Hortense Belhôte's 'Look but Don't Touch' Web Series Reinterprets Art History Through Queer and Feminist Lenses

Arte TV presents 'Look but Don't Touch' (2020), a web series consisting of ten episodes directed by Cecilia de Arce and starring French actress and art-history educator Hortense Belhôte. Each episode, lasting three minutes, offers a humorous take on iconic artworks through queer and feminist perspectives, analyzing pieces such as Diego Velázquez's 'Rokeby Venus' (1647–51) and Édouard Manet's 'Olympia' (1863). Drawing inspiration from John Berger's 1972 series 'Ways of Seeing' and Slavoj Žižek's 2006 documentary, the episodes feature live reenactments with a variety of performers. Originating from a performance-lecture at a French erotic film festival, the series utilizes 1980s cinematography to delve into themes of sexual innuendo and political implications, encouraging viewers to adopt a critical viewpoint on art.