Our culture in the United States, as well as many other countries, has always been dominated by men. Most successful men will admit, that without the support of a strong woman, they would not have had the strength to reach there successful destination. So why does society always put women in the kitchen and men at work? Judy Chicago shows immense symbolism of equality, feminism, beauty and value in her gallery, “The Dinner Party”.
Upon entering the Elizabeth A. Sackler center for Feminists art and making a quick turn towards “The Dinner Party” exhibition, I walked straight to the tapestries. At first only looking like a piece of art with no meaning, the pieces began coming together as I continued my trip. My favorite was the last one, “and then everywhere was eden, once again.”
All 39 table settings, with unique ‘placemats’ and ceramic china plates, shared one piece of symbolism in common, the representation of the vagina, more frequently described by Judy Chicago as the vulva. A very important yet small party of the body, it births life. Another observation of the entire piece of art was the plates grew in size as I walked around. My most notable table setting was Ethel Smyths Piano plate. Growing up my mother and aunt were pianists and every holiday season we have what we call a, “sing song.” It’s where the whole family sits in a room and we all go around requesting a song to be played. For those who don’t know the lyrics, they google it and for those who do sing from memory.
One thing I noted as I walked around was the plates became more intricate and even third dimensional. It represents growth, importance, acknowledgement, awareness, successes and accomplishments throughout time. All the chalices were the same which told me that no matter where in time, they all had one goal, awareness for women rights. Alongside with all that, I was also appreciating the embroidery of the placemats beneath the plate, chalice, fork, knife, spoon and napkin.
Out of it all, the most important piece of symbolism was definitely the shape of the table. An equal 13 settings per side, shaped in a triangle representing the most important part of the whole gallery, equality. The thought of having to fight for equality between man and woman seems un-ruling now, but history proves humans have such a peculiar way of thinking. With races, genders and sexual orientations still feeling inferior to the “norm,” when will we as a HUMAN race start accepting more?
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