Fine Arts Center

Although “the ideal spectator has always assumed to be male,” (Berger 1972) Trio by Walt Kuhn depicts all males, standing in womanish poses, wearing womanish colors. Trio punches Berger’s “always” in the face in a very manly way. This 1937 oil painting only hints to feminism by the way they stand and the clothes they wear. Why do they stand like this and wear these clothes? They are circus people. Two of the models for this painting were actual circus people, known as the Roma Brothers. Circus people are known for either their incredibly strong manliness (to where one can smell the testosterone and steroids from 50 paces) or for their lithe gracefulness. Can you pick which one Walt Kuhn intended to portray? I personally cannot. From the hips up, they appear to be very manly men (two of whom lost a bet and had to wear pink). Their arms are crossed, their hair is short, their expressions are masculine and the shoulders are thick with muscle. However, from the hips down, they are standing in a very feminine manner. If you cover the top halves of them, they might very well be women. Their legs are long, lean and graceful, their toes are softly pointed, they’re wearing what look to be our modern ballet flats. When Berger says that the ideal spectator is ALWAYS male, he hadn’t seen this painting that proves him wrong. The men I’ve asked about this painting say that it makes them a little uncomfortable because it’s like they’re trying to be manly, but they can’t quite hide it. The men I’ve asked also say that they can’t tell if the three men are gay or not. The mixture of femininity and masculinity seem to label something “gay” in our society, and women are far more comfortable viewing something like this than men.