Assingment #1

Lolita Jadotte
Katie King/WMST250
Sec#0101
2/14/08

Assumption of Women’s Art

What is feminism? When I first hear the word feminism I think of women who wants to be able to do whatever it is that men can do, but feminism is more than that. Feminism is a women’s right to express themselves in all different ways. Women express themselves because of the simple fact that they were not able to do so before. They rebel against what was once denied to them in the past. One of the ways that women express themselves is through art, like the saying a picture says a thousands word, and for women it can tell a story. The museums that I visited had various ways of promoting feminism. Some of the museums were more feminist than others. The museum I went to besides the two required ones were The National Gallery of Art Museum and Hirshhorn Museum.
During my visits to these various, I observed many things in contrast and related to feminism. The National American Indian Museum in my eyes was both feminist and, in a way not feminist. When I first walked into the museum I saw a lot of hand made jewelry. Jewelry to me does not seem very feminist because it’s girlie. You would expect women to like and want jewelry. If the jewelry were less fancy and more symbolic of a hardship that woman went through it would be more feminist. The section to me that was the most feminist out of the entire museum was the Identity by Design portion. This section included handmade designs made by the different Native American women who belong to different tribes. These dresses were theses women art. They told their stories through their design of the dress. While I was there I was able to talk to an American Indian woman who was actually making one of the dresses the women in her country wear. She told me that the women were only allowed to wear clothes that they made themselves and it took about four months to make an entire outfit. Mothers had to teach their daughters how to make an entire outfit by the age of twelve. A Native American woman by the name of Juanita states “My mom taught me that a lot of the dresses were reflection of what the people saw and what they had going on in their lives at the time. (Juanita, Growing Thunder Fogarty; Assihiboine/Sioux/2005)” This was a tradition between mother and daughters. A young girl’s completion of their first dress is what fully made them a woman. During the Ghost Dance Movement, women made Ghost Dance dresses, which was a way for women to speak out against the change that was being brought against them.
The National Women of Art Museum was a feminist museum. There was a series of pictures that showed a woman in pain and a woman with her legs spread open. At first I did not understand the picture, but after reading the caption, I understood that a woman was going through the process of abortion. Abortion was an act that women were not allowed to do according to the law. Most doctors would not perform this action. If a woman wanted an abortion she would have to do it herself or paid someone to do it secretly. The painting showing the process of abortion is very feminist because this is a stand for woman to speak out against what they feel is best for them to do. The morality of abortion is not the issue rather the right for a woman to make her own choice.
When I first heard about the Hirshhorn Museum I thought it would be a non-feminist museum. When I walked in to the museum, I was mistaken, and surprised to see that there was feminist art there. The first piece of art that helped to change my mind was the “Transformation Action” by Carolee Scheecham. This piece of art was a series of pictures, which displayed a naked woman with snakes and different creatures crawling all over her body. There was also a video at the museum titled “Blood and Feathers” This video showed a naked woman standing by a body of water pouring blood all over her body and then covering herself with feathers. These two pieces of art are feminist because they show women using their body as an art canvas, something they were not allowed to do. Although the images may be disturbing, the women displayed in these arts are expresses their strong feelings about an issue.
The National Gallery of Art Museum was not a feminist museum to me as a whole. Majority of the museum was not feminist in my point of view because there was no portion or art pieces that struck me as being feminist. The museum seemed to me to be a neutral. The art work that was there was for pleasure not really for expressing your feeling or giving the viewers a sense of identity about themselves. The only thing at this museum that made me realize feminist ways was the fact the majority of the time that you did see a woman painting or any art figure they were naked. These women being naked are feminist because in the earlier days woman were not allowed to show of their body; they always had to be covered up. These arts allowed women to express themselves through their body. They could finally be free to expose their body for the art that it is. The other thing that I noticed was the fact that when I did see a painting of a woman, it would be a women’s face with a man’s body. This symbolizes the equality that woman think of between a man and a woman. Women were not always considered equal to male; even now society sometimes still put males on a higher stool than females. Those art showed that woman can do what it is a man can do. It is not all about the physical appearance but instead what is on the inside and how much you know.
In conclusion I learned more and also reinforced my understanding of women’s art and feminism. Majority of my assumption were correct, not to say that I know everything about feminism and their art, because there is still a lot to learn. I learned a lot about feminism and its presence at the various museums. Most of the art work expressed the feeling about an issue whether or not the topic is controversial.






































My List of Assumption

1) I assumed I would pictures of woman from the “1960s”, like hippies
2) I assumed to see art that would address lesbians.
3) I assumed that the feminist art would show art that represents the hardships of woman.
4) I assumed that the art will not simple pretty paintings, such as a vase of flowers.
5) I assumed that I would see art that would be exposing women’s body. 6) I assumed that I would see pictures of bashing men.