In the Oakland Museum of Calfiornia stands Viola Frey’s life-size but larger than life Pink Lady. In 1956, Frey received a bachelor of fine arts at the California College of the Arts in Oakland, then received a Master of Fine Arts from Tulane in 1958. She settled in Oakland, where she became a tenured professor in ceramics at CCA in 1965. Her work is renowned for its non-classical, unique form and thematic notations regarding “gender, cultural iconography, and art history.” Her piece Pink Lady was sculpted from stoneware, glazed, and painted in 1973. The massive sculpture, which is about 6’4” tall, 4’6” wide, and 3’6” deep, shows a woman, clothed in an ill-fitting yellow bra adorned with blue stars and matching shorts while her feet are adorned
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An aspect of the 1970s feminist movement, the feminist art movement created a voice for women in the art world. A large part of this art movement was recreating the image of the woman in artwork. Female artists represented their nude or clothed bodies as a form of bodily autonomy, rather than as objectification. Similarly, Frey’s Pink Lady works to represent the semi-nude female body in an alternative representation of women. Taking merely the alternate form of the female figure a step further, Frey also tells a story with her artwork. Frequently in art, women are merely the aesthetically pleasing aspect. In Pink Lady, the woman is quite the opposite as the bright colors, jagged formations, and massive stature of the piece are somewhat rough on the eyes. However, this works to make the piece interesting, to cause a closer examination and consider the reason that she is holding a monkey, and surrounded by plants. The most revolutionary aspect of the piece is that she is standing like this and looking like this because that is just what she is doing. The piece conveys personality and character, which few sculptures of women fail to do.
In crafting Pink Lady, Viola Frey works to juxtapose the typical formation of the female figure in sculpture. She creates a figure who does not meet male gaze requirements, and who is very rarely represented in art. Given its positioning in the gallery, the structure of the form, as well as the historical framework of the piece, this piece is clearly a declaration of female
An aspect of the 1970s feminist movement, the feminist art movement created a voice for women in the art world. A large part of this art movement was recreating the image of the woman in artwork. Female artists represented their nude or clothed bodies as a form of bodily autonomy, rather than as objectification. Similarly, Frey’s Pink Lady works to represent the semi-nude female body in an alternative representation of women. Taking merely the alternate form of the female figure a step further, Frey also tells a story with her artwork. Frequently in art, women are merely the aesthetically pleasing aspect. In Pink Lady, the woman is quite the opposite as the bright colors, jagged formations, and massive stature of the piece are somewhat rough on the eyes. However, this works to make the piece interesting, to cause a closer examination and consider the reason that she is holding a monkey, and surrounded by plants. The most revolutionary aspect of the piece is that she is standing like this and looking like this because that is just what she is doing. The piece conveys personality and character, which few sculptures of women fail to do.
In crafting Pink Lady, Viola Frey works to juxtapose the typical formation of the female figure in sculpture. She creates a figure who does not meet male gaze requirements, and who is very rarely represented in art. Given its positioning in the gallery, the structure of the form, as well as the historical framework of the piece, this piece is clearly a declaration of female