Section 4. Ophelia in Bath Tubs and Swimming Pools Many of the images and videos of Ophelia's death set in a natural environment invite explicit comparison with Millais and other nineteenth-century artists who have drawn upon allusions to the natural world in Shakespeare's text. However, many contemporary works radically alter the setting, de-romantizing it, often shifting it away from the natural world, and, it may be argued, bringing it closer to the world of the average modern viewer. A significant number of postings, for example, place Ophelia in a bath tub. Indeed, It is worth noting, perhaps, that the prevalence of photographs of women in bath tubs has led to the formation of a Flickr group named "Sensual Bathtub." There is also an "Ophelia" group and an "Art of John Everett Millais" group and a Yahoo "Ophelia's Pool" group that contains a separate gallery of 193 images of Ophelia in a bath tub .[32] [Permission to use this Flickr image granted by its owner, Sebastian Hadfield-Hyde] The one glaring disjunction with our normal expectations regarding a person in a bath tub is that the young females depicted as Ophelia are usually clothed, often in some form of white dress that, as already noted, has become a recognized norm. Although the poses adopted and the degree to which Ophelia's body is revealed commonly introduce an obvious erotic dimension, the majority of Web 2.0 videos and images avoid nudity. There are exceptions (see the above Flickr image by Sebastian Hadfield-Hyde),[37] but nudity to date is not characteristic of the Ophelia icon. Just how much this has to do with a desire to preserve a key characteristic of the Ophelia icon and how much it stems from a recognition that photo-sharing sites like Flickr and FotoCommunity limit shared access to "questionable" material is unclear. Aware of the erotic potential of the Ophelia icon, however, several pornography sites have inevitably made use of the name, while an accomplished American photographer, J. C. Graham, has published a book of his nude photographs of young women under the title Visions of Ophelia. Graham's subject, according to the publisher's blurb, is described as follows: "... intimate insights into the emotional worlds of his young models. He focuses his lens on the soft curves, budding breasts, and pouting lips of youthful beauties who bewitch us with their innocent gazes."[38] [32] (http://www.flickr.com/groups/632254@N20/pool/with/3369431171/. Accessed January 11, 2010) And another called Girls in Bath" (http://www.flickr.com/groups/girlsinbath/. Accessed January 11, 2010). Such sites allow for works with related subject-matter to be retrieved and searched as a discrete group. The option of placing a work in a group rests with the individual creator. Although (as of 13 November 2009) the Ophelia group contains 746 photographs, many other Ophelia works have not been linked to the group and must be retrieved in separate searches. For the Yahoo group, see http://groups.yahoo.com/adultconf?dest=/group/OpheliasPool/photos/album/1331793248/pic/list. (accessed January 10, 2010).
[33] http://www.flickr.com/photos/squiddyface/3143096426/ (accessed November 24, 2009) and http://www.flickr.com/photos/zcn/3809332162/ (accessed November 24, 2009); http://www.flickr.com/photos/41944251@N00/3364536517/ (accessed January 10, 2010); http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosie_hardy/3063286091/ (accessed January 10, 2010).
[34] Some of the same points can be made about the videos and photographs that use a swimming pool as setting for Ophelia's death by drowning. See, for example, the videos by Kristin Schwanke (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiUpFnKWDpg&feature=related. Accessed January 11, 2010), nightshift368 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyMtrZ0pukQ. Accessed January 11, 2010), and Roland Hancock(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuufXr7Qdi0. Accessed January 11, 2010), and the photograph by Marcia Farquhar(http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahdoyle/196334916/. Accessed January 11, 2010).
[35] http://www.flickr.com/photos/mydeardelilah/3306194440/ (accessed November 24, 2009).
[36] (http://www.flickr.com/photos/popmonkey/2670008115/. Accessed January 11, 2010).
[37] See, for example, the works depicting a nude Ophelia that are listed elsewhere on this website.
[38] http://www.visionsofophelia.com/images/book_voo/index.htm (accessed November 24, 2009).
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