Curate a Modernist Exhibition. Visual & Performing Arts Essay

Feminist Avant-Garde of Men
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Introduction
           Gender differences highlighted male domination of different institutions of politics and culture, including the realms of the art. However, historical pieces of evidence of the arts show prejudices and discrimination regarding women as art subjects and as art creators (Collins, 1979). In the women as a subject of art, the patriarchal society focuses their artworks that objectifies women. This objectification includes female nude and household chores. Unlike the representation of men, men nude figures in art represent the elevation of the ego where a man should be the role model of society; however, women subjects were limited to accessories for the arousal of men when they are represented in the nude (Akdemir, 2017). Additionally, before the modernist era, women are projected in the art to be limited within the confines of the house to do household chores such as cleaning, cooking, tailoring, washing, and rearing the children (Akdemir, 2017). Women artists are also not approved in society before the political revolutions of the 1970s (Akdemir, 2017). Women artists were unrecognized and their talents were ostracized. Men appraise women artists as a low-class citizen where women should match the level of men in terms of talent to achieve prominence in the art industry (Marshment, 1993). In modern art, feminist movements challenged society's status quo in tearing down the mischaracterization of men about the complexities of the female ability. Feminist artists like Judy Chicago, Nancy Spero and the Guerilla girls inspired the women around the world to be intelligent in not only wanting gender equality but also challenge other cultural discrimination. 
           Although feminist art proliferated to question the social norms of patriarchy, men need to adapt to feminist principles to see if feminist movements affect the perspective of men in changing the way on how they view women as subjects and women as artists in the art industry. In this exhibition, we will examine men’s artwork that projects feminism in their craft as well as the revolutionary art of Judy Chicago The Dinner party.
Theme: Feminist Avant-Garde of Men
Women are the central figures to change society but we need to see if feminist principles are already present in the male artist. In Avant-Garde, the boundaries of what is accepted as the social norm are pushed through experimental works, radical and unorthodox approach in tackling cultural issues (Bürger, 1984). In the arts, feminist art movements are pioneered by a female artist to challenge the norms of the patriarchal society in the 1960s to the present. Men take part in political responses to feminism. However, the response of men turned into different categories such as the opposition of any form of feminism or anti-feminism and the acceptance of feminist perspectives or pro-feminists (Pelak, Taylor, & Whittier, 2006). In anti-feminism, men view women’s moments as detrimental to society’s superiority in handling different industries (Pelak, Taylor, & Whittier, 2006). Pro-feminist men believe that increased participation of women in different industries is beneficial to all genders in general because there is a proper division of labor in society that improves production and innovation (Pelak, Taylor, & Whittier, 2006). Though only women artists are known as a feminist artist, the pro-feminist male artist can change the way they see feminism through their feminist Avant-Garde artwork. 
Collection
The following artworks are feminist art for men, but the masterpiece of Judy Chicago is included to compare feminist art from the perspective of a woman to that of a man. Judy Chicago led different social movements to challenge the norms of 1970s art that discriminated against women and culture because of men's destructive tendencies to destroy society with wars and prejudices (Strong, 2002). Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party is preferred because it reveals the essence of women's contribution to history that is needed by the patriarchal society to survive. 
The Dinner Party (1979) by Judy Chicago
The Dinner Party (see appendix, fig. 1) was made in 1979 as a response to the undervaluation of patriarchy to the role of women in society. In this artwork, a massive triangular-shaped dinner table that illustrates the influence of women in shaping human civilization. The table contains 39 settings that show complex stories of important women in history to create a narrative. Each setting discusses the achievements and the ability of women to change society in both mythology and history (Strong, 2002). The settings are complete with hand-painted artifacts such as plates, chalices, and cutlery. She also embroidered unique table cloths to compliment the achievement of women in each setting. Additionally, other plates and chalices were painted with varying images of the vulva with bright colors.
           Judy Chicago used the discriminating ideas that society gave women that limits their ability to become more than just a house figure and an accessory for men’s libido. Judy Chicago used concepts of common domestic crafts, such as tailoring and fine dining that are common stereotypes of what a woman should become, then turned these concepts into a masterpiece that empowers women to challenge men's discriminatory practices (Strong, 2002). 
In this masterpiece, Judy let the world know about how female weaknesses are defined by society. She wants to show the world that women are not inferior to men in any industry. She used her artistic skills to inspire a driving force for all women in the world to try and devote themselves to challenging the patriarchal society for the betterment of the human race.
           This artwork is important because it reveals the essence of what feminist art should look like. It presented a symbolic representation of women in history and cha...