Class project

My class project was on Pablo Picasso. one the most influential artists of the 20th century.

Despite his extra ordinary talent he was a womanizer and treated women like trash. In fact one his lovers named Dora was once quoted telling him " as an artist you may be extra ordinary, but morally you are worthless".
Picasso

Bibliography’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article
http://www.picasso.fr/us/picasso_page_index.php
Chadwick, women and art
Guerilla Girls.

POST 4

     Judy Chicago is one of my most influential female artists of modern time. In the dinner party, the table sits on a floor of 2304 porcelain triangular tiles (in 129 units) inscribed with the names of 999 significant women. The work is introduced by 6 hanging banners woven in the traditional French Aubusson tapestry technique. 

the dinner party.

 

The guerilla girls, the advantages of being a female artist, sarcastically highlights the difficulties female artists endure.

 

Mary Cassat" the American" shows the traditional role of women in society, that is taking care of children.

 

Judy Chicago's  Bordecia place setting looks like the luscious curves of a woman. Its radical statemement highlights sexism in art.

 

 

Alice Mumford's , the walled garden shows how young women used to taught by an older woman. Gender defined the type of education one got. But the girls received the raw end of the deal when compared to the boys.

        

 

                Marguerite Thompson Zorach half dome Yosemite valley, shows how talented women artists are. Her painting is just as good if not even better than those from male artists. But because of her gender she didn't get the recognition she deserved and yet less talented men got more credit.

 

 Bibliography

 

Chadwick, Whitney, Women, Art and Society.

The Guerilla girls, The Guerilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art

.https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/5167/The_Dinner_Party

 

Post #4: Can You Name 5 Women Artist?

Welcome to my dinner party:

Initially, starting this journey I really had no idea how I would feel about art.  I had never given too much thought to it other than admiring a few works of art I had seen in random places.  A few years ago my boss gave me a calendar that showcased Modern Art for the whole year.  I remember pointing out a few Degas, Monet and Manet art works.  I actually could not remember for sure if I saw any particular women artist in the calendar collection. I am sure I did but I could not be 100% sure.  After attending the Brooklyn Museum, I am more aware than ever the reality that some women artist in general are not given their due in their lifetime.  I looked, reveled, admired and then was dismayed at the marvelous Judy Chicago installation The Dinner Party.  Yes, we must recognize our wonderful women artist and it would be wonderful if only we could recognize everyone of them past and present. I chose to focus on race in my search for women artist. Being a woman is not always a pre-cursor to camaraderie in the art world. I endeavor to recognize 5 African American artist working in the present as well as influences from the past. I am making my own dinner party, showcasing works that speak to women, race relations and our environments.

This was would be a dream dinner party to have a collection of African American women artist sit down and discuss the premise of their works, discuss their goals at the time they created their works and what they believe the reactions to their work would be.  How political and exciting this conversation would be.

My first invitee is Betye Saar.

Betye Saar brought attention to imagery of African Americans in media.  Saar's work The Liberation of Aunt Jemima makes a political statement by dealing with "white culture's stereotypical images of blacks." (Chadwick, 342). Mrs. Saar takes the image of the "mammy" which had been glorified in movies and elevated to a status of iconic imagery.  Although, Mammy was not a real African nor African American person the image was solidified in the American psyche, that all Black women were the nurturers of White America.  The image then transformed into the Aunt Jemima.  Aunt Jemima is best known as the character on pancake syrup.  These images were reinforced by blockbuster movies like Gone With the Wind, 1939 and Imitation of Life, 1934. These images were off shoots of our former slave selves.  They were purposefully de-sexed, happy being maids and those digesting these images were supposed to believe that they "were resolutely resigned to accepting their fate of inferiority." (Bogle, 59). Betye Saar challenged this ideal  and broke down the image as not a positive one but one that had subjugated Black Women in media for more than 40 years.  In the environment of the late 60' and early 70's challenging these images added to the Civil Rights and Women's rights movements. Mrs. Saar continues to work and lives in California.

The Liberation of Aunt Jemima

Betye Saar, 1972

I invited Lezley Saar to dinner.

If this person's name sounds familiar it should she's the daughter of Betye Saar. Lezley's work takes a look at the hybridity of African Americans. Her works feature women of color especially African descent and "mulatto" women. Lezley is of mixed heritage and chooses to use this medium as a voice on race and identity. Many of her works are completed in assemblage as well as mixed media. Lezley Saar's works in mixed media include text, old books that are hollowed, fabrics and other materials. Her works also focus on dualities such as black/white, material/spiritual and male/female.  These are the every day issues of life that we all face and looking at these issues through the lens of art we are open to these ideas and search what they mean to each of us.  An article in the NY Times about children of famous artist stated, "choosing to lead creative lives with no certainty they would succeed."  The article questioned whether being a child of famous artist hindered their creativity. After looking at Lezley Saar's work, I feel that she was inspired by her mom, her lineage and life led to a distinct and focused assemblage art. Lezley's current works are focusing on communication and graphics in order to have a way to and communicate with her autistic daughter. (see article below). Lezley is based and working in the Los Angeles area.

