There is certainly no dearth of representations of women in visual media. Throughout history and across the globe, the female form features heavily in creative spheres and remains one of art’s most enduring and ubiquitous images. Painted or photographed, sculpted or sketched, these portrayals often work to create and reinforce society’s conceptions of normativity and naturalness with regards to the female body. In other words, the constant reproduction of certain types of women’s bodies encourages women to conform to these apparently superior physicalities. Artists can, however, counter these hegemonic bodily norms through the depiction of female bodies considered non-normative. This untraditional portrayal of women’s bodies has the possibility …show more content…
Foucault writes that, rather than being meted out from above, power operates through discourse—an interlinking constellation of statements that work together to produce what society believes to be true. Discourse about a certain topic determines what is considered acceptable and right in a certain culture while the boundaries of discourse—that is, what is not spoken about—is marginalised, excluded, relegated to the periphery. Though discourse is often described in terms of what is said, it is no less pertinent with regard to what is seen. As Professor Elspeth Probyn writes, ‘the terms that best capture Foucault’s perspective are: pouvoir, voir, savoir’ (139), the visible (voir) affecting—discursively (and, in the French, etymologically)—both power (pouvoir) and knowledge (savoir). Power stems from socially constructed knowledge which is instructed by all manner of visual media, in including artwork (Foucault, 18). Women’s bodies are constantly made visible to the public by art. The excessive bias towards portraying certain types of women’s bodies—those that are fair-skinned, slender, hairless, nondisabled, inviting yet demure—leads to the privileging of such bodies in society, as they—through their visibility—have been selected as normative, that which is perceived to be normal, and therefore better, by the populace (Clare, 217). Such renowned depictions of the female nude as Titian’s Venus of Urbino, Manet’s Olympia, and Ingres’ Orientalist Grande Odalisque all combine to create the discourse that dictates the ‘right’ kind of woman. This is the power held by that which is visible. However, as aforementioned, a lack of discourse can be just as
Alice Neel's most talked about painting, a Self-Portrait of herself, shocked the world when she painted herself in the nude at the age of 80-years-old. Neel, a 20th Century American Portrait Artist, painted models for over 50 years before turning the attention to herself (Tamara Garb). Neel wasn't a pinup girl and had depicted herself as the complete opposite (Jeremy Lewison). Unlike Neel, women avoided self-portraits of themselves, and nude self-portraits barely made it to canvas (Tamara Garb). Because of these reasons alone, Neel's Self-Portrait attracted scrutiny (Jeremy Lewison). Though Neel declared the painting to be frightful and indecent (Ibid), it still directed its focus on femininity, and the challenges women had to endure in our
Prior to the 20th century, female artists were the minority members of the art world (Montfort). They lacked formal training and therefore were not taken seriously. If they did paint, it was generally assumed they had a relative who was a relatively well known male painter. Women usually worked with still lifes and miniatures which were the “lowest” in the hierarchy of genres, bible scenes, history, and mythological paintings being at the top (Montfort). To be able to paint the more respected genres, one had to have experience studying anatomy and drawing the male nude, both activities considered t...
Over the years many artist have viewed sensitive subjects within their work. Sex is one of the sensitive subjects that has been viewed in a positive and negative way. Before and during the 19th century, most paintings, sculptures, and art pieces focused on the features of a human's body. During this time, most artist believed that showing these features of a human could show the role a woman and man had in life. Sculptures in early times focused on the body of a man and showed distinctive features from head to toe. Most sculptures were representations of Greek Gods, which showed their strength and power throughout their body. Showing the sexual side of men in art, lead to showing the sexual features of a woman. The sexual features of a woman was shown throughout paintings and sculptures that mostly represented fertility. suppose to symbolize the sexual union between him and the woman. The idea of showing sex in art has been shaped and formed into various perspectives.
The novel also portrays a space where a woman’s body is something to fear and hide. "My nakedness is strange to me already. My body seems outdated. Did I really wear bathing suits at the beach? I did, without thought, amoung men, without caring that my legs, my arms, my thighs and back were on display, could be seen. Shameful, immodest. I avoid looking at my body, not so much because it's shamefull or immodest but because I don't want to see it. I don't want to look at something that determines me so completely."(P.63) Women fear their own bodies, they don't love themselves. Which is unfortunate because having love for your body can create a very powerful space for a woman. When women learn to love themselves and their bodies and not fear what they can do with them, they gain self-esteem and confidence to do whatever it is they want to do.
