Tawny N post 6

Tawny Najjar

Art is often used to portray the customs and beliefs of the current society, and also to uphold those beliefs and ideals. However, the objects or ideals that are portrayed are not always accurate or representative of the entire population's beliefs. During the 1900s, American art was constantly redefined, whether it was by the Abstract Expressionist movement or by social movements, such as Feminism. In earlier years, before feminism began to gain prominence, the artwork was ruled by patriarchal themes and ideas. It was governed by patriarchy because art reflects what life is like, and society is very much male-dominated. Patriarchal ideals are based on the supremacy of the father and legal dependence of wives. The paintings were structured to appeal to the male population, portraying them to be “in action” – strong, powerful, and in control. However, the women were portrayed in a very different light. The artwork showed women as passive objects, placing importance on their appearance rather than their actions.

This sculpture, named Hades and Persephone, is a perfect example of male dominance over women. In the sculpture, Hades is grabbing Persephone, holding her hostage, against her will. This piece of art shows the vulnerability of women, and the idea that their purpose is to be pleasing to males. Persephone appears to be weakly fighting, as if she herself does not believe that she has the power or ability to protect and save herself. This implies that women cannot defend themselves in danger, and would therefore require male assistance. This degrading act highlights women's vulnerabilities.

This portrayal of women was even extended into display them as "eroticized" objects, which gave the male viewers a scopophilic pleasure. By "eroticizing" women, the male artists minimized their power and in turn, gave it to the male viewer. Women in artwork were now given a role, a position to fill for the men. They were expected to be beautiful, sensual, and most importantly, vulnerable. As Devereaux stated, “Women themselves must not be indifferent to the gaze turned upon them; they must have internalized a certain assignment of positions” (Devereaux 130). By portraying women as sensual and beautiful, the artists developed an ideal female, a vision which women were forced to aspire to. The patriarchal tone made women depend on men not only for their status and privilege, but for their identity. “Women, unlike men, do not learn to describe the world from their own point of view. As the ‘other,’ woman learns to submerge or renounce her subjectivity. She finds her identity in the subjectivity of men to whom she is attached (father, husband, lover). In the eyes of men, she finds her identity as the object of men’s desire” (Deveraux 127). Women were solely viewed in terms of their value to men, which caused their identity to be dependent on patriarchal confines. In one of his books, Plato talked about how artists can imitate what they see, yet they lack the knowledge of what it actually is. Congruently, male artists depicted women as what they viewed them to be, or wished them to be, yet these sensual paintings focused on the outer shell, rather than appreciating women for their intellect and character. In this patriarchal society, interpretation of artwork is influenced by the male gaze. "Men look both as spectators and as characters within works. In figurative terms, to say that the gaze is male refers to a way of seeing that takes women as its object. In the broad sense, the gaze is male whenever it directs itself at, and takes pleasure in, women, where women function as erotic objects” (Devereaux 121).

Sherman's Victorian Woman is an ideal example of one of the ways that women were portrayed. The painting depicts a woman reclining on a couch, head resting on her hand, and eyes staring off into the distance. She is dressed in a feminine gown, with her shawl gently falling off one shoulder, giving off the impression of sensual vulnerability and a strange sense of openness to the male spectator. She is well-dressed, and has an air of femininity about her. The subject seems to be contemplating about something, whether it is a preoccupation or a daydream, yet the focus is meant to be more on her appearance, rather than on the inner workings of her mind. In the patriarchal society, women were valued more for their skin-deep beauty, rather than their multifaceted temperament.

In this piece of artwork, You Are Not Yourself by Barbara Kruger, the artist captures the face of a woman's reflection in a shattered mirror. The piece illuminates deep and painful emotions. It captures the ultimate problem that women had with how they were depicted in paintings - their loss of identity. The paintings that portrayed women in a sensual, beautiful manner did not merely give women an image to strive for, but rather, an unattainable goal. In the patriarchal art society, women had to depend upon men for an identity. The shattered mirror represents the shattering of this woman's spirit and will; she is not able to attain that role of perfection and beauty. She does not know who she is, nor does she know who she wants to be.

The art world was male-dominated for many reasons, each having to do with a struggle of power. Art institutions were largely populated by men; if there were many female artists that could create what they wanted, the men still had the ability and the power to influence their preference of art. This manipulation of art positioned women in ways that remained consistent with patriarchal assumptions, restraining them from creating works that were too controversial or gender-related. The male control lead to pieces whose “content and style inscribe the patriarchal unconscious of the culture at large” (Devereaux 133). This positioned the audience to find a different manner of seeing the artwork in a way that calms their fears and satisfies their desires. To keep the status quo, the paintings retained themes that were “normal” and widely accepted. Another idea that kept power from female artists was that “women ARE art,” thus implying they were meant to be viewed as objects judged by male viewers, rather than being the viewer or the judge (Feminist aesthetic power point 8/1/07). This male-dominated art society also kept women from training, exhibiting, selling, and having their artwork collected. There was slow access to art schools and training, little access to top positions in the artistic field, and the traditional canon of works was overwhelmingly male (Feminist aesthetics power point 8/3/07).

