Through discussion of these four artists I have shown that they all have used a feministic approach in their work to succeed in shocking, provoking and inspiring. Artists like Frida Kahlo, unintentionally and unknowingly, paved the way for later female artists to push the boundaries of their time, successfully questioning and provoking change. Kahlo’s fearless honesty and personal portrayal in her art work bred an empathy amongst women, and, in particular, the feminist movements. These feminist movements encouraged the subsequent female artists that followed to confront social and cultural issues, embracing the female aesthetic. Artists like Mendieta and Chicago took the baton passed to them and ran. Where Mendieta uses her body as a form of
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Kahlo, Mendieta and Chicago’s work all acknowledge a Primordial era; Kahlo with her cultural references and self-portrayal merged the nature, the way Mendieta utilises her body and organic materials to mimic and represent humanity, Chicago’s homage to the Primordial Goddess. Mendieta entrenches organic materials with meaning beyond of their inherent materiality, mere things such as soil, wood and stones are both her symbolism and mediums. In the place setting of the 'Primordial Goddess,' Chicago's choice of materials are key to the design. The table runner has stretched animal skin representing early clothing, and cowry shells which were an ancient symbol of women and used as a primitive form of …show more content…
Lucas’ work reflects the post-feminist atmosphere of the 1990s and the birth of the media figure of the ‘Ladette’, evident in her very masculine approach in her work. Unlike the previous three artists discussed, Lucas’ work challenges identity through gender and stereotypes by amalgamating the sexes. Lucas’ work is brilliant at questioning the fundamentals of both male and female identity. When recently asked if she is a feminist, Lucas replied: “I regard this as a show for women, I am a woman, I wanted to make it a strong feminine show.” (Lucas, 2015) In my introduction, I mentioned that Essentialism is largely criticized for overlooking the effect of social structures on the roles of gender, something that Chicago openly acknowledges now, and that Lucas constantly questions in her artwork. Chicago in a more recent interview said, “When I was young in the 70s, we cast the dialogue entirely around gender. We assumed all women were our friends and all men were our enemies. That was a completely erroneous assumption. It has to do with values, not gender. Some of the best feminists are men. Gender is part of a larger structure of oppression and injustice." (Chicago: The Observer
Kahlo, Mendieta and Chicago’s work all acknowledge a Primordial era; Kahlo with her cultural references and self-portrayal merged the nature, the way Mendieta utilises her body and organic materials to mimic and represent humanity, Chicago’s homage to the Primordial Goddess. Mendieta entrenches organic materials with meaning beyond of their inherent materiality, mere things such as soil, wood and stones are both her symbolism and mediums. In the place setting of the 'Primordial Goddess,' Chicago's choice of materials are key to the design. The table runner has stretched animal skin representing early clothing, and cowry shells which were an ancient symbol of women and used as a primitive form of …show more content…
Lucas’ work reflects the post-feminist atmosphere of the 1990s and the birth of the media figure of the ‘Ladette’, evident in her very masculine approach in her work. Unlike the previous three artists discussed, Lucas’ work challenges identity through gender and stereotypes by amalgamating the sexes. Lucas’ work is brilliant at questioning the fundamentals of both male and female identity. When recently asked if she is a feminist, Lucas replied: “I regard this as a show for women, I am a woman, I wanted to make it a strong feminine show.” (Lucas, 2015) In my introduction, I mentioned that Essentialism is largely criticized for overlooking the effect of social structures on the roles of gender, something that Chicago openly acknowledges now, and that Lucas constantly questions in her artwork. Chicago in a more recent interview said, “When I was young in the 70s, we cast the dialogue entirely around gender. We assumed all women were our friends and all men were our enemies. That was a completely erroneous assumption. It has to do with values, not gender. Some of the best feminists are men. Gender is part of a larger structure of oppression and injustice." (Chicago: The Observer