Madwoman in the Attic

Lezley Saar, 2012

 

http://hifructose.com/2012/09/12/lezley-saars-madwoman-in-the-attic-opening-night/

 

 

articles.latimes.com/2008/jan/01/entertainment/et-saar1

 

The next invitation goes to: Chakaia Booker:

Chakaia Booker is a home grown contemporary sculptor who hails from Newark, NJ.

Chakaia Booker and Urban Excursion Rendezvous', 2004

http://www.eco-artware-notes.com/tag/chakaia-booker/

Chakaia is an sculptor who believes that she and everything thing she does is an expression of her art works.  She embodies the work and seeks to address the African American identity and life in the urban space.  Bookers' works include rubber from tires that have become an avenue to express her concerns on an eco-friendly environment.  Her works range from items that are worn on the body to sculptures as the one above called Urban Excursion Rendezvous', 2004 located in Frederick Meijer Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Chakaia Booker explains that these sculptures made from tires express the nuances of the African American and their identities in the urban environment. Many of her sculptures are twisted and bound, which she has said are indicative of the struggles of African Americans.

Mass Transit, Chakaia Booker

Indianapolis, IN 2008‎

 

Mass transit is a public arts project in Indianapolis.  This series is in conjunction with Nascar in their efforts toward green recycling of rubber tires. The series features sculptures that you can move in and out of as well as see through. By cutting, twisting and weaving together rubber tires, Booker has fashioned a temporary urban art exhibition specifically for Indianapolis. Booker has a permanent collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  Booker having a permanent collection at such a prestigious institution speaks to the voice, talent and progress women artist have made, especially an African American artist.  Ms. Bookers works evoke a sense of responsibility to the planet as well as to human beings.  Having a consciousness about yourself and your environment is a striking quality especially that expressed in art as the environment has become a hot button topic. Ms. Booker is living and working in New York City.


Please join me for dinner and conversation with Augusta Savage:

Augusta Savage is an African American sculptor who was apart of the famed Harlem Renaissance in the 1920's and 1930's.  Savage began sculpting by sculpting animals in clay.  Eventually, she moved to Florida where natural clay was no longer available.  She eventually met a potter who gave her materials to work with, she then entered her works into a fair and was well received. Savage eventually moved to New York where she found it difficult to study and hone her talent.  She persevered and tried to study in a summer art program and was rejected because of her race.  Rejection fueled her fire for her work and she continually worked to be acknowledged. She eventually established herself as a portrait sculptor making bust of such famous men as W.E.B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey.  Ms.  Savage also chose to sculpt everyday African American men, women and children. Her sculptures thereby immortalized the life of the ordinary Harlem resident giving them voice, in a world where they did not have had one based simply on the color of their skin.

Gamin (Kid), Augusta Savage

c.1930

        
Lenore, Augusta Savage, c.1930

                                                                                                   Lift Every Voice and Sing, 1939

 

Augusta Savage was a pioneer in the art world because she stood up for her right to be an artist.  During the depression she organized protest against the Works Progress Administration (WPA) which instituted art programs and works for out of work artist.  The WPA did not initially include Black artist but eventually did include Black artist on their rolls. Ms. Savage was a supporter of her fellow Black artist and found it important to teach the arts and foster new talent.  Ms. Savage started the Savage Studio of Arts and Crafts, which became the Harlem Community Arts Center. Augusta Savage died in 1962. Only nineteen of her sculptures have survived. (GG, 77).

 

 

Last but not least invited to my dinner party is Wangechi Mutu:

 

Ms. Mutu is from Kenya Africa and is an inspiration.  Her works inspire thought that goes beyond just what you are seeing.  The pieces shown in the Brooklyn Museum exhibition range from installation, performance, animation, collage and assemblage.  The pieces evoked emotions about her African Tradition and her place in the world now.  The works also piece together the past and the present. Her works include African masks, motorcycles, animals and other objects.  Wangechi also focuses a lot of the face, shape of the body and often accentuated features of supposed distinctly  African features such as the lips and forehead. As I looked at her works, I felt an extreme need to ask the person next to me what do you see and what are you feeling right now while you are looking at this work.  I felt strange, wished I had that sort of imagination and creativity and wished that I could meet her just to see if she is as profound in her person as her art work.

