On Feminism: Ana Warner

Perfect curves, hips that swing just the right way, “soft skin, red lips, so kissable” to quote Katy Perry; sound familiar? That’s because this is the male ideal of a desirable woman. I decided to Google image search “paintings of women” just to see what it would come up with. All the seemed very gentle, weak, and all of the colors were smooth and soft. It was as if all these women were made of painted snow. For centuries, men have depicted women in this way. In fact, in a study done by the Guerrilla Girls in 2005, 83% of nudes in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York were of women. But what makes less sense is that only 3% of the artists were women themselves. Who decided that only the male perspective of the ideal woman was valid? Whoever this person is, Disney owes much gratitude to them; they’ve made a huge profit on this idealistic body.

For the longest time, the company has made movies starring princesses. They range from Snow White to The Little Mermaid. But although the outfits and culture of these girls will change from film to film, and era to era, one factor remains that holds them together. If one were to take an image of each of these princesses, lay them on top of one another, and hold them to the light, they would find that they all have the exact same figures. Triple zero waists, 36-25-38 measurements, every figure just the same. But once again, these figures were all designed from a male ideal of a woman’s body.

Now, just because these Disney princesses are portrayed in this manner as damsels in distress as well, doesn’t mean that everyone sees the Grimm brother’s Characters in such a way. Take Jeffery Thomas for example. He did a group of works which he entitled “Twisted Princesses”. Although the goal was to make the famous Disney girls look creepy, some of them seem to have lost the element of feminine weakness entirely; keeping the over exaggerated and verging on sexist curves, but displaying that they can keep their femininity while still displaying an almost Amazonian power.

Finally, take now the same basic element of a woman and place it in the hand of an artist who is a woman herself. The result may be something like Jenny Saville’s works. Jenny Saville is a feminist artist who paints nudes of heavyset women; some of which are against glass. These women may not be in the male ideal, but who says they aren’t just as beautiful?

Some might say that the Disney description is feminist art because it depicts the standards that women feel they need to meet, while others might say it’s just plain sexist and that Jenny Saville’s depictions are more feministic as they depict women whose bodies do not conform to the ideal. No matter how you look at it, curves will always play a major role in depicting women in art, and that is why it is an element of feminism.

On Feminism: Nolan Terrill

Throughout the course of history, women have been looked down upon.  Men have been the dominant players in typical American/world industries as well as the competitive business world, which pushed women into the background. After the forties, the tides began to turn. Women were establishing the ability to discover their true potential through various jobs in industry; especially in wartime. It wasn’t until the civil rights movement in the sixties when women stepped up to the plate as crucial, beneficial leaders, consequently convincing the nation and the world that they were a force to be reckoned with. Today women can be seen in almost every industry. They possess positions as supervisors, managers, and even CEO’s. The art world has captured this growing trend toward making the rights of women equal to those of men.  Women are at the forefront of this feminist style because they are the primary creators of the pieces that shed light on what the potential of the female sex is. A few popular artists include Judy Chicago, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’ Keefe; however there are many more artists that fly “under the radar.” One of these lesser known is Maria Friberg. Her exhibit, Almost There, at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art (in Brooklyn, New York) consists of only photographs that seem to level the playing field between the two sexes. She shows the viewer how men and women, when in the right situations, can appear to have minute differences.  There is one image that stands out from the rest, though.

In this picture, four men lay in a pool. They seem to be helpless; trapped in existence. The men also appear to be weightless, meaning that they are of no importance to life around them and that their actions will not affect how they are viewed in the eyes of the public, or in this case, the water in the pool.  Each male is wearing a suit, which are all black and of the same style; this helps to group them together in order to signify the male sex as a whole or to show that they must conform to those around them before they will be fully accepted by the rest of the world. These traits and ideas are similar to the rest of the photographs that come from Friberg’s grouping. In each of these, the men are “fully capable of creating control, while at the same time it doesn’t seem possible for them to influence their own situation.” This description is also valid for how women felt prior to the sixties, for they were somewhat close to being independent but it was society that placed constraints upon them that disabled them from becoming their own, individual person.

