The Inherent Idealism of ‘Woman in Bath 4’

An essay for Year 10 Community of Inquiry (Philosophy), where the task was to write an essay comparing a visual artwork to Philosophical Theories on the relationship between the Mind and Body.

The Woman in the Bath series by Brett Whiteley is an exploration of the human form, the female body and the ability of the body to represent emotions and the state of the mind. This series was painted of Whiteley’s wife Wendy and intended to portray the beauty of Wendy. However, the artwork has had many different interpretations and can be explored subjectively. The composition of the artwork, specifically in the features of the human form that have been omitted, means that this artwork can be linked philosophically to an Idealistic perspective on the mind-body problem. This mind-body problem is the historic issue looking at the relationship between the mind and the body, and more broadly the relationship between mental properties and physical properties. In relationship to art specifically, the mind-body problem has been explored through the depiction of the human form, through many different mediums, inviting questions of what it is meant to be human and exploring ideals of beauty and function. Many artists seek to challenge these ideal representations by exploring different movements, such as Abstraction and Surrealism, to explore the psychological expression of humans. Despite the surface physicalist values found in the portrayal of the naked body, further analysis into the context of the artwork and the symbolism of ‘headlessness’ allows an Idealistic interpretation. The key importance of this artwork is found in its link to further discussion into the ethics of the portrayal of the female nude, and looking further, the expression of female identity in a historically male-dominated profession.

 ‘Woman in a bath 4' was one of a series of five paintings created by Whiteley in a period from 1963 to 1964. This painting was created in 1963 and reworked by Whiteley in 1964. Whiteley was an Australian painter who was influenced by the works of Vincent van Gogh and post-war British painters such as Francis Bacon. This painting was created in oil, paper, fabric collage, graphite and tempera on plywood, with these materials creating a textured and three-dimensional effect. It is a relatively large painting (183.1 x 218.7cm). The majority of the work is taken up by a plain, dark blue and slightly textured background, with the focal point of the piece found in the bottom right of the work. The work is an abstract and surreal portrayal of the human form. The showerhead is seen, with white paint as a representative for water being sprayed onto the form below it. The bathtub can also be identified by a ring around the top of it that defines it, although arguable it is unidentifiable without the title. On the left side of the bathtub-like shape can be seen two small curved, leaf-shaped objects with curved cross shapes on top, resembling two taps. The focal point of the work is the naked body seen within the borders of the bathtub. The form does not have a visible head and is made up of curved shapes and lines. The form is painted in cream, tan and fawn colours, representative of human skin. Possibly identifiable are arms and a human torso, although the rest of the form is not clearly shown, with lines of different colours intersecting over the form. Overall, there are few sharp or jagged lines throughout the piece.

Focussing on the mind and body, the physical form of the body is most clearly represented in this artwork, yet inferences can be drawn on the state of the mind. The naked form is the focus of the artwork. Despite this, there is no head, which is the element of the human body that the mind is typically considered to originate from. 

 The series by Whiteley was created because of his preoccupation with the female torso and body as a whole, and are paintings of his wife Wendy in the bath. He met Wendy (born Wendy Susan Julius) when she was an art student and was married to her until their divorce in 1989. Wendy featured in many of his artworks, but most notably this series. According to Whiteley in 1964, these paintings and all others painted around this time were “concerned one way or another with sex and the desire to record sensual behaviour”. 

‘Woman in a bath 4’, and the series it belonged to, have had a range of subjective interpretations by art critics. Many see the series as Whiteley intended, as a celebration of the female body and an exploration of sexuality. The series was representative of “his intoxication for Wendy, who became his lover, marriage partner, friend, critic and combatant for the next thirty-two years”. The human figure is at the forefront of the artwork and the painting is at least voyeuristic, and at most inherently sexual, as Whiteley intended. The artwork is celebrating the physical processes of the human body and as such invokes feelings of power and strength found in normal domestic lives and activities. Interestingly, this artwork and the entire series by Whiteley contrasts greatly to the typical portrayal of a naked body, specifically that of women. Traditionally a naked body is associated with vulnerability and the act of being taken advantage of, merely because of the historical abuse and roles of women. In this painting however there is no sense of vulnerability- there is a sense that there is a trusting relationship between the artist and subject, and that we are being allowed by choice to view this moment. A sense of choice is obvious in this painting. It is difficult to say where this feeling comes from, although perhaps the position of the figure hints at it; she looks very natural and unreserved. Through this artwork, one can understand the feelings of the subject, even without viewing a face or facial expressions. The amount of emotion that can be portrayed by the positioning of the body in a particular way is surprising. The use of colour by Whiteley is also a way to suggest emotion in this piece. The colours are dark in the background, but the figure is completely illuminated, with only slightly darker colours used in the shadows. On the one hand, the brightness of the figure creates a positive emotion. However, the contrast between the figure and the background also isolates it and suggests feelings of loneliness.

 The body in this artwork is not entirely posed or even overly idealised, suggesting the beauty that Whiteley perhaps found within his wife that was not dependent on external appearances. The lack of jagged lines adds to the organic and natural aspect of this piece. 

 Despite this artwork not being entirely realistic, the viewer can still immediately recognise that the painting is of a figure. Yet, when asked to identify actual parts of the human body that can be seen within the artwork, there is little except a torso and possibly the curve of arms. The lack of a head is particularly important in this artwork, as it suggests that the human body can be identified without a face. This could be representative of the mindlessness within physical activities or even that the mind is completely separate from the body and found in another place apart from the head.