 

 

 

 

A Shady Promise, Wangechi Mutu

 

 

Ms. Mutu's work combines readymade materials, magazine cut outs and samples from her African traditions.  Wangechi believes that different cultures project their worst fears and desires onto the female form.  Her works then still speak to the overriding theme in some art that women are for the male gaze only.  I applaud Wangechi for making the works ethereal, scary and mind blowing.  Her animation video on display provoked thoughts of identity.  Who are we without the knowledge of our pasts and heritages.  How do we reconcile those traditions with the current society?  How does society act when you go against the norms and express yourself?  I think Wangechi's Shady Promise brings forth these images of birth, identity, animalistic desire and ideas on the body. It reminded me of one of Adrian Pipers images from Vanilla Nightmares.  Her works also speak to the exotic as for men the idea of different in the colored woman was exotic and could be abused as such.







  

The End of Eating Everything (Still), 2013

Eat Cake (Still), 2012.

 

Riding Death in My Sleep, 2002

 

All the women invited to my dinner party speak to issues that I have faced in my life.  Issues of who I am based on heritage, feeling a responsibility to my community and environment.  Also, recognizing that women of color come in all shapes and sizes.  The fact there is no true way to define our identity.  Identity is what you choose it to be which is what my semester project is about the choice of hair and what choices you make in styling it and how styling has become and should be considered a new art form. 

Bibliography
 

Adamson, Loch. "When creativity runs in the family." New York Times, August 17, 1997., 1, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 27, 2013).

Bogle, Donald. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing Inc. 2001.

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/wangechi_mutu/#!lb_uri=riding_death.php

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson Inc., 1990.
Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party, Elizabeth A. Sachler Center for Feminist Art. Brooklyn Museum

The Guerilla Girls. The Guerilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1998.

http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections?ft=chakaia+booker&ao=on&noqs=true

 

"Betye Saar," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/betye-saar-40902 (accessed Nov 27, 2013).
 
"Augusta Savage," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/augusta-savage-40495 (accessed Nov 28, 2013).

Photo credit: Bing Images
Photo credit: Google Images

 

Post 4

At the beginning of the semester, we were asked to name five women artists. Unfortunately, I could only name two or three. Through various levels of exposure–from Chadwick’s text, to exhibitions, to random research–I have gained a much stronger knowledge of female artists leaving their mark in art history. Aside from a biological or gendered connection, female artists cannot easily be clumped into a single theme or dialogue. This is a complex issue when it comes to cataloguing knowledge of women artists: how is one to contextualize their work? To date their work is to take a boring approach. Connecting them to comparable male artists does an injustice to their uniquity. The strongest commonality I’ve established was inspired by Wangechi Mutu’s work in the Brooklyn Museum. As I walked through her elaborate collage/painting hybrids, I had a distinct feeling that I was not supposed to be seeing this work. Maybe it was the highly textured surfaces that made my skin crawl or the humanoid forms made from magazine image clippings, but it all felt distinctly off-limits. As female artists, by their very existence, subvert sexist norms, their work is, in part, defined by the taboos they disrupt.

"Heterotopour" detail by Elena Dahn. (credit Elena Dahn Flickr)

Project Proposal: Black Feminism in Contemporary Society

The project will be a video presentation on Black Feminism and the portrayal of Black women in contemporary media. A vast majority of the presentation  will comprise of interviews taken from people of various different socioeconomic backgrounds. Questions surrounding what it means to be a feminist and issues surrounding general feminism in modern art culture and status quo society at large.  

A segment in the presentation also will show art pieces done by various African American artists and an audience will be asked to interpret the paintings. The interpretations will be recorded and put together for general presentation.

Another segment will discuss on the difference between Black Feminism and Western concepts of Feminism both domestic and in international relations. 

Finally, I chose this topic because it strongly relates not only to my morals but also a general way of how I now relate to the world. A black feminist epistemology is one that once performed allows individuals to challenge all dominant structures of knowledge production, ways of knowing things. A truth validation process that truly has liberating qualities. The general audience expected to view this presentation follows the age group 18 +  considering the people interviewed follow that age group. 

Resources Used 

Facing Difference The Black Female Body: Art on Mind Visual Politics - bell hooks

Ways of Seeing - John Berger 

Feminist Theory From Margin to Center - bell hooks 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLMVqnyTo_0&list=PL447C2A3E87FB71CA

More sources to come!

The Female Identity- Post 4

                Exploring the female identity is not contained to one culture, class, religion or generation. These female artists have explored their place in society as well as the art world through various techniques. Mixed media, painting and photography serve as the platform for which they explore gendered identity.  Each woman’s work is a unique expression of her anguish, rage, joy, confusion, etc. at her own interpretation of the female identity, her identity, and societal constructs of it.

courtesy of bandagear.com

              Georgia O’Keefe (b.1887) is best known as the female painter at the forefront of modernism. Her work spans over 70 years, having her first solo exhibition at Gallery 291 in 1917.  She was inspired to delve into abstraction after reading Kandinsky’s On the Spiritual in Art. Although her work never reached full abstraction she played with the flatness of the canvas and the precision of forms. This can be seen in works ranging from Calla Lilies, 1923 to Radiator Building, 1927.

