Post #
5 Women Artists
Contemporary female artists have been able to break new grounds that were not necessarily afforded to their predecessors. Women artists of the last 30 or so years have used their craft as a way to shed light on issues that have plagued women throughout history, as well as new issues that are prominent today. Through different artistic mediums, these women are able to create commentary on injustices relating to sexuality, race, class, women’s health, and more. Their work often makes audiences think or spark dialogue, and sometimes causes controversy.
Judy Chicago’s “The Dinner Party” is a reinterpretation of the last supper from the point of view of “ones who’ve done the cooking throughout history” (Chicago, YouTube). To complete this work, Chicago employed the assistance of about 400 volunteers, both women and men. “The Dinner Party” consists of 39 place settings that represent different women throughout history, while also including the names of 999 women from history on the floor. This exhibition celebrates “feminine work” by featuring needlework, which is usually seen as just a craft or hobby but she turns into high art. The designs on the plates are representative of the female anatomy. Each place setting has a chalice, flatware, and napkin of the same exact size, as to show the equality of all these women. In fact, the triangular shape of the table works to represent the “equalized world we want” (Chicago, YouTube). The triangle also represents the ancient symbol for the goddess.
A total of 1,038 women are honored at this table.
Sarah Lucas, a British artist who became popular in the 90s, uses mixed mediums to comment on gender stereotypes and sexuality. Lucas often uses everyday items. She has said, “Things acquired, accrue a kind of powerfulness to them” (Lucas, Artsy.com). Her work usually features body parts or imagery meant to portray body parts, such as breast or genitalia. Lucas usually approaches her work with a sense of humor. According to an interview in The New York Times, “Ms. Lucas said she sees sex as a way to make her art as accessible as possible while also getting to viewer’s most intimate feelings” (Smith, NY Times). Even if audiences are uncomfortable with seeing sex or nudity represented in Lucas’ art, they are nevertheless able to relate to it in some way and therefore formulate an opinion.
Lucas’ bronze 1999 sculpture entitled “Beer can penis” takes a mundane object and turns it into something erotic.
Artist Jen Mann is a perfect example of someone who uses art to make a statement about issues that are extremely specific to today. Her paintings in recent collections explore how technology and social media affect the self. Her paintings do not shy away from femininity and often feature a pink color palette. In an interview with Art Maze Magazine, Mann spoke to the way all her work is connected, “These themes of existentialism, femininity, feminism, surface vs. substance (beauty vs. content) and identity, are integral to my overall body of work” (Mann, ArtMaze Mag). Mann’s work shows a disconnect between what we say online and what we actually feel. Mann is really interested in the ways we represent ourselves through texting and social media.
Mann’s painting “Plz <3 me” uses text lingo over a woman’s face to express desires of this modern time. The bright colors she uses in this painting can be seen in most of her work.
Maya Lin is a sculptor and architect, best known for designing the Vietnam Veterans memorial while she was an undergraduate student Yale. Her work features themes of environmentalism and can be described as minimalist. Though Lin’s work is a contrast from the other artists mentioned thus far, what connects her is the desire to make a statement through her work. Lin’s work might not be as obvious at first, but her minimalist style is a statement in and of itself. According to Michael Kimmelman in an New York Times article, “Minimalist abstraction, with its allegorical pliancy, turns out to function in a memorial context as the best available mirror for a modern world aware of its own constantly changing sense of history.” Lin’s art will stay relevant for a long time because of it’s simplicity. In his first year in office, President Barack Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts. (Achievement.org)
Lin’s sculpture, “The Women’s Table” was commissioned by the president of Yale in 1989 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of coeducation at Yale. The minimalist monument represents the female students at Yale since 1701, with spiraling numbers.
Betty Tompkins has used art since the 70’s as a way to express sentiments about sexuality and feminism. Some of her earliest work included huge photorealistic paintings of close-ups of genitalia and heterosexual intercourse (Bettytompkins.com). Her most recent collection, “Women Words” used words and phrases about women that people sent her overtop images of women, including the “Mona Lisa”. The four most repeated words she received were “bitch, cunt, slut, and mother” (Jansen, Elle).
This piece entitled “Women Words #53 (Ingres) by Betty Tompkins” features phrases such as “Unequal Pay!!!” and “When I fuck you from the back you look more like a woman.”
Contemporary female artists often use their craft to express women’s issues. Though someone like Betty Tompkins takes a strong approach, others like Maya Lin leave their work more open to interpretation. They all use art a way of communicating with people either by starting a dialogue or making us think.
Works Cited
“Betty Tompkins.” Betty Tompkins, www.bettytompkins.com/.
Chicago, Judy. “The Dinner Party A Tour of the Exhibition.” YouTube, YouTube, 3 Oct. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yMtdWxAc60&t=1069s.
Jansen, Charlotte. “Betty Tompkins Is The Feminist Artist You Need To Know.” ELLE, ELLE, 1 Mar. 2018, www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/longform/a40061/betty-tompkins-feminist-art/.
“Jen Mann: ‘I Find Relationships the Most Fascinating, and the Relationship You Have with Yourself...".” ArtMaze Mag, 11 July 2017, artmazemag.com/jen-mann/.
Kimmelman, Michael. “ART/ARCHITECTURE; Out of Minimalism, Monuments to Memory.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Jan. 2002, www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/arts/art-architecture-out-of-minimalism-monuments-to-memory.html.
“Maya Lin.” Academy of Achievement, www.achievement.org/achiever/maya-lin/.
Smith, Roberta. “Sarah Lucas, Unmasked: From Perverse to Profound.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Sept. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/arts/design/sarah-lucas-new-museum.html.
“Sarah Lucas - 52 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy.” 11 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy, Artsy, www.artsy.net/artist/sarah-lucas?medium=*&page=1&sort=-decayed_merch.
No comments:
Post a Comment