Judy Chicago comments in her essay that she “had been made to feel ashamed of her own aesthetic impulses as a woman, pushed to make art that looked as if it had been made by a man.” The idea that female artists were not permitted to draw from their personal experiences completely undermines the basis of what art is. Art provides context of culture: it adds meaning and relevance to the time that it was created, and the artists’ personal experiences is what drives the artwork, and society, forward. Chicago’s blatant truths about women and their art in the early 70’s describes the struggles of walking between the worlds of femininity and the regular world talked about by Woolf. It’s impossible to deny the importance of femininity. If one is not
I chose these four journal writings because I believe they are the strongest pieces I have written from the second half of the semester. The main focus of these journals was based on readings under the women as objects topic. The oppression of women has led to females being objectified and used as gratification for men. A woman’s body and appearance have become a commodity, especially in the media. Films, television shows, music and advertisements use women’s bodies to attract their audience and sell products. The movie watched in class “Killing Us Softly 4,” highlights this fact while presenting how women are represented throughout the media. The media has set and perpetuated a particular standard of beauty that is restrictive, but for some many women completely unattainable. The women represented in the media are young, thin and have western or European characteristics. Where does that leave the majority of women that do not fall under this category? This leads to women developing eating disorders to achieve an ideal body image that is manufactured through Photoshop and other picture editing systems. Women of color, women with disabilities or any woman that does not follow this standard is not represented within the media. When a few women do break this mold and become famous, they are set at a different standard. These women’s differences become the highlighted feature of their fame. However, the one constant in the media when it comes to women is the objectification and sexualization of women. This sexualization can lead to aggression or violence against women and the perpetuation of rape culture. The images viewed in the media directly impact how women view themselves and how others view women. By examining the issues women f...
The mass media over the years has had such a profound role in creating an image on how women should be viewed. From their appearance to what their duties are in everyday life, the media has made sure to depict unrealistic images of women. These images have caused not only the male public but women themselves to believe that they must attain a certain kind of body or occupation to fit into society. Women often feel obligated and pressured to comply to this praised image of perfection.
She explains Kruger had a previous career in graphic design similar to Andy Warhol. Through her prior knowledge in graphics, Kruger was able to address her concerns of feminist issues through her own art. The paper discussed how Kruger used her designs to expose her own opinions and issues in relation to male power and the control they are able to gain over the bodies of women. Calak also discusses how Kruger critiques consumerism, stereotypes, and mass media influences. Calak explains Untitled (Your Body is a Battleground)
Feminist art is argued to be a limited subject and that it cannot be considered a separate style although art is conceived differently from a male to a female perspective. Compared to artwork made by the male gender, women artists are more inward looking, delicate and nuanced according to Linda Nochlin, the author of “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?”. In her essay, Nochlin begins by discussing the myriad amount of ways people have attempted to answer the question about the lack of great women artists. She emphasized the fact that although each of these activities is valuable to the study of Art history, they serve as mere excuses to hide the reality behind the fact that there actually have not been any great female artists. In addition, Nochlin also writes that there are no female versions of Michelangelo or Rembrandt or Picasso, which is indeed a fact. Also, the essay focuses on the idea of artistic genius, which according to Nochlin, is non - existent. Nochlin highlights the concept behind the reason being a whole system in place that excluded the female gender from creating the type of work that made artists like Raphael and Michelangelo famous artists. Women were excluded from taking classes or drawing
Images that eroticism is implied tend to represent the availability of the women’s bodies, in the implication that they are objects of eroticism (Sturken and Cartwright 2009: 116), consequently affecting the way society views women such as illustrated in Figure
The picture is a scale in which the female side is higher than the male side. Women have always been since as less than a man, an outlook that can be traced all the way back to the bible. According to the bible, Eve was created from Adams rib, which was supposed to be construed as his loving her because she was made of his flesh has been corrupted that women are less than a man. Even the United States, the pioneer of freedom and rights, still pays a woman less than a man. A women’s opinion is still doubted or in some cases not even listened to especially when they hold positions of power. In third world countries, if a woman is attacked or raped it is her fault, just because she is a woman. Infanticide, the killing of female babies, is still predominant in areas all over the world. Mothers rid themselves of girl children so that they don’t have to worry about dishonor or providing a dowry. This killing of females is also represented in the art. This artwork should remain on Tejon Street as a reminder as how far we have come as women and how we have much work ahead of us in order to get true
Figure 3. Your Body is a Battleground (billboard project for Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH), Barbara Kruger, 1990 Kruger is not only an artist, but also an activist. Therefore, Figure 1 is not only a poster to mobilize the audience but also a summary of what protestors felt towards the issue. Through art, Kruger challenges the unbalanced power relation between women in the country and the conservative and right-wing agenda. As Kate Linker states, “To Kruger, power is not localized in specific institutions but is dispersed through a multiplicity of sites. .
Excerpt from K. Conboy, N. Medina and S. Stanbury, eds. Writing on the Body: Female Embodiment and Feminist Theory (401-17). NY: Columbia University Press, 1997.
What do you do without either of your arms? What do you do for a living constrained to a wheelchair? What do you do without control over your own body? Many people in the world today spend their lives wishing things were not as they were, attempting to forget how they are, or trying to change how they are going to be. When "disabled" people succeed, it is commonly thought that those individuals are amazing for overcoming their disabilities and thriving in life. Is this really what they are doing? The following three women, Mary Duffy, Frieda Kahlo, and Vassar Miller transform their disabilities into the ability to create complex forms of art that force the audience to gain a different perspective on disabilities. Their disabilities become their power. The artists use this power to force their audiences to look at their disabilities in an utterly new way using the "stare and tell" method. These women do not succeed despite their disabilities, but instead succeed because of them
Cook, A.D. “Nude Beauty Nude. Body of Art.” A.D. Cook figurative artist. 3 January 2013. Web. 13 April 2014.