Alfred Steiglitz, Untitled, 1920
Courtesy of .paulfraisercollectables.com

                O’Keefe is also identified by her association with a man and what his images of her impressed on people. Alfred Steiglitz, her partner, took over 300 portrait and nude images of her over two decades. These images degraded O’Keeffe to an object, a muse, and just a woman. Her work was constantly scrutinized and compared to the male artist, Hartley stated there was a “feminine perception and feminine powers of expression” (Chadwick, 306), making her not an artist first and foremost but a female first and artist second. O’Keefe’s paintings were often ‘read’ into because of her gender and the ideological constructions of a woman, turning a flower into a vulva and a building into a penis.

                Barbara Kruger (b 1945) uses graphics and mass media to comment on issues of female identity. Kruger appropriates images, often of female archetypes, placing text on top of the image to comment on the female identity through a masculine lens. The text is confrontational and ironic, speaking in the voice of the woman with the male gaze upon her. This commentary can be seen in Untitled (Your gaze…) 1981.

                Drawing from her private experiences and viewpoints Kruger creates statement pieces for the female collective. “Making art is about objectifying your experience of the world, transforming the flow of movements into something visual, or textual or musical. Art creates a kind of commentary.”(Taschen, 187) Pieces like Untitled (I shop therefore I am) point out our dependence on consumer culture.” For some people, shopping has turned into a lifestyle consuming at our leisure. Some feel that, the power of consumption is stopping us from finding true and sincere happiness…” (West 2010)

Kruger, Untitled (I shop therefore I am) 1987

                Anita Dube (b 1958) uses many mediums to address the female identity. Drawing for her formal education as an art historian and critic her pieces are conceptual and fluid. Her piece Woman , 2007,is made of paraffin wax and wicks. She created the word “woman” out of the wax and let it burn throughout the show, constantly being effected by the environment. One article states “The notion of womanhood as a candle that is gradually extinguishing its own existence through the act of burning is a powerful one to digest.” (D’Mello)

Dube Woman , 2007

 Dube has also created an alter identity to address her own issues of gender within her Indian culture. Noor, her alter ego, is man and through him she is free to articulate problematic “performative gestures in culture as well as activism-Anita Dube” (Sternberger, pg. 97) she records him as part of her video installation. It portrays  the nine ‘rasas’ ( ‘sentiments’ in Indian aesthetics, the characteristic qualities of literature, drama and music) Throughout the video Noor transforms from friendly to aggressive and open minded to tradition. As a female artists in India she is hyper aware of societal constructs and Noor enables her freedom to speak.

Currently on exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum is Wangechi Mutu (b 1972), whom through mixed media addresses the identity of the black female body. She specifically explores the eroticization of the black female body through the figures she creates. The figures are fantastical but recognizable. They are both sharp and soft in depicting the female body using a variety of tools from plastic pearls and ink to paint and felt she creates collages and installations that speak to her heritage as a woman, a Kenyan and a citizen of the world.

Her large scale females as seen in The Bride Who Married a Camel’s Head 2009and People in Glass Towers Should Not Imagine Us 2003 are otherworldly and distinctive. They both contain animal prints in them, possibly a reference to her African heritage, and beautiful feminine curves, indicative of the typically thought of black female body. But both females are semi naked and postured in aggressive manners. These stances could be seen as an association of black females as an “other”.

Tejal Shah addresses the female identity through queer framework. Shah uses photography, performance and media in her work to address issues of desire, transgender, fantasy,religion and politics. As an Indian artist she uses her culture prominently in her pieces. In Southern Siren - Maheshwari, 2006 Shah portrays Maheshwari who is male by birth but identifies with the female gender identity. She places him in a romantic bollywoodesque dance sequence, combining popular culture and the female lead. Shah’s work addresses what makes a woman a woman? Is it more than just having a vagina?

 Maheshwari, 2006
courtesy of Brooklynmuseum.org 

These five women are all artists that have and are pushing the boundaries on gender identification.  From O’Keefe trying to be more than just a muse and seen through the lens of being a female to Shah questioning the essence of identifying as a female, each woman has made a contribution in breaking boundaries. The female gender identity is not only a woman’s issue it is a man’s issue and spans across cultures, age, class and race.

http://artworld101.independentplymouth.info/barbara-kruger/

http://www.cornerhouse.org/film/cinema-listings/indian-video-art-between-myth-and-history

http://nasher.duke.edu/mutu/art.php

http://www.naturemorte.com/artists/anita-dube/artist-cv/

Artwork
of
the
Week:
“Woman,”
Anita
Dube by Rosalyn D'Mello ‘Blouin Artinfo’ Published: June 16, 2013

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. London: Thames & Hudson, 2002. Print.

