role of “visual entertainment” placed on women when they occupy public spaces.

If you’d like to see more about the project “Female Frame” click here.

Questioning Our Images: The Female Frame

Examination of the image becomes vital in a period of history marked by the smartphone and its accessibility to image and video creation.  Lala Drona inspires others to question the origins of our daily images through her research into topics concerning le regard (the gaze).

Female Frame, 2019, Acrylic on Canvas, 20cm x 20cm

During her appearance at the Bienvenu Art Fair at the Cité des Arts in Paris, journalist and video editor Mathieu Mieleszko followed Lala Drona to document the release of her painting “Female Frame.”  In this video, Mieleszko delves into the artist’s intention behind the painting, and provides a link between her artistic universe and its real-world applications.  His cinematographic style in this video is influenced by concepts behind the piece, mimicking le regard which follows behind the artist during the exhibition.  The style critiques the traditional objectification of women depicted through the male gaze, as women in the video are not simply objects to be seen, but instead look back (appearances by: video artist Jamika Ajalon, and stained glass artist Alison Koehler).   

Lala states that her present work on the female gaze examines “issues in the lack of diversity in the transmission of images and stories throughout history.  Our images predominantly come from creators of the same profile (male, white, heterosexual).  It’s not to say that these stories are not important, it’s to say that it’s time to share the stage.  We want different stories, a broader understanding of the diverse human condition.  And it’s time to bring commonly silenced voices to the forefront.”

Video still from Mieleszko’s film

 Her painting “Female Frame” not only inspires others to question the profile of the person behind our images, but also the corporate and political entities.  “We are bombarded with too many images today, in the form of Instagram, and other social networks.  Advertisers and political campaigns are able to post images at the same level of importance as the images from our friends and community.  The infinite scroll feature facilitates the mindless consumption of these images, and we are only beginning to see the negative effects of this.” 

            Lala Drona intends to create three paintings under the concept of “the female frame.” 

Video editing by Mathieu Mieleszko:
https://vimeo.com/user20455396
Music in video by Sim Hutchins:
https://soundcloud.com/simhutchins
https://simhutchins.bandcamp.com/

The Art Gorgeous’ artists to know: “Three fresh takes on the female gaze”

What are the male and female gaze, and why are they so important to art history? On Tuesday August 13th, The Art Gorgeous published an article exploring just that. The article titled “Three fresh takes on the female gaze” by Katya Lopatko featured three artists which “are embracing and extending the female gaze, shaping the future of the art world with each stroke”(Lopatko).

Lala Drona, along with artists Helen Beard, and Samantha Louise Emery were chosen as “artists to you should know” when communicating the female gaze through paint on canvas. Read the article here: https://theartgorgeous.com/three-fresh-takes-female-gaze/