The High Malar
David Julian Cubby
“Driven by an innate extended physiological proprioception we ‘feel’ with our eyes and ‘touched’ in response, transforming ourselves into the embodiment of photograph. It may be that the model and viewer interchangeably aspire to become sealed as thin and close to a two-dimensional being as a three-dimensional object can physically be, like the page of a magazine or strip of film sealing the image and fixing the gaze both ways. “It seems to me that today all American women have high cheekbones, long graceful legs, delicate wrists and thin hands,” says Beaton… A generation ago nobody had high cheekbones. Now everybody has them. I don’t really understand how women manage to change their actual bone structure, but apparently, they do.” (British fashion photographer, Cecil Beaton, 1956). The zygomatic or malar bone shapes the prominence of the facial cheek, there appear no historical precedents within western culture of high cheekbones accepted as an essential characteristic of beauty prior the widespread advent of photography and movies. Nothing of the elevated malar until the development of early professional lighting within industrially nascent, monochromatic, fashion photography, glamorous movies, and commercial styling. At that modernizing moment, high cheekbones arrive in magazines, movies, salons, advertisements, and everyday conversation. Subsequently, facial features of the industrial era became refracted through studio lights and camera pentaprism casting a vacant photogenic gaze, deep large eyes, pale complexion, full lips, straight medium-sized nose, paired back oval ears, white teeth, long neck, almond-shaped visage, and high malar bound within symmetrical countenance.
Gallery
Dr David Cubby is an educator, artist and photographer and Adjunct Fellow with Western Sydney University (WSU), Australia. Following two years of Art and Design Foundation Studies, Solihull Technical College UK and three years graduating with a DipAD Fine Art, Experimental Studies from Brighton Polytechnic Art and Design Faculty, David migrated from the UK down through Asia to Australia in 1974. He has since graduated with a GradDip Visual Arts (Photography) Sydney College of the Arts, MFA Research CoFA UNSW and a DCA Photo-media Western Sydney University. He has taught and researched part-time then full-time photography, fine art, design and communication media, theory and practice variously at the Australian Centre for Photography then Australian universities including the University of New South Wales, University of Newcastle NSW, Charles Sturt University and Western Sydney University. He has given workshops, seminars and presentations on his own art and photographic works internationally including at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College of London, London Institute, Chelsea School of Art, University of Derby, School of Design; University of Brighton, Fine Art and Critical Practice, University of California, Berkley, California University of Technology, Brisbane. David has a research focus on visuality and its impact on language and thinking, he has presented and published papers on photo-media at major international conferences and is currently working a publication via Common Grounds Publishing, Champaign, Illinois USA; publication. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the International conference and Journal of the Image and Past-President of the Australian Photo-Imaging Educators Association (PIEA). He has research and applied interest in China since 2000 David has taught and advised on the development syllabus and facilities for Design Photography Shenzhen Senior Technical Institute; exhibiting, curating and supporting workshops and international exchange projects via 5A1 Art Space, Shenzhen PRC; as well as being Chair of Australia-China Creative Culture Industry Ltd. He has photographed in China, Thailand, India, America and Europe. His photographic and film works have been exhibited at many international venues including the Sydney Biennale of Art and Sydney Perspecta and his work is widely published. His photographic works are held within the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales AGNSW, Fuji ACMP, Powerhouse Museum, Western Sydney University and numerous private collections.