Art And Feminist Art History

Prehistoric and ancient artists represent men and women in various ways and the works of art tell an altered story, which reinforces old-fashioned gender roles. Additionally, representations of prehistoric and ancient genders illustrate the social standards of their specific periods. The views of gender presented by the works of art are still recognizable, despite all individual’s current sensibilities and views today. An individual’s contemporary view is of gender and gender rules illustrates the significant social progress that the human culture has made. Although the Woman of Willendorf and Kouros/Statue of standing Youth artworks were created at different times, the genders can still easily be depicted within the artwork.

The paintings and sculptures that first appear as a general and social commentary on the depiction of African Americans in the 18th and 19th century art canon, painted by contemporary artist Titus Kaphar, have given a voice to Black figures in the historical and artistic context. In The Preacher 's Wife (2010), a painting part of the ‘Classical Disruption’ exhibition, Kaphar seeks to explore the role of black women and their misrepresentation in the 18th and 19th art historical trajectories. Recreating paintings by great American artists such as Copley and Eakins, Kaphar reconstructs social and historical narratives (Berzon). While maintaining a common denominator throughout his works, Kaphar’s art has been recognized for inserting African Americans in paintings and telling the narrative of their absence and exclusion from the art historical canon. A graduate of Yale Art School, Kaphar also credits the contemporary style of his art to his studies at De Anza College in Cupertino where he took an African American Literature class that introduced to the art of the Harlem Renaissance with Omonike Weusi Puryear. Yale and De Anza College, collectively, contributed to the way Kaphar gives form and authority not only to black men, but also to the women who have been objectified or erased altogether from the art historical canon (Frank).

I think what we are looking for in this question is the procedures used to formally analyze art work. The first step is to describe the work. This process should include The title of the work as well as who created it and when and the medium used to create the work. Our course description calls for information regarding who currently owns the artwork and its current location. Other information that can be included in the description is what kind of art it is and some history of the artist as well as history on the subject.

Form of "afterlife insurance" in order to trick the soul into staying alive in the event of the body's destruction

During the Romantic Era, gender roles were already set in stone. Women were expected to do certain things, as were men, and they only did such. These clear standards were held very highly in society, however, as many people felt obligated to society to continue with these standards, there were always people who had a different opinion. Women such as Mary Wollstonecraft identified men as the root cause for the need of a change in society. In contrast there were women like Anna Letitia Barbauld who felt that if women truly loved their husban,d, being an equal gender should not matter. These two approaches, although very different, made up the beginning of the feminist movement during this era.

The definition of feminism is very elusive. Maybe because of its ever-changing historical meaning, it’s not for certain whether there is any coherence to the term feminism or if there is a definition that will live up to the movement’s variety of adherents and ideas. In the book “No Turning Back,” author Estelle Freedman gives an accurate four-part definition of the very active movement: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently part of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies” (Freedman 7).

There are many great ways to analyze an artwork. From of all of the ways to analyze artworks; there are four that i really like: Iconographic analysis, Feminist analysis, Contextual analysis and psychological analysis. Iconographic analysis is when something in the artwork based on the circumstances of the time has something that would be understood greatly in the time in it was made, an art that would be perfect in this analysis would be Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol. Feminist analysis is when you consider the role of the woman in a piece of artwork and how that art explains that woman's experience, A good artwork for that analysis would be Woman with Flowered Hat by Roy Lichtenstein. Contextual analysis is when you look at the context

Friedan’s work displayed how women were regressing back into the role of homemaker, which was their most valued role under the influence of the mystique. The McCarthyite period caused much unrest in America because of the creation of the ideology of gender roles. Freidan argues:

When examining and judging a work of art from an art historian’s point of view the historical operations:

Gender credo has signified political and cultural values in Greek and Roman era. In particular women representation in artwork has pondered and reinforced the values of their times. In the articles, "Parthenon and Parthenoi: A Mythological Interpretation of the Parthenon Frieze" by Joan B. Connelly and "The Muted Other" by Natalie Boyment Kampen, the Parthenon frieze, the Ara Pacis: Imperial Family frieze, and Cornelia: Mother of the Gracchi, are pieces depicted to characterize women in their implemented roles.

Women have always played a significant role in art and art history. Women have been used as models, subjects, inspiration, muses, supporters, etc. of male-created art. The most well-known artists have almost all been male: DaVinci, Picasso, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Pollock, Warhol, Renoir, Dali— all men, who have become famous for their art, and their depiction of the female form. Unfortunately, these men have failed to portray women in a positive light and have instead objectified women. Objectification can be roughly defined “as the seeing and/or treating a person, usually a woman, as an object” (Papadaki). Men objectify women in art by treating them as interchangeable, as something owned, as something without feelings, or even treating them

In the Article, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Linda Nochlin first talks about the usual answers to this question. The first one is the “the rarity of female artists is in fact an illusion” because there have been plenty of great female artists who have been ignored and later-on their work has disappeared from history. She does not believe that history has been manipulated enough to have completely remove female artist from history then, the second response to this question is that female skills in art is different from male skills because a woman’s experience in life is very different from that of a man. She also argues that this could be considered true if somehow the work of female artists shared some attributes in contrast

Ardis, Ann L., and Inc Netlibrary. New Women, New Novels : Feminism and Early Modernism. New Brunswick [N.J.]: New Brunswick N.J. : Rutgers UP, 1990. Print.

From ancient times to the present, many artists begin their art journey by depicting women. Although women have been excluded from art history for a few centuries, a closer look at what inspired great male artists shows they were still very much involved. For some of history’s most famous artists, the lives of women were not simple ones, they were more than muses or wives; they were partners in love, passion and creativity. As Marie-Therese Walter to Picasso, Frida Kahlo to Diego Rivera. Before the modern art era, portraying a female nude in paintings were forbidden. However, this forbidden rule did not restrain artists’s passion for portraying women. Figures from Greek mythology rivalled saints and biblical characters in arts, providing endless opportunities for erotic portrayals. Of these, Venus was the most popular. According to myth, Kronos cut off Uranus’s genital and cast them into the sea, the foam of which symbolizes his semen. Aphrodite, or Venus, was born fully grown from that foam. Venus represents the goodness of love, sex, beauty, and fertility. Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (c. 1484; Florence, Uffizi), Titian’s Venus of Urbino (c. 1538; Florence, Uffizi) and Francois Boucher’s The Toilette of Venus(c.1751, French, Paris) can all in their different ways be recognized as personifications of sexual beauty and also reflects the role of women in society.

This piece of art struck me the first time I saw it. It made me think about things I think all feminist art should make me think about. This photograph brings about thought of confinement, discomfort, pain, and a question asking why is this happening? The main reason I was struck by this image was the blood. Blood has many connotations. When I think of blood I think of pain, life, menstruation and much more. I see the blood in this piece to be what makes it a piece of art. Also, blood is the connection I found between form 1 and form 2. Both images are striking and do not come off as “beautiful” which was an intentional choice for both Ryoko Suzuki and Ana Mendieta. This piece gives some insight into the artist's experience with womanhood. Suzuki has contributed to Feminist Art, and this piece, for me, offers a great representation of women in society today.