Other Eyes…Looking Both Ways in the Artist's Studio

Denise Kenney
24 minutes • 2003
Includes discussion guide

"An interesting and unusual look at the artistic process between a painter and his subjects…. an excellent tool for senior-level high school or adult classes."
– Associates: The Electronic Library Support Staff Journal
   (read full review)

Other Eyes examines what happens when five women take off their clothes and have their naked bodies rendered by artist Doug Jamha. The models, fully clothed, pose for the camera and speak directly to the viewer from within the abstract environment of the paintings themselves. Each grapples with her own self-image, as well as her concerns about being exposed to an artist—however professional the relationship. Several of the women find themselves liberated by the modeling experience. And Jamha, too, explores identity and sexuality issues from his side of the exchange.

Through the use of stop-frame animation, Jamha's paintings materialize on screen. The resulting animated portraits are interwoven into a colourful smorgasbord of image and thought. The film not only scrutinizes the exchange between model and painter during the still moments of a modeling session, but ultimately, reveals the mysterious complexity of honestly seeing and being seen.

Subject(s): Artists–Doug Jamha, Body image, Identity, Painting, Sexuality, Women