The Embodiment of Feminism in Modern Art

Your Name Subject and Section Professor’s Name Date The Embodiment of Feminism in Modern Art Dark swelling bruises sprained and a broken wrist, bleeding breast and purple marks around the neck all hidden underneath long linen clothing. The body can only handle such pressures but will eventually break. It is well known that the body of a woman, according to the history of our culture, suffered the ill-favored sight of objectification; however, the damage is not just felt by the body, but the pain is further experienced and re-experienced by the mind. Sadly, the stigma of weakness about the body of a woman is what was instilled in the minds of the people instead of the strength of a woman’s body to endure beyond any threshold of suffering. This “weak body” contributes to the false identification of femininity as it diminished the full potential of women by the repression of the male-dominated society where the woman’s body and its appearance were imposed to be part of the nature of feminism (Shefer 37). In 1960, two main objectives were incurred by the women's movement: to find the collective voice of women that is apart from the patriarchal voice, and to re-establish the image of women as separate from the description given by others (Isaac 3). However, one problem during the 1960s is that sexism is pervasive (Gerhard 1). Art historians during that time, even assumed that art is exclusively reserved for males only (Isaac 1), so it is nearly impossible to aim for changes if you are a woman. In the late 1980s, Arthur Danto surveyed the most innovative mainstream contemporary artworks of that particular period. To his mild astonishment, Danto found out that the most innovative art came mostly from women specifically made with feminine or feminist content. Little did Danto know that the meaning of contemporary art was about to be changed by the continuous contributions of the feminist movement converging with their representations of art as their reflection of their self and the society they want to change (Isaac 2). The embodiment of feminism in modern art is solid evidence to the multiple achievements of women that triumphed over adversity. In the following selections, the materialization of women suffering from oppression and the journey towards the fulfillment of the central objectives of the women's movement were observed: Magdalena Abakanowicz's “Abakan Red”, Nancy Spero's Five scrolls “Torture of Woman”, Helena Almeida's “Pintura Habitada”, Andrea Bowers, “Marian is a Feminist,” and Judy Chicago's “The Dinner Party.” These selections visually narrate the story of oppressed women about the struggles and success of spreading feminist art awareness by the use of female aesthetics. The first part of the story is Magdalena Abakanowicz’s "Abakan Red." The Abakan Red is a red round shaped object with layers of protruding folds that seemed comparable with that of the vagina (Jakubowska 2). The Abakan red was selected as the representation of the woman`s body as an imposed nature of femininity given by the male-dominated society. The second part of the story is Nancy Spero’s “Torture of Woman.” The Torture of Woman is an artwork depicting the continuous horrors about the pain and suffering of women (Moran). The selection voice out the unheard cries of the abused and victimized. The Torture of Woman was selected to increase further the intensity of awareness that women are suffering from and calls for the immediate action of change in this sexist society. The third part of the story is Helena Almeida's “Pintura Habitada.” The Pintura Habitada transformed the stigma of a “weak body” into a fusion of body and energy. The artwork is composed of an image of the Almeida’s body painted with strokes of blue paint where the blue paint symbolizes energy (Almeida qtd. in Carlos and Vanderlinden 52). The Pintura Habitada was selected as a reminder that women can establish new meaning to feminism as a symbolic body of strength and endurance opposite to what the male-dominated culture described as weak. The fourth part of the story is Andrea Bowers, “Marianne is a Feminist.” The selection is a story about the protest and the different movements that women took in order to achieve their two main objectives. Marianne is a Feminist was selected as a symbol of unity that a single woman will have a hard time making changes, but together anything can be done. The last part of the story is Judy Chicago's “The Dinner Party.” The Dinner Party is an artwork that commemorates women’s achievement in history. It is a monumental work that honors and gives pride to the real history of innovation with women’s involvement that was overlooked and neglected by men due to their rule of exclusivity (Gerhard 4). These selections from the storyline of the long and rigorous journey that women needed to endure to achieve goals beyond the deterministic notions of the sexist society. Wall ...