Women's Revolution

          

Sonia Delaunay's
 Simultaneous Contrast (1912) is an ideal
example of Delaunay's Modern art
 playing a huge part in influencing the 
fashion industry.

           Modernism was an art movement during the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century in which artists broke boundaries by creating art that challenged political and social constructs of the time. This period in time included the "isms," of art: dadaism, abstract expressionism, expressionism, and surrealism. Due to political movements during the time, such as the Women's Suffrage movement in the twentieth century, women began to have more rights that allowed them to express themselves as artists. While women could express themselves through their art more freely, the unfortunate narrow-minded stereotype that women's art could never be better than men's art continued to exist. Chadwick writes of Modernism, “The emergence of a self-conscious set of practices and characteristics through which the modern in art is understood developed gradually and coincided with the appearance of the first generation of women artists with more or less equal access to artistic training” (p.279). While women of this time knew that their art would not be widely accepted, they carried on with their efforts of self-expression through art. While they may not have been appreciated figures in art during their own time, they are now getting their recognition.

Sonia Delaunay's Couverture
(1911) was influenced by
Russian peasants and Cubist
paintings.

Women were not just making ground breaking changes within the art world, but also in terms of politics, the workforce and their lives at home. The ingenious techniques of women artists aided in Modernism becoming emphasized within the fashion industry as well as in home life (decor). This was a revolutionary time for women as women were fighting patriarchy for equal rights and opportunity. This in turn led to Dadaism, an art movement born out of revolt against the political, social and cultural values of the time. Another popular movement for women artists during the time was Surrealism as it allowed them to exhibit their realities through their art. The Guerrilla Girls relate this idea to the male gaze when they write, “Instead of presenting herself as a passive object ready to be consumed by a heterosexual male gaze, she defiantly presents herself as both object and subject of her own sexual fascinations” (p. 63).

     The ideal example of a female Modernist is Sonia Delaunay. While she did not receive the credit that she deserved for her artwork due to her husband, Robert Delaunay, receiving most of the recognition for the work they created together, Sonia created art "influenced by Russian peasant designs" (Chadwick, p. 261) and her knowledge of early Cubist painting. This influence came together in her creation of Couverture in 1911. Chadwick writes that Sonia Delaunay believed that, "Modernity could best be expressed through a dynamic interplay of color harmonies and dissonances which replicated the rhythms of modern urban life" (p. 260). Chadwick says Delaunay's painting Simultaneous Contrasts (1912), "reveals an interest in the dynamics of surface design which then became her primary concern" (p. 261). As Chadwick explains, in the twentieth century, "It was fashion which translated the principles of abstraction to, and defined modernity for, a broad public" (p. 262). Delaunay's art played a huge part in influencing the fashion industry. Delaunay's inventive techniques took precedence in the reinvention of art during Modernism that brought the idea of being alive and art together. 

Betye Saar uses her piece
 The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972) 
to make a ground breaking statement about
the stereotype of colored women being
submissive.

            Post-Modernism arose in the mid-twentieth to late twentieth century and became significant in presenting itself as an art movement against Modernism. While Modernism was the beginning to many new art mannerisms which were meant for just the most powerful to truly comprehend and value, Post-Modernism was a time of curiosity and skepticism for everyone, regardless of gender or socio-economic status. Post-Modern artists used their art to push questions out of people, rather than answers. Reacting to Modernism's simple works, Post Modern art aimed to be groundbreaking and push limits that would make people really question their surroundings and the lives they lived. Post-Modernism aimed to sway people to believe that the truth is much more about everyone's narratives. From Modern to Post-Modern, we go from a lot of big stories like those of God, to more individualistic, humanistic stories that are more about the complexity of us rather than the simplicity of us.
            Betye Saar uses her piece The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972) to break the stereotype that women of color are passive and compliant by creating an iconic image of Aunt Jemima, meant to empower. As Chadwick indicates of Saar's work, the painting depicts an "Aunt Jemima image holding a small revolver in one hand and a rifle in the other in a box papered with 'mammy' pictures" (p. 344). Saar uses contentious and racist images in order to bring back these images and give them more positive and empowering meanings. 

Barbara Kruger's Untitled (Your gaze hits the side 
of my face) (1981) indicated in a simple way
 the powerful idea that women will no longer be
 portrayed as an object, rather than a subject.

             Barbara Kruger used her art to dare viewers to take the time to question the culture and societal standards of their time. Post Modernism focused on representations that already existed, rather than on new inventions and their "imagery from mass media or popular culture, has focused attention on the ways that sexual and cultural difference are produced and reinforced in these images"(Chadwick p. 380), and this is exactly what Barbara Kruger used her art to do. Kruger's pieces are black and white pop culture images from magazines that portrayed images that she did not agree with with red bold texts on top. Kruger wanted people to question their own stance on feminism, as well as her own. Looking at her art, her viewers side with her, and against her, all at once which forces the reader to shift their way of thought. While this was controversial and often left her audience perplexed, this was Kruger's goal and she did exactly that as an inventive post-modern technique. 
             Cindy Sherman was another female Post-Modern artist. Her idea was that a photograph was better than a painting. Sherman's photography portrayed females and for the most part, she was the female depicted in her photographs. In Sherman's photographs, like Untitled (1979) she represents what society perceives as the 'ideal' woman. She is thin, blond, focused on her appearance, and most likely has a man on her mind. However, she uses the photograph to portray the artificialness of this 'ideal' woman that is depicted in popular media. Sherman's goal was to shed some light on the artificialness of women depicted in popular culture as real women, as well as the objectification of women in the media. 

Cindy Sherman's Untitled, 1979: This picture shows how women were viewed as objects used for seduction
 and the automatic assumption of the viewer is that this woman is waiting for her husband to
come home to her. This demonstrates the man's desire to create
an image of their dream woman as the 'ideal' woman
 as an objectification of all women.

While Modernism and Post-Modernism were far different movements, they both aimed for and did  create impactful changes in the world. Both time periods had heavy feminist influence by major female contributors and aimed to create more equal opportunities for women to actually be viewed as equals.

                                                                 Works Cited

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 2002.

The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin, 1998. Print.