Realism in nineteenth-century spectacle demanded an isolated observing gaze

Evidence

For Hockney, this made the Picasso piece the more realistic of the two, since “[w]e do not look at the world from a distance; we are in it, and that’s how we feel.” — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 357 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Now cultural strategies that can make a difference—that’s what I’m interested in: those that can make a difference and can shift the dispositions of power. I acknowledge that the spaces “won” for difference are few and far between, that they are very carefully policed and regulated. I believe they are limited. I know, to my cost, that they are grossly underfunded, that there is always a price of incorporation to be paid when the cutting edge of difference and transgression is blunted into spectacularization. I know that what replaces invisibility is a kind of carefully regulated, segregated visibility. — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 277 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Webcam audiences descend from Victorian sensation-drama theatergoers who enjoyed and critiqued staged realism — Theresa M. Senft, Camgirls: Celebrity and Community in…, 139; The realism of colonial displays doubled the distance between observer and observed — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 72; The observing gaze is constituted by being set apart from its object — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 70 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Realism in art can mean immersive presence rather than faithful visual imitation #complicates (0.78) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 357
• Incorporation into spectacle blunts difference and leaves only regulated visibility #complicates (0.72) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 277