All
I can hear playing in my head is “It’s a man’s world” sung best by the King of
Soul, James Brown. Being a young innocent child I had no idea what that meant.
Referring back to the beginning of time, the Bible in Genesis 2;18, 2;21-23
states “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I
will make him a helper suitable for
him, So the Lord God caused the man to fall into
a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and
closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he
had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and
flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man.’’
The Male Gaze has been around since the beginning of time when life was simple
the main duties of a woman was to cook, clean, bare and care for children. From
the Middles Ages to the 21st Century the world underwent changes
ranging from the Agriculture Revolution, the development of Capitalism, the Age
of Discovery, guilds were created, the Industrial Revolution, Women Rights, World War
I&II to name a few supplied limited opportunities to women. Here are a few female artists who refined
captivating artworks that I consider The Crafty Defiance.
Artemisia Gentileschi an
Italian painter daughter of Orazio Gentileschi was born in Rome during 1593,
she grew up with the knowledge and skills of art thanks to her father.
Gentileschi being a teenage prodigy she acquired much success at a young age.
She began working in her father’s Atelier and mentored by his fellow colleague named
Agostino Tassi. During the year of 1612 Gentileschi was raped by her mentor
Tassi, with Tassi’s refusal to marry Gentileschi and a lengthy 17 month long
rape trial fueled the emotions and messages behind her paintings. Although
Susanna and the Elders was painted in 1610, before she was raped you could
still understand what she stood for. Unlike any other Susanna and the Elders
paintings Gentileschi’s illustrates that Susanna is of course the subject of the Male Gaze,
instead of the accustomed perspectives of this painting; Gentileschi shows that
the Elders are unwelcomed through Susanna’s contoured body of discomfort and
hand gestures showed, shows that she is annoyed, vulnerable, frighten and wants to be
left alone. 
Judith Beheading Holofernes (1612) and Judith and her Maidservant
(1613-14) were painted in the midst of her trial. Both paintings show strong,
confident, driven woman on a mission. In contrast to Carvaggio’s (1598-99)
Judith Beheading Holofernes the woman did their execution from a distance as if
they fear man, while Gentileschi’s exhibits the essence that they fear no man
and will fight for what is right. 
In Orazio Gentileshi’s Judith and her
Maidservant (1610-12) depicts that after the act was done (while Judith and her
Maidservant hold the head of Holofernes) they appear confused, lost, and
unclear of what will happen next. Artemisia saw things different, in her
version these thick set woman look accomplish, eager, and prepared for what’s
to happen next. “The body of the two women emphasizes the figures’ passivity ,
while the directing of their gazes outward in different directions works to
defuse their intensity and commitment to a shared goal, the death of the enemy
leader” (Chadwick “pg” 110).
Lilly Martin Spencer an American painter was born Angelique
Marie Martin (1822) in Exeter, England. Spencer painted several domestic
settings of women and children in blissful and warm ambiances thus making
Spencer “The most popular and widely reproduced female genre painter of the
mid-19th century America” (Chadwick “pg” 213). In Spencer’s We Both
Must Fade (1869) Mrs. Fithian (the woman in the painting) being the subject is
admiring herself in the mirror. Vanity being a sin she appreciates the
compliments from others about her beauty. Dressed in the beautiful tonal blue
gown surrounded by pearls signifying class and flowers signifying fertility,
Mrs. Fithian “like the rose in her hand with its falling petals, her beauty
will fade, and with it, all the pleasures the world can provide.” 
