nude. (The sight of it as an object stimulates the use of it as an object.) Nakedness reveals itself. Nudity is placed on display. To be naked is to be without disguise” Semmel realizes that women have been tainted not by them being nude within these paintings, but mainly from the male viewer who interprets them as nothing but naked, which immediately sexualizes them personally therefore making them associate that with any female they find attractive. It's insulting and degrading. Semel even has been quoted saying it herself; “I am always asked the question about my feelings of being publicly naked, and I always answer: It isn't me, it's the painting,” She forces the viewer to keep in mind the whole concept of nudity opposed to being naked by making most of the individuals in her paintings anonymous and keeping their faces hidden. This element is beneficial because it therefore compels the viewer to focus on the sexual connection itself and the personal interaction instead of two specific individuals. Self-portraits During the summer of 1973, while teaching at the Maryland Art Institute in Baltimore, Semmel began painting what she calls “the idea of myself as I experience myself, my own view of myself.” The self-portraits such as Me Without Mirrors (1974) include the artist's body from about the collar bone to the feet and do not include her face. Source photographs for the large-scale paintings were taken by the artist, or in some cases by a friend “as close as possible to the artist's viewpoint.” Several self-portraits such as Intimacy and Autonomy (1974) include a male partner. In these paintings, “the nude no longer appears as an idealized fantasy, allegorical figure, or landscape of desire but rather as the self-apprehended body of a specific woman.” Relating Semmel's Self-Portraits to Society (Interpretation) Lastly, with her imagery, Semmel likes to exhibit the importance of the reality of the human body, tearing apart the everlasting evolving image of what an “attractive female” is within society. She uses herself and other females to express the reality of how age, weight, and the overall transitioning body are common with every single female. This does not take away from their beauty and Semmel is able to prove that there is and never really be a standard when it comes to what's considered beautiful and appealing. Semmel constantly references identity and has stated: "The artist's constant search