Feminism in Art and Media through the Centuries - Essay Example

? (YOUR (THE Feminism in Art and Media through the Centuries Feminism is defined as a social theory that spans to the diverse experiences of women as a whole concerning social issues and inequalities. Feminism touches the grounds of social movements and moral philosophy. It defends and fights for women’s interest, women’s right and their welfare. One of the main purposes of feminism is to eradicate the sexist approach of the society that tends to lean in favour of men. This social theory wishes to promote the individuality of women. It advocates their independence and their role in the society – a role which is more than that inside the household (Chodorow). This paper will discuss feminism in the context of visual culture and the means by which this particular movement was theorized and historicized in the past three centuries. Before delving into the discussion of the historiography of the femininity in the context of visual arts, it is appropriate to explain the projection of women in contemporary art by citing varying texts published by feminist writers. In particular, this research will use Amelia Jones’ book, The Feminism and Visual Culture Reader, as its primary basis for said study. Jones’ work focuses on the collates different accounts and writings concerning art, film, architecture, popular culture, new media, and other visual fields in the point of view of feminist thinkers and writers. The author describes feminism as, “... in most of its forms, proposes and demands a political and/or ethical stance towards cultural experience...” (Jones 2). She also argues that the presence of visual culture, “... is a rubric and a model of critical thinking about the world of images saturating contemporary life.” (Jones 2). Clearly, Jones infers the movement of feminism as the political way of asserting women’s rights, unto the pretext of the visual arts where politics – feminism in this case – can be addressed through thorough analyses by a media of images which depict everyday life. The author fully acknowledges the merger between feminism and the visual arts. After she defines the two different terms, the author asserts that, “Feminism has a central role in the development of critical models of reading visual imagery in visual culture and its related disciplines of art history, film theory, television studies, and the visually oriented arm of media, new media and culture studies.” (Jones 3). There is no need to explain what had been cited from the work of the author. She directly applies the leading role of such movement in contemporary forms of art and media. However well established feminism is as a major movement that advocates the emphasis of the female gender in a patriarchal society, the depiction of femininity and its degradation in some visual arts has had a lengthy discourse. According to Judith Butler in the book, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, “The notion of an original or primary gender identity is often parodied within the cultural practices of drag, cross-dressing and the sexual stylization of butch/femme identities. Within the feminist theory, such parodic identities have been understood to be either degrading to women...” (187). Butler makes clear that not all contemporary art can be beneficial to the cause of women empowerment. The example that she had presented gives light to the misuse of the feminist movement which had inevitably resulted to the lampooning of the feminine gender. Indeed when the ideological basis of feminism is used but the medium of expression is deformed, the outcome may cause harm to the ultimate goal of uplifting femininity as gender in the arts. If Jones depicts feminism as the major player in the context of contemporary visual arts and Butler argues that the proper expression of feminism in the mentioned media is a must, other feminist writers regard that feminism in visual arts can create liberal and complex image of the female subject. Judith Williamson addresses visual arts as the core medium which constructs the definition of a woman and thus produces feminism out of the imagery of an artist creates. In an article by Williamson entitled, Images of ‘Woman’, the writer constructively and critically analyses the art created by the photographic images and stills of Cindy Sherman. According to the writer, “... for anyone analysing how film and photographic representations work, it is, as I have tried to suggest, particularly important for women. I find the recognition of this process, that the ‘woman’ is constructed in the image, very liberating.” (Williamson 103). Contemporary art adopts the liberal aspect within the visual representations through photography. Williamson argues that photographic artists tend to use their medium in order to construct the image by balancing the proper elements that will show result in the final outcome of their galleries. The writer argues that photography and film are important for women because it creates and emphasizes the image of their own gender. In a contemporary sense, the ‘woman’ is depicted in a very liberal manner. “However this femininity is not all form and no content. The emotions that bounce between the narrative and the woman in each picture, though unclear, are nearly suggestive of fear, suspicion, vulnerability...” (Williamson 104). Williamson adds that feminism in contemporary visual arts is not all about how the image of the woman is projected. She states that a good kind of visual representation does not only dwell in capturing the physical attributes of the feminine subject. It also gives credence to the emotion expressed from a particular photographic shot or film still. The writer describes how Sherman produces the appropriate mixture of forms and elements in order to relay the emotion within the general picture, with the woman as its central topic or point of reference. As Jones had expressed her strong conviction on the leading role of feminism in contemporary visual arts, Williamson takes feminism into a deeper meaning where the woman - as the main subject of the piece - is not simply a model to promote the mentioned movement. Rather, it shows how visual arts can project the woman as a complex figure filled with varying emotions implied through the photograph. As what the sources of feminist writings indicate above, contemporary visual art is entirely different from the visual arts expressed in the previous centuries. Feminism in the context of visual culture