Gender aspects of embodiment in contemporary Czech art

This thesis analyzes key issues related to the various fornls of representation of gendcr aspects af enlbod iment in eonten~porary Czech visual art Based on case studies a.nd using thc !llethodology oť ferninisln, post strueturalism,\ and psychoanalysis~ this thesis discusses how development of Czech society after 1989 retlects itself in the work of selected Czech and Slovak artists. After providing a theoretical and philosophical introduction into the topie, I discuss the exhibitions that have dealt with the issue of ernbodil11ent in the Czech context Detailed analysis 1S devoted to the different manifestations af hetero- and homosexual desire. Two separate chapters focus on the ways in which pornographic visuality inspires eontetnporary Czech art and on the relation between eroticls1n and power respectively. Next chapter discusses the gender specific sources of bodily' abject. The following text analyzes various representations of femaie bodies (stereotypical roles, motherhood, specifica11y enlbodied subjectivlty, visuality of women's )ifestyle tllagazines, and the impact of beauty lnyth) as well as the various aspects of male embodiment (visual reinterpretation of masculinity, the role af penis in the construction of tnale's subjectivity, and the deconstruction af maje genius). Finally~ tne thesis..