Sarah Lucas

Self-portrait with Fried Eggs 1996 C-print 167 x 119 cm 65¾ x 47"

Sarah Lucas emerged as part of a group of a young british artist movement in the 1990's, she studied at Goldsmiths College.  Her works are made up of found objects, collage, photography and are based on visual puns. This is a self portrait print featuring Lucas on a chair with two fried eggs on top of her clothes where her breasts are. She is sitting in what society would pronounce a 'masculine' way with her legs open and isn't wearing any makeup or provocative clothing, highlighting her  determination to remain angrogynous.
The piece seems very bold, highlighted by the visually blocked monochrome floor tiles. The composition of the photograph looks quite stereotypically 80's or 90's because of the furniture and how she is dressed. There is an ash tray and cigarette packet on the floor and the eggs are the only  thing which look out of place.

Found in the national portrait gallery, Lucas has a collection of twelve iconic self-portraiture photographs where she explores the identity of herself as a female. She uses these 'masculine' poses to highlight her puns and challenge stereotypes of sexuality. I am predicting any self portrature photographs taken by my female close family and friends will be subjected to what looks 'beautiful' or 'sexy', and if it is i may then attempt to play with puns myself on top of the photographs through collage/paint, which may then result in works which look more like those of Judy Chicago. On the other hand if i use digital photography and highlight the images i could capture some of the stereotypes similarly to Cindy Sherman.

Sarah Lucas (B. 1962)
Great Dates
photocopy, collage, paint and photography on masonite.
88 x 56in. (223.5 x 143.5cm.)

This collage is made by Sarah Lucas. It features the artist herself eating a banana and wearing a leather jacket, possibly highlighting her androgynous nature and need to remain this way. With the rest of the piece featuring female nudes and sexualised imagery, it is hard not to take her pose and put in in a provocative concept.  Due to her feminist nature, this juxtaposition was no doubt her aim for the piece to provoke audience reaction and bite back at the representation of women in the media.
After researching the piece, I came across this quote.

'With only minor adjustments, a provocative image can become confrontational converted from an offer of sexual service into a castration image.' The minor adjustments Lucas may be referring too here are pages from 'The Sunday Sport' newspaper, collaged onto board, which form the backdrop to this act of feminism. Taken straight from the news stand, the pictures of naked women show how the idea of objectifying women as a sexual toy has become every day and put them together to show how demeaning they are to every day women.

‘’I don't take pornography as my subject; I take the acceptable stuff available at 25p - common currency, rather than the deviant or marginal,' Lucas explains." (S. Kent, 'Young British Artists II', London 1993).
These images are the ones I am currently using in my own images, and this work by Sarah Lucas has influenced the reasons why. Because these are the representations we see on a daily basis and are deemed ‘acceptable’ when they are clearly not, porn is porn and objectifies on an entirely new level, however, it is these daily stereotypes of the naked woman shown in every day newspapers that need to be re-assessed by everyone who may simply flick past them.