Feminism is something that I endorse and agree with. Women are capable of being productive leaders. In the political arena, Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin, even though controversial and polar opposites in opinion, have shown that they can influence a nation to vote for a certain political agenda and to convince people of a certain party to vote for in an election. Everyone in this nation knows who they are and how they are persons to put full attention towards.  Women bring to the table more critical views, as well as a totally different style of thinking than that of men. They are known to be more persuasive because of their persistence to accomplish a task and their unbreakable support for what they think is right and wrong; not just because of their looks. However, Women are the picture of beauty and are in most cases the definition of support. They are typically more sympathetic to a person’s cause and consider the full picture before jumping to a conclusion. Women may not be as physically strong as men, but are just as, if not more, dominant in their expressive and thinking capabilities.

Whether it is in art or politics, women are able to perform at the same level as men. Through the feminist movement they have shown how they believe they are equal to men. Artists, such as Maria Friberg, express their frustration to those who don’t believe that the female sex should be treated like the male sex. She displays this by putting men and women in situations that compare how masculine women can be to how feminine men can be. Friberg also puts the men into scenarios that make them seem of less importance or perhaps as a way to bring them down from their stereotypical high horse. Some people are still living in the past, for today is the age of women and minorities in general. Every day there is something profound happening to someone who most people would have never believed it to happen to: people are being proven wrong. It just goes to show that with perseverance and confidence, anyone can achieve something that overcomes the former belief that the unachievable can’t be done.

Brooklyn Museum- Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for the Arts: Feminist Based: Maria Friberg

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/feminist_art_base/gallery/mariafriberg.php?i=173

On Feminism: Chloe Spears

Kirsten Justesen, Sculpture II, 1969

550 × 413

http://www.moca.org/wack/?p=193

Feminist art aims to define and defend women’s rights politically, economically, and socially. Some pieces of feminist artwork subtly work in their ideas of femininity, others blast it at your face giving you no hope of getting past their point.

Being a woman myself, I know that even today, in the 21^st century, women’s rights are not always as equal as people claim them to be; especially in art. History has undoubtedly proven that men reign over the art world. Think about it, from kindergarten to senior year and even on into college how many art icons have been pounded into your memories that were women? I would venture to say that the answer to that question could fit on one hand, if any even came to mind at all. Although this is a sad statistic for women, I don’t feel that there is a need to complain, I feel that there is a need to dare to change!

Simply complaining about an unfair reality will acquire nothing.  Gandhi said it best, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” When society places you, as a woman, into a box, do not just stay inside and complain. Show society why women are no lesser artists than men. I think that being born a female comes with an automatic challenge, and rising to it or whining all through life are the only options.

I hope that one day feminist art no longer exists. Separating women from the art world and placing them into their own feminist category, “box”, makes no sense to me. If this must be done, then I believe that men must be categorized as well.  Women need to realize that all the crap that society says about them and what they can and cannot do is exactly that. Crap!  Do not live under a bizarre idea that being a women artist makes you a feminist. Imagine, create, and live as an artist.

On Feminism: Chris Greninger

Graphic Feminist

Barbara Kruger is a female graphic designer whose works are quite genius when compared to other feminist art works in my opinion. Her main artworks basically consist of found photographs with text covering over the top. The text is white with a red band surrounding it with content such as “I shop therefore I am”, “Your body is a battleground”, and “Your comfort is my silence”. The text that is in the work questions the viewer about topics like feminism and consumerism.

This is where her work comes out and exceeds past other feminist arts I viewed. In most other works by feminists the art seems very straightforward and blunt about the topic by just showing a vagina or something along those lines. In other words, I don't believe it let the viewer engage in some critical thinking. It just blatantly just seems to bash you over the head saying “Here you go this is feminism!”

However with Barbara's work, it leaves the viewer to question what is being said. Is the person in the picture giving the saying or is this what the author is thinking? Whatever the case may be it still hooks the viewer and lets you interpret. Her work is designed quite well even though she is simply appropriating images from magazines and putting text over them. The posters have a style to them that is almost in a style of Russian propaganda posters. The red bands with white text pull you in and let you observe the image overall.