Grosenick, Uta, and Ilka Becker. Women Artists in the 20th and 21st Century. Köln: Taschen, 2005. Print.

Sinha, Gayatri, Brian Drolet, Barbara London, Suketu Mehta, and Paul Spencer. Sternberger. India: Public Places, Private Spaces. Newark N.J: Newark Museum, 2007. Print.

Quiz 2 FINAL EXAM - Study Guide

Part One - 10 Identifications (7 points each) Artist, Title, Year
Part Two - 2 Identification/Short Essays (15 points each) 2+ paragraphs
BONUS - 5 points each


Modernism, Abstraction and the new woman
Gabriele Munter, Portrait of Marianne Werefkin, 1909
Gabriele Munter, Boating, 1910
Vanessa Bell, The Tub, 1917
Sonia Delaunay, Coverture, 1911
Sonia Delaunay, Simultaneous Contrasts, 1912
Hannah Höch, DADA-Dance, 1919-21
Hannah Höch, The Kitchen Knife, 1919
Hannah Hoch, Indian Dancer, 1930
Käthe Kollwitz, Memorial For Karl Liebknecht, 1919
Käthe Kollwitz, Self Portrait Facing Right, 1938

The Female Body
Suzanne Valadon, Grandmother and Young Girl Stepping into the Bath, c.1908
Suzanne Valadon, The Blue Room, 1923
Frida Kahlo, The Broken Column, 1944
Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Monkey, 1940
Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, 1939
Frida Kahlo, The Flying Bed, 1932
Käthe Kollwitz, "Attack"The Weaver's Revolt, 1895
Camille Claudel, La Valse, 1895
Romaine Brooks, White Azaleas or Black Net, 1910
Romaine Brooks, Self Portrait, 1923
Georgia O'Keefe, Black Hollyhock, Blue Larkspur, 1930
Georgia O'Keefe, Yellow Calla, 1930
Pan Yuliang, Nude Study, 1947
Pan Yuliang, Self Portrait, 1945
Ana Mendieta, Untiltled (Silueta Series), 1978


Gender, Race and Modernism
Lee Krasner, Noon, 1947
Lee Krasner, Cat Image, 1957
Helen Frankenthaler, Mountains and Sea, 1952
Louise Bourgeois, Fillette, 1968
Louise Bourgeois, Arch of Hysteria, 1993
Eva Hesse, Hang Up, 1966
Eva Hesse, Repetition 19 III, 1968
Faith Ringgold, Die, 1967
Faith Ringgold, The Wedding: Lover's Quilt No.1, 1986
Betty Saar, The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, 1972
Augusta Savage, Lift Every Voice and Sing, 1939
Alma Thomas, Elysian Field, 1973
Thelma Johnson Streat, Rabbit Man, 1941

Feminist Art
Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party, 1974-79
Judy Chicago, "Virginia Woolf", The Resurrection Triptych, 1973
Nancy Spero, Codex Artaud, 1970-71
Miriam Shapiro, Anatomy of a Kimono, 1976
Joyce Kozloff, Hidden Chambers, 1975
Las Muheres Muralistas, mural, 1974

New Directions: Postmodernism, Performance, Place
Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face) 1981
Jenny Holzer, Selection of Truisms, 1982
Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1979
Sherrie Levine, After Walker Evans, 1936
Adrian Piper, Vanilla Nightmares No.2, 1986
Adrian Piper, Cornered, 1988
Yoko Ono, Cut Piece, 1964
Marina Abromovic, The Inner Sky for Departure, 1991
Marina Abromovic, Imponderabilia, 1977
Maria Abromovic, The Artist is Present, 2010
Rachel Whiteread, House, 1993
Rachel Whiteread, Monument, 2001
Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 1975
Sophie Calle, Ghosts, 1991
Doris Salcedo, Untitled, 1990
Shirin Neshat, Turbulent, 1998
Shirin Neshat, The Last Word, 2003
Ghada Amer, Eight Women in Black and White, 2004
Marlene Dumas, Dead Girl, 2002

Post 3: Ana Mendieta

Ana Mendieta best known for her “Earth-body” work was born on November 18th 1948. She was the second of three children and was raised as a Catholic, but was exposed to the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria through the beliefs of the household servants. Mendieta’s later artistic use of organic materials in natural environments, as well as Catholic and Afro-Cuban imagery, is rooted in these childhood experiences. She was born and raised in Cuba during Fidel Castro’s governance and came into the United States as a refugee in 1961 at the age of twelve.  In 1967 she enrolled at the University of Iowa. She participated in the Intermedia Program and Center for New Performing Arts and later received a BA (1969) and MFA (1972) in painting. She later shifted towards performing and ephemeral, mixed-media art. That is how she found her artistic style, melding her nude body or its outline with nature, she called these “earth body” works.

