2.   BODY AND GAZE

1.    The gaze

Norman Bryson brought the conception of the“recognition” to fight to the “perception”. He insists that it is difficult to recognise under the pressure of perceptuarism. To make sure of the perception and to show what makes recognition difficult, he presents a system of visual communication by using the word ”gaze”.

 Bryson uses the word “gaze” to express his notion particularly in his book, “Vision and Painting”…….5. In summary, the gaze is social and traditional eyes that influence and make decision of our perceptions. This idea seems to come from the psychoanalytical conception of Jacque Lacan.

 Art critic, Michio Hayashi summarised his theory; “Lacan visualized the notion of Freud. However his important point is that he interpreted the visuality not only by the field of “perception” but also by the field of “meaning”. We are not only looking at the world but always are” distinguishing by separating them as a meaning. And more important thing is that distinguishing is not decided by individual intention, it is obeying the social division (possibility of exchanging in the society) that had existed from the first. And a subject can become a subject by getting in the field of meaning that has already existed. A subject is looking as a subject, but it is also looked by the field of meaning. It is divided in its double functions. In here Lacan calls the watch from the field of meaning as a “gaze”……..When we look at the world, we look it obeying the image that has already circulated. The vision that is gazed by previous images has to fight against several previous images by strategy to establish the subject”₁₁

 In the same essay, Masayuki Tanaka explains again; “human vision is under the control of the “ready made” visual system, and it forces us the previous connection between visual signifier and signified.”

 “By Bryson, this human vision is “the gaze” and the system of visual signifier is “visuality”………by Lacan, the subject as human is always having two visions that are fighting each other. One is the desire to complete our own view from our internal and another is signification by gaze which comes from the system outside (external).”₁₂

 This idea is the same thing as Yoshihiko Ikegami explained, “human communication is imperfect. It is flexible”₁₃,but in it there is a dynamism of creating new code and new signification among the battle of previous and new code. We cannot ignore the previous code that is our tradition when we see the paintings. And no others can avoid being influenced by their tradition=gaze, when they represent their perceptions.

Notes