Prior to us entering the 20th century, we discussed the 19th century, where gender roles between both men and women were very distinct and everyone essentially had an idea of what was expected of them and tried their best to live up to those ideals. The way women lived was (and still is) completely different than how men were expected to live. Their lives, again, was based solely on the men that was present in her life, leaving her with barely little to say and limited, if any, control over her life choices. Though there were limitations up against women, they continuously moved towards realms that would allot them more freedom to step outside the restrictive households that stifled their potential to begin with. Though the household was their comfort zone, this revelation allowed women to migrate away from it, into new opportunities that allowed them to further explore their interest, some being art, and accrue status and monetary gain. Men weren’t the only ones with potential to be good artist, creating valuable pieces of work, but women had potential to be just as great and successful in that field as well.
As the 20th century approached, the art world began to change drastically, moving progressively into an era many referred to as “modernism”. Movements associated with modernism were, of course, “impressionism, postimpressionism, fauvism, cubism, futurism, constructivism, dada-ism, surrealism, expressionism, abstract expressionism, etc.” (Guerrilla Girls 59). Chadwick furthers the definition of modernism, explaining it further. Chadwick weighs in on the era stating that, “Modernity is both linked to the desire for the new that fashion expresses so well, and culturally tied to the development of a new visual language for the twentieth century-abstraction” (253). Modernism allowed for art to undergo a revolution, in which artist were able to put more of themselves into the work that they produced. Putting themselves more into their work meant expressing themselves freely without limitations and allowing their art to reflect what they felt within themselves and what they stood for in an abstract way. New works of art began to use a variety of colors, shapes, painting techniques, and other mediums that seemed to enhance the message artist were trying to get across during that period in time.
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| Claude Cahun, Self-Portrait, 1928 |
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| Claude Cahun, Self-Portrait, 1929 |
Women artist also helped to push the modernist agenda with their participation, influencing many of the techniques and developments that were put forth. They gained more freedom to become artist Going backwards in history, again prior to the 20th century, the art world was dominated primarily by men and the male gaze was very prominent. The male gaze was seen in many early Western paintings and in these paintings majority of them had women in the nude. It’s rare, during that time period, that you see men being the nexus of a painting, standing nude. Standing in the center, unclothed, the women is there to not only be looked at by men, the main audience, but ultimately judged by them, as well. Even though these paintings had great value and was recognized as exceptional, the underlying message stands out more. The painting didn’t serve any purpose for women. The paintings weren’t satisfying the women’s sexual desires or allowing her to mold her identity, but we can clearly see the purpose it serves for a man. The male gaze exerts this powerless image amongst women, making them look weak and incapable. Modernism allowed women to regain their power and reclaim their identity, on their terms, especially with art. Some works of art placed emphasis on the female body, but instead of it being men doing, women were the ones to start reclaiming their bodies and feminity and using it at the center of their art pieces.
Dada-ism, beginning in 1916, was a art movement that focused on “making works that often upended bourgeois sensibilities and that generated difficult questions about society, the role of the artist, and the purpose of art” (“Dada Movement Overview and Key Ideas”). The movement challenged conventional items, ideas, and well-known concepts through art. Hannah Hoch, a well-known artist who partook in dada heavily, pioneered the use of photomontages “using images lifted from the media” (Guerilla Girls 66). Many of the photomontages that she created depicted the idea of a “new women”. The idea of the “new women” was a women who resisted the expectations that were held over women and actively resisted the control that was placed over them. Women who identified as a “new women” placed themselves above the private sphere that they were limited or the pure, quiet women people expected and wanted. Much of Hoch’s work highlighted the “new women”, but being in a movement dominated by men, they weren’t as accepting of her work. Some of the men that Hoch worked closely with in the movement, even went to the extent of excluding her and her work from their art shows. That didn’t stop Hoch, as she continued to feature pieces of work that represented strong women, who was sexually liberated and went above the limitations that wanted to keep them stuck under male supremacy.
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| Hannah Hoch, Dompteuse (Tamer), 1930 |
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| Hannah Hoch, Indian Dancer: From an Ethnographic Museum (Indische Tänzerin: Aus einem ethnographischen Museum), 1930 |
After dada-ism followed surrealism. Surrealism was the movement that “sought to release the unbridled imagination of the subconscious” (Voorhies 2004). Art that was created as a result of the surrealism movement, was a refined, raw piece of work that delves into the imagination and deep thoughts of the artist. An artist who was prominent during this movement was Claude Cahun. Cahun is regarded the first female, during the 20th century, to take on self-portraits (Guerilla Girls 62). In the self-portraits that she created, she defied the idea of the male gaze because instead of being the muse of someone else’s work of art, she made herself the nexus of her own and challenged the expectations that dictated what was expected from both women and men. She presented herself in her pieces “as both object and subject of her own sexual fascinations” (Guerilla Girls 63). Cahun controlled how she was viewed by the audience. In each self-portrait, she explores the ideas surrounded by gender roles present in society and other societal ideals that either sparked discussion or confusion.
Expressionism allowed the artist to make more subjective artwork. The main goal of their artwork for the audience who were viewing their pieces, was to make them feel some type of emotion. Artist began to include some of their own personal experiences and emotions that they felt about a particular issues in order to get their overall viewpoint across. The artist was essentially liberated, free to do what they wanted in their artwork (Chadwick 280). Paula Modersohn-Becker was essentially one of the pioneers of expressionism. Modersohn-Becker centered her painting on the nude female body, also making an effort to challenge the male gaze and the idea that women relinquish possession of their own body.
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| Paula Modersohn-Becker, "Self Portrait with Amber Necklace",1906 |
Postmodernism was a product of modernism, but had completely different focuses during this movement. Postmodernism essentially was an era that “ [characterized] the break breaking down of the unified traditions of Modernism” (Chadwick 380). While modernism focused more on incorporating reasoning and rational thinking within artwork, postmodernism denied the use of logic and stressed irrational approaches, more than anything. During this era, artist attempted to eliminate issues, the ideals formed from them, and concepts that were universal and well-known truths that people lived and swore by. By doing this, letting go of universal truths, artist were able to display their own truths, display more of themselves within their work, and overall feel connected to what they are able to produce. Women benefited most from this era because they were able to project what they wanted the audience to actually see and control the message that would be passed along to others, allowing them to create new ideas and display them on different types of mediums.
Works Cited:
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 1990. Print.
“Dada Movement Overview and Key Ideas.” The Art Story,
www.theartstory.org/movement-dada.htm.
The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York:
Penguin, 1998. Print.
Voorhies, James. “Surrealism.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/surr/hd_surr.htm (October 2004)
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