Ana Mendieta born 1948 was a Cuban American
sculptor. Connie Holmes, Amy Mangrich, Ella
Phillips, Colleen Ryan expresses that Mendieta
”produced her works in the seventies in which she used her own body as a
medium. In opposition to the predominant modernist theories of the time, this
concept was being used by several other women artist as a feminist assertion of
female body as a vehicle for personal and social expression. These women's
emphasis on the female body as a realistic tool for the woman artist challenged
the male tradition of the idealized female nude; and was a precursor to the
direction toward the refiguration of the body in the rest of the art community
during the eighties. Mendieta sought to establish a "dialog between the
landscape and the female body return to the maternal source." She envisioned
the female body as a primal source of life and sexuality, as a symbol of the
ancient paleolithic goddesses. Between 1973 and 1980, Mendieta created her
signature series, entitled "Silueta" or silhouette. Here, Mendieta
used her body or images of her body in combination with natural materials. The
pieces were transient, created and then photographed just before or during
their destruction. The materials used were highly symbolic. In one work from
the "Silueta" series, she outlined her figure with gunpowder,
creating a shape reminiscent of prehistoric cave paintings. By setting it
alight, she incorporates the ritualistic use of fire as a source of exorcism
and purification. Mendieta also used flowers as mediums in her series, quoting
the folk traditions of Mexico. Her primary material was the earth itself. In
her "Tree of Life" series, she covered her naked body with mud and
posed against and enormous tree. Ridding herself of her color and form, she is
visually united with the tree, arms raised in supplication.” (“par”1-2)
Judy Chicago an American feminist artist was born in 1939, in Chicago
Illinois. During the year of 1971 Chicago joined a feminist art program at
California Institute of the Arts. Being restricted only to women the students
were able to express themselves, experiences and encouraged to work in ways the
made specific references to women’s experiences of themselves and their bodies
(Chadwick “pg” 357). In 1974 until 1979 Chicago (with help from others)
fabricated an art piece entitled “The Dinner Party.” The Dinner Party is a triangle table measuring
from 48ft on each side accommodating thirty-nine intriguing dinner plates.
Each place setting includes a ceramic plate with a structure protruding from
the middle (Chadwick “pg” 376). Every plate is crafted in differential concepts
of a vagina to symbolize and honor the achievements of women of Western
History. Being such a monumental accomplishment for Judy Chicago, she received
praise for her breakthrough in Feminine Art along with very controversial
remarks from many men.Barbara Kruger a conceptual
artist who was born and raised in Newark, NJ in
1945. “Kruger had blown up and severely altered photographs of women
incorporating short texts that corrupt the meanings of both image and text in
order to destabilize the positioning of women as an object. Kruger emphasizes the
ways in which language manipulates and undermines the assumption of masculine
control over language and viewing, by refusing to complete the cycle of
meaning, and by shifting pronouns in order to expose the positioning of women
as “other” (Chadwick “pg” 382 “par” 3).” The images of Barbara Kruger's artwork that I have chosen represent the 21st century and the way society thinks.
"This is a man's world, this is a man's world, But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl" -James Brown. I now understand why I didn't understand the song. It was not only because I never decided to listen to the second sentence of the song but because I was living blindly. A woman once upon a time was created from a man. However since that day forward man would have to be birthed through a women to continue the circle of life on this earth. The five women artists I have chosen; Gentileschi, Martin, Mendieta, Chicago and Kruger all significantly broke barriers for art, fought for equality and the right to be heard while also altering our HERstory. The history of the past, lights the way of the future through the generations of Feminine Art. The images of Barbara Kruger's artwork that I have chosen in my opinion represent the 21st century. Thanks to the everlasting Male Gaze I believe that these images speak for the youth of today. The way I interpret the following titles are, "Your Body is a Battleground" is that you are satisfied with your body type until your mind is changed from the point of views from either society, T.V., friends or a man. "Not Stupid Enough", Marilyn Monroe was not necessarily stupid but the stereotype of a "dumb blonde" is that they always have more fun because they are "enticing"which would call for not much brain activity. "Whose the Fairest of them All"... Snow White! In today's world people, T.V. are very judgmental. As she look's in the mirror asking Whose the Fairest of them All? is looking for validation from others other then yourself.
Man ultimately can not do without women so please.....
Man ultimately can not do without women so please.....
Work Cited
Bible; Genesis ("ch" 2 "ver"18-23)
Chadwick ('pgs' 66, 11, 213, 357, 376, 382)
Guerrilla Girls ("pgs" 33, 89)
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