In 1969, her first year of graduate school, she began a decade-long affair with the artist Hans Breder, who founded the Intermedia program at Iowa, a special interdisciplinary arts program in which Mendieta studied and taught. The pieces from this period are truly inter-media, combining performance, photography and film, and conceptual art, without any genre taking precedence as the art object which was shown in her series of headshots in "Facial Cosmetic Variations" 1972.

Her experiences were portrayed through her art work. Like many other female artists she used her body as an instrumental part of her artistic practice makes the distance between art and life appear to shrink even further. She first used blood in a 1973 performance protesting against rape. Mendieta’s artistic roots lay in feminism and in the anti-commodification tendencies of earth, performance, and process work in the 1970s. Her work made powerful identifications between the female body and the land in ways that annihilated the conventions of surface on which the traditions of Western art rest. (Chadwick 374)

Violence fascinated Mendieta. She worked on “Rape Scene” in 1973 as she recreated the scene of a real violent rape-murder of a young woman that had been reported abused on the news. This caused a catastrophe as people passed by in front of a doorway where Mendieta spread animal blood to show the effect of the effect of violence and how she interpreted this woman experienced. Intentionally, there was an absence of causality in these images to displace the viewer’s ability to comprehend each scene as a narrative. The images were meant to challenge the viewer, mediating any sense of transparency in Mendieta’s use of her own body in the work.

Mendieta was a very unique artist, one of the many few who would engage her body into her art work. She would engage her body in an “on-going dialogue” with nature, investing her image with spirituality through private ritual, and the use of materials associated with Afro-Cuban ceremonies such as earth, blood, and chickens. Her life ended mysteriously one night after a violent fight with her lover, artist Carl Andre, as she fell to her death from the thirty-fourth floor window of their apartment in 1985

http://www.brooklynrail.org/2004/09/art/ana-mendieta-earth-body-sculpture-and-pe

http://latinartjournal.com/ana-mendieta-latin-american-art/

http://www.brooklynrail.org/2004/09/art/ana-mendieta-earth-body-sculpture-and-pe

Post 4- Can you name 5 Women Artists

When it comes to the topic of Art many people in today's society can only name male artists. Why is that? For some reason people can only recall male artist when it comes to art. Artist such as Picasso, Michelangelo, and Leonardo Da Vinchi just to name a few. But, notice how there is not one woman mentioned here. I have to say that I am also guilty prior to having taken art and women, about not knowing any female artist. I have to say the only female artist that I actually knew of was Frida Kahlo which is not that much.

There have been many great female artist. It is such a pity that many do not know this. The five female artist that I want to focus on are. Berth Morisot, Judith Leyster, Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Cassat, and Emily Mary Osborne. All of these women were very talented and came up with very interesting paintings and it is sad that many people do not know of their work.

I will focus on what is the most logical reason behind the world not knowing about women artist, or not knowing enough about women artist. The simple answer to this is that it has been a male dominated world. And because of this reason. It has been hard for women to climb the ladder so to speak.

Recently I visited the Brooklyn Museum and it just made me have a stronger appreciation for the work of women. There seemed to be more pieces in the museum that were done by men but, I definitely found a lot of artwork done by women and they were all good. But, because women art seems to not be as heavily promoted as male art that would be why I did not know about many pieces made by women.

As we have discussed throughout the majority of this class, women at one point did not have many rights. They were a minority. Women did not have much of a say in several matters. Women as mentioned throughout the course were thought of as sex objects for men and they were expected to stay at home and take care of the house and raise the kids, referencing this back to my semester project which is entitled The Sexualization of Women to Promote media.

As previously mentioned there were several women artist that had talent, but it seems that they failed to be recognized because of the norms that were placed in society at the time. Which were that women could not be in field  like the arts, even when women were in the arts there were other mediums that they could not be in or participate in because it was considered higher art. But I feel that even though women are "equal" to men today there are still various people that still do not have a respect for the work that women do.

The first artist that I want to focus on is Berth Morisot. Berth Morisot was a painter from France and an Impressionist. One of her pieces that we studied in class were Mother and Sister of the Artist. One of Berth's pieces is actually in the Brooklyn Museum so when I first saw it and I saw the artist I knew that It just had to be in the post. The piece is called Madame Boursier and her daughter.


