The Feminine "Un"mold

I really enjoyed this project. It was great to scroll through thousands of pieces in order to carefully select the ones I felt best fit my theme. This allowed me to expand my art horizons and I found a ton of cool pieces both inside and outside of my theme. Additionally, I found that I learned some more about myself and where I stand in my own version of femininity. This allowed me to write my commentary on most posts very easily and naturally. It was difficult and time-consuming to find many of these pieces as some of the websites have thousands and thousands of different pieces without much organization. When interpreting each of these pieces, the ways the feminine mold manifests itself kept becoming more and more evident. These pieces helped me explore my own femininity and the effects of society that I have noticed within myself. I am very much a product of feeling the need to fit into the feminine mold like so many other women and it has left many injuries to my soul. I wanted to ...

  1. Artist: Jennifer Sullivan 2. Title: Cortney in the Desert (before the nose job) 3. Medium: dye and acrylic on hand-dyed cotton 4. Size: 30 x 26" 4. Discussion: Inspired by the American singer/songwritter Courtney Love (former spouse to Kurt Cobain), Sullivan creates the recognizable symbol to bring up personal and political commentary in her pieces. This figure sits alone in a desolate, yet colorful desert. I chose this piece because I thought it was an interesting commentary on the hardships one may face and the image that they are expected to hold. Courtney Love has been in the spotlight for decades. I am exemplifying her public image so we are able to recognize the similarities in our individual lives. While facing many hardships, Love was the subject of being forced into the feminine mold. She was known for acting out and never quite fit into the graceful and quiet feminine mold. Despite all of this, Love was and still is known for her creative genius both in music and in...

  1. Artist: Whitney Lynn 2. Title: Listen To Me 3. Medium: cotton Jacquard tapestry  4. Size: 53 x 40" 4. Discussion: Our figure stands perched on a pedestal the same way we would see a bird perched on a rock to sing. Even with web-like feet, the viewer can't help but make this connection. The female figure resembles a young woman or girl that is trying to speak to an audience that does not truly listen and the sounds of the bird go unnoticed by most people -- becoming absent-minded noise we hear all the time. I like to think that this girl is fighting for the same cause as I am: to alter the way we see the feminine mold and to finally fly free of the metaphorical restrictions that hold her, and many others, from becoming their true selves without judgment. 

  1. Artist: Joyce Korotkin 2. Title: Witness 1 3. Medium: Oil on canvas board 4. Size: 14 x11" 4. Discussion: This piece feels like a product of fear and hiding. Emotions that are no stranger to many women. Personally, I feel the need to hide my body in my clothes by drowning in big shirts or sweatshirts because I am afraid of the judgment (both good and bad) that comes along with it. I do not want to be recognized for my body or appearance so I prefer to hide it. That is exactly what this woman reminded me of. In addition, this woman of color likely feels all the more reason to hide. She could be afraid of people not believing her story and only taking her for how she looks. This treatment is unfair and very uncomfortable for many people. 

  1. Artist: Thomas Hirschhorn 2. Title:  Serie KS-4 3. Medium: Cut-and-pasted printed paper with a felt-tip pen, ballpoint pen, and pressure-sensitive tape on paper wrapped in synthetic polymer sheet 4. Size: 14 x 17 3/4" 5. Discussion: The idealized female body, and the consumption of media surrounding that image, has been the subject of harassment that manifests in many different forms. Some harassment is literal; many, if not most, women have experienced a form of sexual, verbal, or emotional abuse surrounding their bodies. While other, more subtle, effects also exist behind idealized beauty. Especially in younger women and the recent surge in social media platforms and users, women are losing themselves in order to fit the mold they think makes them more beautiful. Both involve women being robbed of some piece of them involuntarily. Forcing society and allowing men to "take, take, take" as we see written in this image. The dismembered body parts and black ink drippi...

  1. Artist: Matt Saunders  2. Title: Maria Bard 3. Medium: Ink on a synthetic polymer sheet 4. Size: 8 x 6.5" 5. Discussion: To me, this figure is a wonderful example of fluidity. The figure dances with a dress draping off her shoulders. She dances with energy rather than the typical grace. She wears a smile as she invites the viewer, no matter the gender, to dance alongside her. Her physical appearance is more feminine in nature but there are elements that one could interpret as masculine. I chose this piece because of the mirror image between her fluid dance moves and fluid identity. 

