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| Artemisa Bentileschi, Suzanna and the Elders, 1610, Artemisia_Gentileschi.jpg |
To describe Gentileschi's style of art, is to describe a feminist long before her time. Gentileshi commonly would use "variations on the popular theme from the Old Testament Apocrypha" (Chadwick, 110) and use "monumental composition, naturalistic rendering and strong contrast of light and shadow, and use of contemporary models" to paint these biblical stories in new ways. (Chadwick, 110) Gentileschi painted the female characters as strong and independent woman who she depicted were strong enough to refuse men and even kill them if necessary. This promotion of feminism was truly remarkable for her time.
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| Artemisa Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes, 1611, Artemisa_Gentileschi |
Judith Slaying Holofernes, is work of Gentileschi that truly depicts her style to a tee. The work focuses on two women murdering a man and is based off a biblical story. The work speaks to Gentileschi's past, " The brutal depiction in the monumental Judith slaying Holofernes is often interpreted as a painted revenge for rape." ( Violence and Virtue) The work shows the bloody details of the depicted scene in very realistic painting and uses shadowing to set a mood of anger and passion that along with the detailed painting of the faces helps the viewer understand the murder is both planned and intentional. This concept of the women being intentional spoke to feminism as the piece had been previously used to depict the murder as accidental by weak woman who knew not what they were doing and were ashamed by it afterwards. It is all these factors that shaped Gentileschi's works and established her as the great artist and the early feminist artist she was.
The next female artist to be focused on is Berthe Morisot. Born in 1841, Morisot would become one of the greatest impressionist to ever touch a canvas and along with Mary Cassatt would be considered one of "The most important women painters of the 19th century."(WEBSITE WEBMUSUESM MORISSOT) Morisot was born to a privileged family and was given lessons from a young age. This would be a major factor that would allow her to receive the recognition and funding she deserved while she was alive. In fact, she was so recognized from her work she was, "included in the group auction [official salons] at the hotel Drouot in 1875, where her painting interior, brought 480 francs, the highest price paid for any painting." (Chadwick, 235) It is important to remember that Morisot lived and worked in a time when women where still struggling for their rights, yet she managed to not only compete but out due her male colleagues and achieve major success as a painter in the process.
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| Berthe Morisot, Pysche, 1876, Berthe_Morisot.JPG |
To characterize the style of Morisot is to define impressionism. Her works always focused on domestic settings and female characters using "The casual immediacy, straightforward approach to subject-matter, and feathery brushstrokes," (Chadwick, 238) She would use colors of only the naturalistic framework and her works featured the impressive and extensive use of blurred lines and color fading. ("Morisot, Berth") Psyche, by Berthe Morisot exemplifies all these traits. It depicts a young woman, in her home, looking in a mirror, a very domestic image, but speaks to much more than that. The use of colors and blurred lines depict the woman as concerned by her image in the mirror which intentionally blurred to a point that is nearly unrecognizable.This speaks to feminism as it addresses a concern many woman still have to day over how they are judged for their appearance not their person. The work could in many aspects be used as a demonstration of ideal impressionism and is a work that shows the genius that was Berthe Morisot.
While I would not have been able to name her at the beginning of this semester, Frida is a name I recognize when heard. Frida Kahlo de Rivera is one of the most influential female artist to ever live and who has a life story that is as intriguing as her work. Born in 1907, in Mexico City, Frida would survive a horrible traffic accident in her early teens. ("A Tribute to Frida Kahlo") The accident would leave her permanently scared and with health issues that would plague her for the rest of her life. It is from this tragic event that Frida started painting and the accident serves as the motivation behind a majority of her works. The value of her art work today speaks for itself and helps to provide evidence that she is not only the greatest Mexican painter to date, she is one of the greatest painter regardless of sex or race to have ever lived.
To describe the art of Frida is to describe Frida herself. The majority of her works focus on self portraits and her family. Professionally, her work is described as " Naive Art or Folk Art. Her work has also been considered 'Surrealist'," ("A Tribute to Frida Kahlo") Her works often depict pain or sorrow in the form of self portraits that often directly displays physical abuse to her body. The works contain bright colors and reference and embody a lot of Mexican Folk art. Her art is often credited as feminist, "For it's uncompromising depiction of the female experience and form."("A Tribute to Frida Kahlo")
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| Frida Kahlo, The Broken Column, 1944, Frida_Kahlo.Jpg |
An ideal piece of work by Frida is, The Broken Column, as it displays all of the prominent trade marks of a Frida Kahlo work. (Chadwick, 288) The piece is a self portrait of frida that features multiple important traits. The first is the use of bright colors that can be seen in the blue sky, white dress and even her vibrant skin tone. The second trait is the depiction of physical harm to her self. This can be seen in both the cracked column that represents her spine and the dozens of nail depicted sticking in her skin. She painted these to reference the daily pain she lived through after the accident. Finally, the background of the image strongly references Mexican Folk Art as it depicts the sky and the dessert. (Chadwick, 288)
During my visit to the Brooklyn Museum, I was first introduced to Wangechi Mutu. For the sake of complete honesty, I will tell that I was initially off put and even scared by her work. It was after I adjusted to the work that I began to appreciate the modern artist. Born in 1972, in Kenya, the artist currently resides in New York while she has works exhibited across the United States from New York to California. Her works are considered part of an "afropolitan" movement and speak to both African Americans and woman alike in their struggles to change their perception by society.
