La representación de la(s)masculinidad(es) en el videoarte español (2000-2010)

Abstract

In this dissertation, we have sought to develop an analysis of the representation of masculinities through fifty works of made in Spain video art during the first decade of the 21st Century. In order to do this, we have selected those works of video art whose main subject is the questioning of hegemonic masculinity or the disclosure of subversive masculinities through the representation of the body. We have chosen pieces widely and currently accessible, which have been previously shown in the Spanish art scene. The heterogenic selection aims at representing the wide range of masculinities and works of video art. The applied methodology has been the critical analysis of audiovisual texts and the hermeneutic of images. We have sought to build up a multidisciplinary theoretical approach, following the recent principles developed by Visual Studies, Audiovisual Communication Studies and Film Theory, and based on the epistemology contrived by Queer Theory and Men’s Studies. Through the images shown in these works, we will be able to discover what are the mechanisms used in the construction of the male identity, in addition to the elements and attributes characteristic of the hegemonic masculinity model, a model which conditions the rest of the masculinities that exist within the social spectrum. We will be able to visualize the extensive range of masculinities constituting the current masculine identity through the different formats, styles and narratives that shape the contemporary Spanish video art. Such identity does not only include a single gender and a single sexuality, this new masculinity is made from different bodies with different status, races, genders and sexualities. Our dissertation shows the possibilities of video art as a critical tool against the patriarchal system and as a display for all these non-heteronormal masculinities.