  1. Artist: Wangechi Mutu 2. Title: Yo Mama 3. Medium: ink, mica flakes, acrylic, pressure-sensitive film, cut-and-pasted printed paper, and painted paper on paper 4. Size: 59 1/8 x 85" 4. Discussion: The female figure in this image clutches a serpent with a severed head. Immediately, I thought of the story of Eve and concluded that this was a reference to the downfall of Eve. Albeit, an untraditional and abstract version. The combination of different mediums and blurred lines of foreground and background make this piece super unique. Our main figure (we shall continue to call her Eve), has a beautifully feminine body but her head is different. She wears a disproportionate face; with large lips and accentuated eyes. I feel as if the artist mutualized the face for a reason. Even in modern society, we have viewed Eve as the greedy monster that forever changed our society. This portrayal made us look down upon women and the value of women came purely from their beauty for centur...

 1. Artist: Karen Heagle 2. Title: Untitled 3. Medium: synthetic polymer paint and pencil on paper 4. Size: 40 x26" 4. Discussion: The balance between masculine and feminine, or rather what those two words mean on their own, is often not discussed in society. This image, although simple in my own definition, demonstrates strength. Here we have a woman that is dressed in what we would usually see a man in. This brings up the discussion of what do we really consider masculine and why. Why is a simple suit or piece of clothing assigned a gender? To further the evidence of both masculine and feminine in this piece we have the juxtaposed image of a gun and a flower -- a traditionally masculine item and a traditionally feminine item. I like how the artist explored with blurring masculine and feminine and, ultimately, forces the viewer to dwell on the question of what makes something masculine or feminine and whether or not that even matters in the sense of art and beauty.

1. Artist: Deborah Hampton 2. Title: Misplaced my face and dropped my eyes and feeling somewhat empty 3.  Medium: printed paper, felt tip pen, and ink on paper 4. Size: 17 x 14" 5. Discussion: My first impression of this image was similar to that of a caged bird. We see a woman tied up in web-like stings that are wrapping around her every limb. To me, this web was the web of society and the mold that she is expected to fit into. She was successfully caught up in the web and lost herself as a result. Gaping holes in her legs and the lifelessness in her eyes are representative of forcing yourself into a mold of model beauty and looks to never feel fulfilled by such things. 

1. Artist: Jean-Luc Verna 2. Title: Certainement Pas 3. Medium: Transfer drawing with color pencil on two book pages 4. Size: 7 1/8 x 8 1/2" 5. Discussion: I find this drawing so amazing. It shows a woman, one that might have even met society's standards in youth, that has now aged and maybe even pushed away because she is no longer youthful. The natural and unstoppable force that is aging is somehow portrayed so negatively as if we lose life with youth and beauty. Of course, I find this to not be the truth. Even the smudged reminints of makeup -- the tool that makes us look more "feminine" or "youthful" -- shows that she tried to fit the mold that she no longer fit. However, what I really love about this drawing is her expression. Her face looks defeated but also looks at the viewer with a sense of "f- you", for lack of better expression. Combined with her middle finger, this image just screams "screw society" or even "screw femini...

  1. Artist: Toyin Ojih Odutola 2. Title: Rather Than Look Back, She Chose To Look At You 3. Medium: Ballpoint pen, marker, and pencil on paper 4. Size: 65 x 36" 5. Discussion: Although this woman stands with a beautifully curvy body that we have seen in art before, she also is a woman of color with hair that is bleached, mimicking the grass below her. She stares right at you and, as the title says, she is not looking back. This stood out to me as a representation of accountability. It is not the response of blaming the past for why we have an established feminine mold, but to rather encouraging the viewer to look introspectively. Additionally, I like how the artist combined the beauty of the female body with nature. This almost unconsciously creates the connection between the divinity of nature with the female body. Therefore, this piece establishes a beauty outside the traditional mold of media.  

  My theme is the Feminine "Un-Mold." I was inspired by the typical feminine mold, which I, along with many others have never quite fit into. It's not only portrayed in our mainstream media but rather the representation of the most ideal female, however culturally different, still portrayed a body and sense of femininity that not all can connect with. This is also not to say that the portrayal is wrong, or even sexist, no. However, I believe that there is beauty in all nature and we are all a product of nature, therefore being no body more divine than the next. Regardless of my opinion, society, and even art, has put molds and stereotypes around females and what it means to be feminine, and those have become how we view the most ideal female. I wanted to discover more artists who threw this idea out the window and portrayed the people who moved them regardless of image and beauty. The woman that you would see in your local grocery store, for there is just as much beauty i...

  Hi! and welcome to my gallery "The Feminine Un-Mold" where we take a look at the unraveling of the traditional feminine mold that we have seen in art and society for ages. We will be exhibiting works by: Toyin Ojih Odutola Jean-Luc Verna Deborah Hampton Karen Heagle Wangechi Mutu Matt Saunders Thomas Hirschhorn Joyce Korotkin Whitney Lynn Jennfer Sulivan