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| Wangechi Mutu, A Shady Promise, 2008, Brooklyn_Museum.jpg |
The pieces I viewed of Wangechi Mutu are part of a collection titled, Wangechi Mutu, A Fantastic Jourmney, a collection of 50 pieces. ("The Afrofuturism of Wangechi Mutu.") The collection is defined as, "widely colorful collages on Mylar." ("The Afrofuturism of Wangechi Mutu.") There were many pieces all featuring a woman or a being with the mixed aspects of nature or an animal and a woman. Some had clear examples of cut out like collages that feature newspaper or magazine clips, while others were more layered with pieces of made art on top of other pieces of made art. Of the pieces I observed, the one that spoke out the most to me and the one that swayed me to write on the artist was entitled, A shady Promise. The work features a women knelt on both knees and appearing to be giving birth. It also has tree protruding from her back into full growth in the ground and roots that appear to be coming out through her vagina also growing in the ground. The work was two pieces of Mylar placed side by side and most memorably feature what appeared like a skull face on the woman. Initially the piece frighten and confused me, but slowly it intrigued me. My interpretation was changed when I listened to a podcast on the work by Mutu. She went on to explain the piece symbolize the lies told as promises at birth. When born a woman is promised she can do anything, but society and the world limit that, especially by pressure to reproduce and raise children. She symbolizes this by the birth of the tree immediately growing right back into the work, symbolic of the perpetual cycle of lies or "Shady Promises". ("Mutu Podcast.")
My final artist of discussion is one who is arguably one of the most important feminist artist to ever live, Judy Chicago. Born in America, in 1939, she is described as, "artist, author, feminist, educator, and intellectual whose career now spans over five decades."("Judy Chicago Bio.") She was a professor at Fresno State University and currently continues to write and create and display art. She continues to strongly impact the feminist movement and to sponsor and support woman world wide. Of all her works, The Dinner Party, is her most famous as it is a, "A monumental testament to women's historical and cultural contributions, it incorporated sculptor, ceramics, china painting, and needlework." (Chadwick, 376)
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| Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party, 1974-1979, Brooklyn_Museum.Jpg |
To describe my impression of this work is two fold. First came from the Chadwick readings and discussing of the piece in class. I was impressed by the mere size of the project and by the fact it included so many female artists for one work. I was also impressed by the impact it had both for women and the fact that it was controversial enough to have a congressional hearing over the work. However, this impact was no where near the impact of the piece when I view it at the museum. The first thing that struck me was the size of the piece, the triangular room was much larger than I envisioned and the way the dark glass set the mood was incredible. The next feature was of course the plates themselves, I failed to understand that the plates had much more elaborate art than simply paintings on them.
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| Judy Chicago, Ethel Smyth's Plate, 1974-1979, Brooklyn_Museum.Jpg |
To see plates such as the Ethel Smyth's plate which features a three dimensional piano was equally impressive and beautiful. The choice of women to feature was also interesting, again I must admit there was a majority of listed woman who's name did not register to me, however it was great to see some that did including Marget Singer and Emily Dickenson. Having viewed the piece I can clearly state that the piece has changed my view on art and the limits it has forever. In conclusion of the post I would like to pose the question that i have been considering since i view the Dinner Party, when the unfortunate day comes and Judy Chicago passes from this world, who will design her seat at the table? (Brooklyn Museum)
I choose Artemisia Gentileschi, Berthe Morisot, Frida Kahlo, Wangechi Mutu, and Judy Chicago for many reasons. Of the reasons the one that unites them all is their impact on me and my views toward feminism. Gentileschi showed feminism as a way to help equality for womanby giving them fair depiction as strong and willing people. Bethe Morisot showed that feminism does not require leaving of domestic life but can be combined by domesticated woman felling equal in the house and tier selves. Frida exemplified what Gentileschi painted as she was such a strong woman for surviving the struggles of her life yet still managed to be not only successful but arguably the best regardless of her handicaps. Mutu, went to show me that problems of equality are still very real and need addressing today, by the people of my generation. Finally Judy Chicago addressed all of these by showing me not only the strengthen and determination of feminism but also that change can come to those who work, fight, and demand it. All five of these females changed my envisioned feminist from what was once simply "man hates" to a group of people who don't just want equality but demand it and willing to fight to earn it.
Bibliography
"The Afrofuturism of Wangechi Mutu." Theguardian.com.
Guardian News and Media, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/13/wangechi-mutu-art-afrofuturism>.
"Exhibitions: Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey." Brooklyn Museum: Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey.
N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/exhibitions/3294/Wangechi_Mutu:_A_Fantastic_Journey>.
"Judy Chicago Bio." Judy Chicago. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. <http://www.judychicago.com/about/bio.php>.
"Morisot, Berthe." WebMuseum. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. <http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/morisot/>.
"Mutu Podcast." Interview by Mary Top. Nasher. Duke, n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://nasher.duke.edu/large-files/podcasts/mutu-podcast1.mp3>.
Parker, Christine. "The Life and Art of Artemisia Gentileschi." The Life and Art of Artemisia Gentileschi. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
"A Tribute to Frida Kahlo »." FRIDA KAHLO WEBSITE. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. <http://www.fridakahlo.com/>.
"Violence and Virtue: Artemisia Gentileschi's "Judith Slaying Holofernes"" The Art Institute of Chicago. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. 4th ed. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 1990. Print.
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