Concerning the mind-body question, ‘Woman in the bath 4’ and the entire series, provides an interesting perspective. The surface Physicalism of the artwork, with its representation of the body as the sole focus of the composition, can be looked past on further inspection into the symbolism found within the work. Traditionally, the head is typically the place where the mind is considered to be found, so the omission of the head is extremely important to the mind-body problem. The body is still functioning without a head, suggesting that the mind is not necessarily restricted to inhabiting the head, but could be found anywhere. This is an essentially idealistic approach- that the mind is the cause of everything and found everywhere, not necessarily restricted to the body. 

 Another important aspect of this artwork is that in subjective interpretations, the viewer can experience the emotion’s found within the artwork and, presumably, in the scene where this is painted, without facial expressions or human communication. There could also possibly be something of Wendy’s personality shown throughout the colour scheme and the artwork as a whole. This is again an idealistic suggestion, that the mind is the true cause of everything and able to express itself regardless of the existence of a head. 

 In surrealist depictions of women’s bodies, facelessness often supports the dualistic nature of the mind-body problem. This artwork does support the existence of the mind, as shown by the emotion able to be shown by the artwork, and also supports the existence of ‘a body’; although possibly one that has been imagined by the mind. Many artworks from the beginning of the 20th century express the sentiment proposed by Otto Weininger, that “the female is soulless and possesses neither ego nor individuality, personality nor freedom, character nor will.” The headlessness of these women was thought to represent their lack of mind, but this contrasts to Whiteley’s personal view of the painting, that it is a celebration of his wife. The artwork contains a certain gravity in its persistent defiance of the idea of the mindless, sexual nature of women.

The near-abstract nature of the artwork also links to an idealistic perspective on the mind-body. As it is difficult to identify different parts of the body, it is possible to imagine that this is a link to Idealism; it is hinting that the body could be imagined, and what we consider to be our ‘real body’ is just an image created by the mind. If this is true, then it does not matter what we presume our external appearance to be, as this does not exist in the way that we believe. The artwork could also relate to the idea of a collective unconscious proposed by Carl Jung, in which the structures of the mind and knowledge are shared between members of a species. We all may construct Wendy in a particular way in our minds, but this artwork seeks to show that this may not be the true form of Wendy- it may just be knowledge that exists within all of us. 

 The ‘Woman in the Bath’ series also provides insights into considerations surrounding the representation of the body in art. This is a question of an ethical nature. As this artwork is of a naked human form, it allows us to explore the key consideration of whether it is ethical to portray the naked female form in art, and what should one do to ensure the situation in which this artwork is created is not one taking advantage of the subject? In this particular artwork, we know that the latter question is not of great issue, for the artworks were made of Whiteley’s wife with consent. Yet, these questions are still raised when exploring the wider variety of paintings depicting the body. A more modern example of the issue of consent and the portrayal of the female body in art can be seen in America. The Guerrilla Girls, a group of anonymous American female artists, has worked to expose sexual discrimination and the disparity that exists between men and women in the art world. Their artwork ‘Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum’ was accompanied by the statistics that only 5% of the artists in the Modern Art Sections are women, despite 85% of the nudes being female. This statistic exposes firstly the lack of identity of women; these nudes are not being painted by women themselves, meaning that men are deciding the particular way that the female form is depicted. Secondly, it shows the disparity in the gender of artists that have been included in exhibitions and questions the morality of not representing a whole gender in the art world. Additionally, there have been many contradictions raised historically in this argument of the ethics of the female nude. A particular area of history that is at the forefront of analysis is Renaissance art. According to Benjamin Neiley, female nudity in this time can be seen to “reduce women to their sexuality and inherently perpetuate sexist ideals”. He notes that in many circumstances in the Renaissance era, the artworks were commissioned, controlled and created by men and so took away the autonomy of the women and her own decisions. In these cases, the identity of a woman was not depicted in the way she wished, and so instead of celebrating the beauty and identity of women, the artworks were taking advantage of the female body. Thus, this artwork also links to the broader question of how the body defines our identity. In the cases of these Renaissance artworks, we can see that the body does not truly define identity, because this identity is decided by other people. Yet, when decisions are made with autonomy there is the suggestion that the body can be empowering and represent the strength of women. With the traditional dominance of men in the art industry, males “ensure feminine subjects are depicted in line with the tastes and desires of men” (Benjamin Neiley, 2018). This expression of the female body is unethical as it does not depict a real body, but the ‘ideal’ body, a proposition that encourages body dysmorphia. From some perspectives, the ‘Woman in the bath 4’ could be seen to encourage these ideals, as it does not give a name or identity to the woman found in the bath, but merely calls the figure ‘woman’. The fact that Whiteley did not include the name of his wife may be interpreted as disrespectful, with the accompanying presumption that she was just another ‘naked woman’. Yet we do know that Whiteley intended this work to be a celebration of his wife and made it known that the work was about Wendy, not attempting to conceal the identity of his muse. Overall, this artwork shows that to create an ethical situation, the autonomy of women’s expression must exist.

Brett Whiteley’s ‘Woman in bath’ series allows greater discussion into the mind-body problem and issues of female portrayal within art. Despite the surface physicalism apparent in the work, idealistic values are apparent in the symbolism of the missing head, which suggests the mind is found everywhere and the cause of everything. Idealism is also seen in the abstract nature of the artwork, which hints that what we consider to be a ‘realistic’ interpretation of the human form is merely a construct of the mind. Overall, the artwork allows us to question the ethics of presenting a naked female within art and challenges historical presentations of the body.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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