Berth Moristot, Mother and Sister of the Artist

http://www.cgfaonlineartmuseum.com/morisot/morisot7.jpg







Madame Boursier and her Daughter
(This piece is in Brooklyn Museum)

http://cdn2.brooklynmuseum.org/images/opencollection/objects/size3/29.30_reference_SL1.jpg


The second artist that I want to talk about is Mary Cassat in class we studied her piece which is called Woman in Black at the Opera. Mary was an American print maker and painter. She was also an impressionist. I just want to talk a little bit about this piece. Woman in BLack at the Opera. The woman is in black because she is out in public and does not want to be seen, she is also without man so she definitely does not want to be seen but if you analyze the picture closely you will see that a male is looking at her from across the opera. He basically has the look on his face why are you here without a man how dare you.  So through this little example you can see how hard it must have been for women back then.







Mary Cassat, Woman in Black at Opera,1857

 http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/forum/cassattopera.jpg


The third artist that I want to focus on is Artemisia Gentileschi. This is also a very interesting artist and we studied a couple of her pieces throughout the semester but I particularly want to focus on her painting of Susana and the Elders.  Referencing this to my semester project we see how women were exploited, clearly Susana is uncomfortable with the elders watching her in this piece but woman were thought of a beautiful, desirable, and attractive so the men in this piece want to take advantage of her. And while Susana is beautiful and desirable this painting supports the idea that women are just sex objects for the pleasure for men.This correlates with the idea of women being made to be in subjection to the man which Berger points out in his paper.


Artemisia Gentileschi, Susana and the Elders,1610

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Susanna_and_the_Elders_(1610),_Artemisia_Gentileschi.jpg

The fourth artist that I want to talk about is Judith Leyster. She made the painting a woman sewing by candlelight. In this painting the woman is sewing while the kids are playing and it is by a fireplace with the children playing around. So in this painting we see how women were thought of as the caretaker the one who looks after and raises the kids while the husband is of working and making a living and this is what was expected from  woman.

 
 Judith Leyster, Woman sewing by candlelight, 1880

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_QaYSpWuuT3oM42_UJhDvjLav2ySe-MDBjCJlJH_aEArNtiDaQiedp5Wj1gBK-q_OkTIr_TbGF_25ADxNHjcLU_0ho4qei51QUFPrPhX0E2ecsrzgpsDTWEBhGbvKA4Hg1L9wNHOnEY/s1600/Woman+Sewing+by+Candlelight,+Judith+Leyster+1633.jpg

The fifth and final artist that I want to talk about is Emily Mary Osborn. She made the piece which is entitled nameless and friendless and I particularly like this piece. In this piece she is out in public and she is with a child most likely her own and she is trying to sell her art. You see a lot of male onlookers in the background and by the look on their faces you can sense the disapproval and intensity of the piece. She is a woman and she is out in public by herself and she is not with a man so all the men are like, "what are you doing."






Emily Mary Osborne- Nameless and Friendless, 1857

http://www.mystudios.com/women/klmno/osborn_nameless.jpg


In conclusion, I enjoy how all of the artist I choose and the paintings that I chose from them all fit together to describe the reason behind people cannot name five female artist and the reason behind all of that was the fact that women had no rights at one point women were not allowed to go outside without a man or own land let alone make art so obviously whatever amazing work they made was going to be discredited for the simple fact that they were women. If you were to go to the Brooklyn Museum you will find a lot of pieces made by women that were good and they really have a story behind them, as all artwork does. All art has a story to it just like the paintings I selected for this piece show the struggle that women had to put up with. Something that should just be put out there is that art has no gender and gender does not define the quality of an art piece. I named but a few women artist throughout history, five to be exact but, there are A LOT more.

Proposal: Poems of the Harlem Renaissance

At the end of Chadwick's book that we have reviewed this semester, there is a small insertion about women during the Harlem Renaissance. The women during this time, where mainly into poetry,spoken and short stories among the community. My project will go into detail about 3 influential women during that time period, while also displaying their works. From each artist 4 works will be printed and put into a jar which i will present to the class on presentation day. The jar represents the containment of the Harlem Renaissance, and what it meant to the blacks within  the community. I also wanted to present the artist Adrian Piper that I feel has so much to bring into my illustrations. This period of history represented the educated black that wanted more and had plenty of knowledge of what needed progression and how to get it there.

This project represents me because I am a African American woman that has very strong feelings about the progression of blacks within the arts. I believe that arts are not taken seriously within the community and it is something that I personally want to put back into the generation behind me. Art in any form can change a life and help inner city children fight the demons that approach them every single day. My community is loosing so many young talented individuals to violence. So my proposal will not only represent something for the class but also help me begin to have a better idea and plan to execute to start my non-profit organization.

The Poets I will include are:
Helena Johnson
Alice Dunbar-Nelson
Nikki Giovanni

Project Proposal

Who wants to be part of the Guerrilla Girls Movement? 


