Throughout our Art and Women class it was inevitable that we speak about feminism and feminist art. We discussed the impact that women artist made in a field dominated by men who thrived on excluding women. From the Middle Ages to the 21st century, women in the art world have continued to chip away at the restraints and oppression placed on them. In this blog post I have selected five women that I believe made a significant impact in the feminist movement, along with women who are still impacting the movement. Feminism art is so essential to the feminist movement to this day. Feminist art touches base on a wide range of women’s issues, such as body image, gender roles, motherhood, abortion, clothing, and even violence against women. The artwork of the following five women made an impact on me. Their work showcases all the issues they face as women but also as individuals. Their work is used to then make a political statement.
- Frida Kahlo: Kahlo is a Mexican painter, mainly known for her self-portraits. She was born July 6, 1907, in Coyoacan, a small town on the outskirts of Mexico city (Frida Kahlo Foundation). Her self portraits were considered feminist art because they reflected her own pain as a woman. Frida drew mainly from “personal experience, including her marriage, her miscarriages, and her numerous operations” (Frida Kahlo Foundation). Although her work was unconventional and weird, for lack of a better word, people really related to it because of her portrayals of pain and suffering. The idea of shared pain and suffering was a huge part of the women’s movement, especially in women conscious raising groups. Below are two famous painting from Frida. The one on the left, Self Portrait with Monkey, showcases how Frida portrays female beauty through what she thought of her own beauty. She overemphasized her unibrow, a typically unattractive facial feature, because that it how she viewed herself. The way women view themselves coincides with how society defines beauty. The image on the right, My Birth, is Frida’s portrayal of giving birth and motherhood; both issues relevant to the women’s movement.
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| Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Monkey, 1940 |
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| Frida Kahlo, My Birth, 1932 |
- 2. Romaine Brooks: Brooks is an American painter, born May 1, 1874. Brooks work has been linked to the movement of “Aestheticism and Symbolism” (The Art Story). However, she did not embrace the vivid colors that many other modernist did (The Art Story). Romaine Brooks artwork is relevant to our class and to the feminist movement because not only did she use different techniques with her color choices, but she also broke down the definition of what “feminine art” was, and what feminity is. Many of Brooks portraits showcased her in very androgynous clothing unusual for women. She was challenging what it meant to be a woman and what women should look like according to societal standards. These were also two key factors in the feminist movement; they also challenged feminine clothing and society’s beauty standards. The portrait below, Self-Portrait, showcases Brooks wearing typically masculine clothing. She was known for pushing feminine boundaries.
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| Romaine Brooks Self-Portrait 1923 |
- Suzanne Valadon: Valadon was born in France in 1865 (Art Net). Her career in painting coincides with her work as an artist model. When Valadon married she was able to move on from being an artist’s model and really focus on her own paintings. However, her time as a model played a significant role in her own artwork. She became fascinated with how the female body, specifically the nude, was portrayed to appeal to men. She believed that the way the male artist painted the female body was unrealistic and fetishized. Her work did the complete opposite; her work focused on the imperfections and realities of the female body. Valadon also portrayed her female models as relaxed, where male painters made their model pose in uncomfortable and unnatural ways that appealed to the male gaze. In one of her more famous pieces, shown below, Valadon portrays the woman in a realistic setting. The woman is a little heavier than most models shown in paintings. The woman is also laying in a comfortable pose, relaxed in her pajamas. Valadon’s work is feminist because she paints the realities of females and the female body. She is also going against the male gaze by portraying real women, not fetishized to appeal to men. She is reshaping the way women are seen within society.
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| Suzanne Valadon, The Blue Room, 1923 |
- Barbara Kruger: Kruger is a pop artist born in Newark, New Jersey in 1945 (Art History Archive). Kruger began to find herself as an artist when she landed a job in New York as an entry-level designer for Mademoiselle women’s magazine (Art History Archive). Kruger’s work is highly feminist and very political. Many of her artworks questioned the status of women, what it meant to be a woman, and how society treats and values women. In her piece, shown on the left, Super rich/ Ultra gorgeous/ Extra skinny/ Forever young, is a direct attack on society’s goals for women and their overemphasis on beauty. She is making a feminist statement by saying that women are brainwashed to become trophy wives, rather than smart individuals. Girls are taught to be super skinny, follow rigorous skin routines, keep themselves looking young so that they can find a rich husband and be “successful” by society’s standards. Another one of Kruger’s more famous pieces, Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face, shown on the right below, is also commonly known and used for the feminist movement. This piece, very obviously is going against the male gaze. The woman in the photograph is aware of the male gaze but she is unbothered by it, where in other paintings, mainly done by male artist, the female is looking at the man watching her. Kruger is saying that women do not go out and look for the attention of men; she is aware they are watching her but she doesn’t care.
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| Barbara Kruger, Super Rich/Ultra Gorgeous/ Extra skinny/ Forever young, 1997 |
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| Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face) 1981 |
- 5. Alice Skinner: Skinner is a contemporary artist who focuses on modern female issues and turning embarrassing situations for girls into art. Skinner defines her work as “pretty pink packaging” (Wonderland Magazine). She pulls the viewer in with pretty pink and pastel coloring but then forces them to considering the underlying feminist and political statement she is promoting. Much of her work centers around “gender pay gap, inequality, sexual harassment, consent, and the commodification of female bodies” (Wonderland Magazine). Skinner uses social media has a platform to put her artwork out there, her instagram presence is enormous. Because Skinner is still so young and living in the now, her artwork is very relatable and appealing to young women going through the same issues. Her artwork is also appealing to many young women because she draws a diverse group of women, from different body types to different races. Below is a drawing by Skinner protesting against the “pink tax,” where women have to pay more for sanitary products. A woman’s menstrual cycle is something no woman can control or avoid, therefore she should not have to pay an exuberant amount for pads and tampons. The pink tax only affects women. Below is also a link to Skinner’s instagram which is the main platform for her work, where she can voice her political views to a wide range of people.
Alice Skinner, Woman's Tax Rebate, 2016
Works Cited:
Art History Archive. Web. 22 April 2019.
Art Net. ArtNet Worldwide Corp. 2018. Web. 22 April 2019.
The Art Story. The Art Story Foundation. 2019. Web. 22 April 2019.
Byers, Rosie. Alice Skinner. Wonderland Magazine. 16 April 2019. Web. 22 April 2019.
The Frida Kahlo Foundation. Frida.kahlo.foundation.org. 2017. Web. 22 April 2019.
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