I think other artists that have feminist ideas should follow somewhat along the lines that Barbara follows. As a viewer, if I can instantly just see what is being communicated it most likely will not hold my attention. The feminist arts don't need to just point out images of girls and vaginas everywhere. It can have a more creative concept behind it that will surely hold the viewer longer and still communicate the same message without being so graphic.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1624795/barbara_kruger_a_biography.html?cat=38

On Feminism: Robin Fjelstad

Feminist Art (Art or Pornography)

Part of the feminist art movement has a goal to bring more visibility to women in the area of art history. I fully support the agenda of this area of “the movement”. Female artists’ achievements and works have been overlooked and undervalued in recorded history and I believe that every effort should be made to rectify the injustice that has befallen these artists.  Female artists today proclaim that they simply want to produce art and have the same recognition that is given to white male artists, to have their works displayed alongside that of the male artist’s works in galleries and shows and to be taken seriously as artists. I also support this area of the “movement”.

There are other areas of the “feminist art movement” however, that I have a real problem with. One of these areas is the creation of “artwork” by feminist artists that is vulgar and pornographic. When white men produce images like those that I have seen produced by “feminist artists” it is called pornography and it is not on public display. I believe that this sort of female artist has hijacked what was intended as a crusade to get women artists the recognition they so richly deserve and have twisted it to meet a perverted agenda.  These women shout for equality and recognition, but their “art” is not of the type and caliber that is produced and displayed by other female artists or even their male counterparts. These images are focused on the female form displayed in graphic and crude arrangements and are obscene. I may not have seen enough art produced by male artists, but if all the work produced by men were phallic shaped images in some medium or other the credibility of these “artists” would suffer as badly as that of the feminist artist.

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/5725  

On Feminism: Racritia Hobson

Feminist art is a highly significant movement consisting of the accomplishments and determination of feminists creating artwork symbolizing women's experiences in the world.  Feminist art began in the 1960s and continued for 10 years afterwards.  This movement defines the efforts of women, and for the recognition of their hard work.  However, feminist artwork is still being addressed today.  Artists and philosophers still create female art to state different messages.  For example, females being victims of abuse or abuse of power, being set at lower standards, and so forth.  

Nancy Spero is a pioneer of feminist art.  She began her work in 1961 to relay her views and beliefs on feminism.  Spero created illusion-type compositions to engage viewers while revealing her thoughts.  She bases a lot of her pieces on the torture of women in Nicaragua, the Holocaust, and cruelties of the Vietnam War.  One of her creations really caught my attention and drew my curiosity.  Women Bomb is a very unique representation of feminist renderings.  The painting has a single woman figure with multiple women reaching out into an ovary form.  The breasts and vagina on the woman make it obvious of the gender and the meaning behind it. 

I believe the remaining women blooming from the rest defines women being as "one."  This could perhaps reveal women build the same strength, mentally.  A message to further comfort women no matter what the circumstance: hope is there.  Another aspect that shouts, "feminism" is the shape of the composition.  The form creates female organs, ovaries.  I think this is the most powerful and important part to the art piece.  Overall, I actually found this angle quite interesting through the feminist movement and to be one of my favorites.       

On Feminism: Amanda Holcombe

While flitting thought all the prurient depictions of breast and vaginas in Women Artists in the 20^th and 21^st Century, I realized that there are few feminist and female artists who do not claim their sexual exploration as art. Frida Kahlo is one of these artists who chose to use her body differently than many feminist artists have in the past century.

Kahlo’s life was a short, seemingly agonizing life. Having experienced many health problems and accidents throughout her life, Kahlo’s work portrays and explores the mental and physical suffering that went along with her many surgeries, various amputations and multiple miscarriages. Considering that Kahlo never had any formal training in any type of art, her oil paintings are remarkably detailed and many of them dreamlike in style. Most of her work is self-portraits, which she said was “because she spent so much time alone and was the subject matter she knew best”. The self-portrait which grabs my attention most is The Broken Column. She compellingly depicts herself crying in a steal corset, a broken column representing her impaired spine, and nails put into her skin all over her body. Despite the fact that most of her pieces do have this dreamy, surrealistic style, Kahlo claimed that she never painted dreams, but portrayed her own reality.

Because her style echoes surrealism, I’m not sure that one should call her a feminist artist. However I chose her work because I find that it has more depth and power than many of the feminist artisst I came across. I believe her work to be more powerful because unlike many feminist artists, she goes beyond salacious portrayals of sex and the woman's body, and instead seeks to understand the pain her body and mind suffered from throughout her life by painting.

Resource: Women Artists of the 20^th and 21^st Century, edited by Uta Grosenick

The Broken Column (la columna rota), 1944. Oil on Canvas, mounted on hardboard, 40x31 cm