After enduring this patriarchally themed society, women came together to criticize and change its views. The feminist goals in art were to gain equality between men and women artists, as well as to include some of the famous female artists in the “canon”. Feminists discredited the popular theory that art and aesthetic attention are universal tenets. “By ‘universal,’ it is asserted that art and aesthetic value possess at least ideally the same value for everyone, that they bind people together in experience” (Brand 7). They have criticized that the universal subject is “historically situated (masculine, patriarchal, and imperialistic)” (Brand 8). This feminist movement offered a means of resistance, and an alternative to the male gaze (Devereaux 139). Initially, female artists did not have much success gaining influence and recognition for their works. However, in 1971, Linda Nochlin wrote an essay titled “Why Have There Been No Great Female Artists?” which launched a movement that focused on women’s involvement in the arts. Linda questioned whether the traditional forms of fine art were overlooking the creative and unique pieces of art that female artists had created. When female artists first started creating art for the public to view, they de-gendered it, and left out any feminist connotations, preferring to have their artwork be accepted rather than make a statement. However, as time went on, female artists began to branch out. A “new art history” began to take hold, emphasizing the “work of art itself as a piece of history” as opposed to the traditional focus on “the development and achievement of period styles, the history, or the sequence of works” (Brand 10).

When female artists first began developing their artwork, the patriarchal society sought to marginalize it and devalue it. It was devalued because people did not want a change of ideas and customs. Thus, there was a natural resistance to the overthrow of a common way of thinking. To take feminism seriously would mean to rethink the basic, entrenched concepts of how a society should be. As a result, many great female artists who were well-known, amply commissioned, and self-supporting were omitted from the “canon of the greats” in the histories of art (Brand 10). However, on an interesting point, there is an argument that “there is no feminist art but only art that can be read as feminist” (Grove Art Online). This being said, just because an artist was female did not necessarily mean that she was trying to use her artwork as a means to bring about a change in the power balance between male and female artists.

As was obviously seen when female artists attempted to gain recognition for their artwork, gender does affect the norms and discipline of art. There was a great division between high art and low art, fine art and craft. High art is characterized by its authenticity and uniqueness, its aesthetic style, and sometimes by whether it is displayed for public viewing. Despite these qualifications for determining high art, female artists were not given equal treatment regarding their artwork. Though many females became accomplish artists, the “canon of the greats” remained entirely male. Artwork done by females was viewed as mediocre and almost as good as male works of art, but the thought that a woman could exceed a male’s work was ludicrous. In film clip # 3, Marsha Tucker talked about how it was a high compliment when some one told her that her work was as good as a man’s. High art was always the male’s domain, while women’s art was, in a sense, substandard. However, as Devereaux stated, “Does ‘great’ art mean the forcefully written on the spare, the heartfelt, or the coolly reasoned, the typical or the innovative. When is a text forcefully written, and who decides?” (Devereaux 136). Rather than judging the aesthetic value of the different paintings and artwork, people were more likely to judge based on sex, and what that sex implied – whether the painting carried additional, implied messages based on whether it was a male or female. Gender norms also affected the types of art that women created. Female artists created artwork that depicted what was familiar to them, whether it was from their lives as housewives, single and independent women, or lovers. Many paintings dealt with fashion, nature, and beauty. Female artists also portrayed females very differently in their art than male artists did. There was a split between female artists – one side felt that women should be proud and comfortable with their sexuality, that it empowered them and made them one with nature. These female artists created paintings that depicted nude women, yet their paintings did not carry the same sexual connotation that male paintings did. The nudity was not meant for the enjoyment of men, but rather for the enjoyment of women, an invitation for them to accept who and what they were. Hannah Wilke, a female artist in the 1970s, documented herself. She took several shots of herself in the nude, covering her body with pieces of gum to represent imperfections and scarring. She used herself as the subject to show that, even though she worked behind the scenes by creating these works of art, she still existed and had a voice. However, her work was deemed too controversial and provocative (film clip # 1). On the other side of the rift was the group of women that believed that women should be modest and pure. Their paintings were more unpretentious, though they still possessed the same level of skill and aptitude. Gender norms affected how artists created their works, for in the male-dominant society, the assumed viewer was male. All of the works of art were aimed at a male audience, and thus catered to the needs and desires of male viewers.

Georgia O'Keefe was known for her floral paintings, which depicted the sensuality of the female body. In her painting, Red Canna, O'Keefe uses the brush strokes and vibrant colors to display life and vividness. Most of her paintings were images of the female sexual organs, which were carefully constructed to look like flowers, or vice versa. O'Keefe is one of the many examples of female artists who celebrated the sensuality and sexuality of women.

During the 1900s, the previous notion of art and artists was drastically changed. There was a sense of “out with the old and in with the new.” Though these news ideals and concepts did not come without a struggle, they opened the minds of viewers, and opened doors for many people who were previously unable to express their artistic abilities. During this time, female artists began to make their mark in art history, though they fought a battle to achieve this. However, when one considers this battle, one must think ahead to the results. What would happen if female artists were given the exact same privileges and recognition as men? If there was equality, then the assumed viewer could no longer be male, which would lead to the idea that the gender of the viewer would not matter. Rather, the importance would be placed on the viewer’s own experiences and views. In addition, would the portrayal of women change, and for what gender of artist? Females would be given more power, because they could no longer be degraded as sexual objects. However, would they still be sexual, or would they be stripped of their sensuality, as was attempted in Nazi Germany? Lastly, since the equality between male and female artists took away that male-domination, would there then be a “universal view?” Art has come a long way in the past few centuries, always changing and forcing people to consider new ideas and concepts. One can only imagine what future artists will do to revolutionize the way people see and think.