and the means by which this particular movement was theorized and historicized in the 19th, 20th and the 21st centuries vary from each other and express different messages as perceived by a particular audience. Some photographs and images that will be used in this analysis will be taken from modern advertisements and from current exhibitions from museums, particularly the “The Cult of Beauty” exhibit from the Victoria and Albert Museum. The first image that entails a very interesting depiction of women is entitled Pavonia by Frederic Leighton created in 1858 to 1859 (see Figure 1). Leighton’s work is an oil painting which shows the elegance of the 19th century woman. It describes the prim and proper aspect of the Victorian Age where the prevailing ideology focuses on the upbringing and the etiquette of individual genders in the society. The painting clearly shows how composed the woman is. She is dressed appropriately and bears a fair facial expression which relays a depiction of complexity and seriousness. The type of clothing that has been created for the subject explains the amount of conservatism present within the 19th century society. It explains vibrancy, majesty, simplicity and composure within the women of the said timeframe. The same characterization of the 19th century visual arts can be attributed to Edward Burne-Jones’ stained glass painting entitled, Merchant’s Daughter created by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. in London (see Figure 2). Although the style presented by Jones is entirely different from the neo-classicist style of Leighton, the idea of women presented in this visual medium is very much the same as that of the preceding oil painting. The image depicts the subject to be radiant in beauty. The stained glass painting shows the woman holding a rose amidst a naturalistic background. She possesses a faint expression upon her face which implies seriousness in tone. Simplicity can also be seen in the painting by the simple and radiant clothing worn by the subject – a plain white garment with yellow flower inlays that match her yellow hair. The combination of a green background, the rich red rose and the simple radiant woman in white and yellow all herald a message that aside from being a complex figure, the 19th century woman can also become naturalistic in a sense that she abides by simplicity as her virtue. In so far as the 20th and the 21st centuries are concerned, the depiction of women in the visual arts have indeed transformed as history had progressed. The image of the modern woman can be seen in varying advertisements during the mentioned timeframe. An example of this can be seen in the swimsuit advertisement of Jantzen where drawn image of a woman wears a typical ‘50s swimwear (see Figure 3). The accompanying quotation in the advertisement, “most beautiful, most beautifying swimsuits in the world” entirely captures the image of the subject. The medium depicts the woman’s physique while she joyfully boasts her modern swimwear. The floral and incredibly short characteristics of the swimsuits present an image of the woman to be incredibly liberal and open-minded. In the following years, the woman in advertisements is further taken to the extremes. In the 21st century, the supermodel Victoria Beckham models underwear for the company Emporio Armani (see Figure 4). The advertisement shows a black and white tone of the photograph while Beckham poses to show her physique unto the audience. The image presents liberalism within women concentrated on intimacy and sensuality. From the 1950s up to the present, the prevailing depiction of women as models of perfect physique and sexual fantasies are consistent within modern and contemporary art. This shows a huge contrast within the image of the woman in visual arts of the 18th century and the 20th to the 21st centuries. The two paintings of the 18th century created the image of complexity, composure and conservatism within women. As history had unfolded and as liberalism took its toll in the visual arts, complexity was still retained, however with changes in the open-minded and sensual images of the woman in order to promote certain products in the advertising world. The feminist Amelia Jones was correct in her assumption that feminism can be merged in the visual arts. This was consistent in the examples shown that spanned form the 18th up to the 21st centuries. Like Jones, Judith Williamson made her point that the construction of femininity can produce emotions through the visual arts. The clear message of the different contexts in the 18th and the 21st century exemplify the changing images of the woman in the arts. However unfortunate it may be, Judith Butler is also commendable in proving that degradation of the female gender can be produced in the wrong use of feminism in a particular medium. From conservatism of the 18th century, women projected in the contemporary visual arts can be subjected to sexual violations due to the intensely sensual images they provide in certain advertisements. Indeed, feminism in the context of visual culture and the means by which this particular movement was theorized and historicized in the 19th, 20th and the 21st centuries vary from each other and express different messages as perceived by a particular audience. By the images shown as examples, it can be said that the proper application of the visual arts creates the desired portrayal of the feminine gender in the society. It is with such theoretical knowledge that one must apply the appropriate message and form in order to avoid the possible degradation of women as what Butler had argued. The conservatism created in the 18th century examples can be modernized and applied to the advertisements and contemporary visual arts of the 21st centuries just to avoid the corruption of the image of women as mere sensual figures. Photography and film can be used to promote the beautifying ideals of women, not just through physique but through their values of complexity, simplicity and fairness in natural beauty. Appendix Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Works Cited Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge Classics, 2007. Print Chodorow, Nancy. Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory. Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1989. Print. Jones, Amelia. The Feminism and Visual Culture Reader. New York: Routledge Classics, 2003. Print. Williamson, Judith. “Images of ‘Woman’.” The Library Quarterly. July 2000. Print. Read More