        Throughout this class, learning about the Guerrilla Girls have inspired me with all the stories of marvelous  female artists and their struggles that they went through to create art, and be able to have a family and a career, or just simply be able to express themselves passionately through their art. Well, gender has being an stigma in females lives, the reason why not only women artists but any other women in general including myself have been deprived for so many things that was believed to do something only for men. Fortunately, with the beginning of the feminist movement at the 19 century up until today, some reforms have being possible and changes as well, but I believe it is not enough. Women still not receiving equal wage for same amount of work. The Guerrilla Girls stated that a single painting by Jasper Johns could buy all the paintings in the Guerrilla Girls Book. 



        While, I grew up I remember hearing, You are a female you must know how to clean, cook, child care,  and dress beautiful so a guy can pay attention to you. These kind of social problems are still here in some societies which are more evident than others that must be addressed. Nowadays, some societies encourage women sexual liberation, but not all. I am from Ecuador where I come from slightly changes have been made, but so slightly that as a woman I cannot even see them on equal terms with men. All I know that we have the right to vote. So, maybe, this is because women need to get together and even more stronger than ever to make changes possible. So, I came out with the idea of creating a movement that supports the Guerrilla Girls ideals of equality. This movement is called Painted Faces. The colors and shapes will symbolized the art that women made throughout history ,and behind those colors the facial gestures will symbolized their sadness, anger, frustration, and their struggle they went through to create art. I am planning to use media to promote this movement and gave ideas for those women who haven't taught it yet. Leadership is the key for a movement to be possible. So, I am planning to create a video that will teach anyone how to create a movement and then, support the Guerrilla Girls by finding articles indicating that women is still being marginalized in the art world today ; moreover, where this situations are happening. This video is to promoted change and maybe the beginning of new movements supporting equality for all.

 

Work Cited. 


"20 Ways to Get People to Believe in Your Ideas and Create a Movement." Get Paid More Money for Every Hour You Work. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
  
The Guerilla Girls. The Guerrila Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York, NY:  Penguin Books, 1998. 
http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement.html
 "Feminist Art Movement in the United States." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

"GUERRILLAGIRLS: Fighting Discrimination with Facts, Humor and Fake Fur." GUERRILLAGIRLS: Fighting Discrimination with Facts, Humor and Fake Fur. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.

Proposal for Women Rights and Titles!

Women being called sluts, whores, and bitches is what is portrayed through media/films.  The transition of women role's in the household and in the working world has changed drastically during the 19th century, but has left women in a negative and positive outcome.  Women have more rights nowadays rather than for example.", the Renaissance Era, whereas women were limited to what may become of them.

   As a couple Yoko Ono and John Lennon have stood for women's liberation, and political topics and disagreed on war such as the one that was presently in Vietnam.  Each with their one artistic ways have touched upon sending the message of equality, and how society portrayed women.  Moreover,  Yoko Ono and John Lennon have contributed a great step to help the world understand and to potentially push improving equality, especially women's rights. 

I'm going to touch upon how the TV show "I Love Lucy", and the film, "Easy A, 2010" portray the women in the household and how it feels for a women to be called a slut, ex

Cover or Uncover? -Updated Proposal

It is tough to combine culture and religion together especially when the doctrines of them both are clashing. For instance, Bangladesh is known for its cultural aspects. Singing and acting are two of the leading art factors in Bengali culture along with playing instrument, specifically string instruments. However, 83% of Bangladeshis are Muslim, and within Islamic dogma, playing any instrument, mainly string instruments are highly prohibited. Not limited to just playing instruments, Bangladeshis are also known for performing classical dances as well as singing along with the instruments and in Islam, doing either of those things are considered sinful. And the main issue other than the cultural and religious opposition is that majority of these arts are performed by female members of the society. So even though women are exposed to the arts, they still are unable to participate in them due to religious restrictions.

In my proposal, I wish to create a photographic depiction of two different lives of a Muslim woman who was taught both sides of the scales and how that affected her decisions in life. I am planning on creating a Tumblr blog which I will be updating constantly with contrasting photos of my life and how I lead it differently as I try to follow both the teachings of my culture as well as my religion. The photos I am planning on using will include my self-portraits as well as my own artworks that reflect my subconscious, conflicting thoughts. Is it possible for a woman to appreciate her art induced culture while at the same time follow through with the dogmas of her religion? how can a person who has been raised to follow the religious teachings at the same time as understanding the culture and its traditions simply follow one route over the other?

Bibliography:

http://ibnfarooq.tripod.com/niqaab.htm

http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/culture/

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/is-music-un-islamic-2/

http://www.inter-islam.org/Prohibitions/Mansy_music.htm