Feminism and Art Essay ( Assign.1)

Apoorva Ananth
Feminism and Art

Webster’s Dictionary formally defines art as “the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.” I believe that art exists in a dichotomy of the artist’s personal significance along with the broader social interpretation of the piece. Although art is easily defined as something beautiful or appealing, it is very subjective. Often times, the artist and the viewer have varying opinions about artwork because, the viewer beings his or her own personality and experiences into the piece. This personal attachment to a piece of artwork may or may not agree with what the artist was trying to convey. On the other hand, feminism is an idea that is not as subjective as art. However, it can be expressed many different ways; from speeches and protests, to feminism in paintings and sculptures. When I went to the museums in Washington D.C., I experienced feminism in art first-hand. Before visiting the museums, my assumptions about feminism were confirmed and rejected.

When our group went to our first museum; The National Museum of American Indians, I saw many exhibits that pertained to women in American Indian culture. We saw the “Identity by Design,” exhibit. I had assumed that American Indian women and feminist women were conservative. This assumption was confirmed when I saw the kinds of dresses that ladies wore. The dresses covered the chest, shoulders, and most of the legs. Although I knew that the style would be conservative, I thought the dresses were also supposed to be simple and not as fashionable. I thought this because; I assumed that women that follow feminism were not into fashion trends. I was proved wrong when American Indian women’s “dress styles evolved within the tribes.” As I saw the decoration increase in dresses as time moved forward, the exhibits showed that women expressed themselves and did not dress as simple as I had thought they would. Also, I assumed that women were also very submissive to men in American Indian culture. Although at times women were submissive to men, women also expressed their inner inhibitions by making “ghost dance dresses.” These dresses were reminders of memories (tragic memories or happy memories) and were a collective effort for Native American women to speak out against the rapid cultural changes that were forced upon them. My assumption of submissive women was nullified when I saw these beautiful ghost dresses. Before I visited this museum, I thought that art only consisted of paintings and sculptures. I had never thought that dresses could be a form of art. Through the obvious art of making dresses, women in American Indian culture expressed themselves and their thoughts in an artistic manner.

Our next museum was the National Museum of Women and the Arts. The first exhibit we saw was the Paula Rego exhibit. I knew that this museum was going to display the kind of art that I was used to: paintings. In this exhibit, I was surprised to see that women were not portrayed as beautiful. Since it was an art museum about women, I assumed and expected that women were going to portray feminism, but they would portray it looking beautiful and fragile. However, in this specific exhibit, women were portrayed as doing feminine things. However, they looked very masculine. Each woman had muscles, and a body frame built like a man’s. Two particular paired paintings made me realize that my assumption that feminism was more about women dominating in everything, rather than equality of the sexes. The two paintings called “The Red Monkey Beats his Wife, 1951,” and the “Wife cuts off Red Monkey’s Tail, 1951,” showed that feminist women think of men as animals and think that they should dominate instead of the men or the “red monkeys.” This main assumption was also proven wrong when I noticed that there were many paintings that showed women with animals. Women were portrayed as having sex with a dog, or just walking on a street with an animal. These paintings further proved that feminist women think that men are animals and that women should dominate rather than be equal with men.

The two other museums we went to, Hirschorn and The National Museum of African Art didn’t show much about feminism to me. However, my assumptions about art were confirmed and rejected. In particular, at the Hirschorn museum, the painting “RedYellowBlue,” looked like art that a small child could do. I assumed that modern art was abstract and difficult to understand at first glance, and I was correct. Although this painting looked like a child painted it, when I looked at it closer I could see why it was called art. Although this painting was just blocks of red, yellow, and blue I thought it showed the basic principles of art. The painter used primary colors and showed in such a simple way, the colors that make the colors of the world. When you mix the three colors that the painter chose, you can get any color of the rainbow. This proved my assumption wrong and showed me that abstract art can also have a deeper meaning, rather than just colors on a canvas. Furthermore, The National Museum of African Art showed me that my assumption that art has to have color and look beautiful to be appeal was incorrect. Every art sculpture that we saw in this museum was made out of wood, iron, or stone. Before I saw these art displays, I would have never thought that it was art. However, I saw the deeper meaning behind each sculpture after close examination. My assumptions about art were mostly nullified from these museums, but I learned a lot about art as well.

Through the experiences and exhibits at the four museums that my group and I visited, many of my assumptions were rejected while some of them were correct. I believe these museums, especially the National Museum of Woman and Art, and The National Museum of Native Americans expressed the true meaning of “the personal is political.” The paintings at the Women and Art museum showed that many feminine activities (such as abortions) and issues becomes a part of politics. This idea was also displayed at the Native American museum when politics were displayed in the dresses that women wore. Also, my assumption that art is only paintings and color was nullified as I learned that there are many different forms of art. I have a new view on feminism of art from this experience.