Assignment #1

Assignment #1: What are my assumptions about Feminism and Art?

When I registered for WMST250, my assumptions were completely different from what they are now about feminism’s role in politics, art and the social world. I walked into the class having the immediate assumption of the word feminist involving bra-burning and protests involving the independence of women in shows like Sex and the City. But even through browsing the books for the course, these assumptions began to change little by little. In examining what I once thought versus what I think now, the media and socially constructed opinions had a lot to do with what I thought of the word 'feminism' itself and what the real definition involved. But my opinions were definitely altered through my visit to the National Museum of Women and the Arts, the Hirshhorn, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Gallery of Art, and the Holocaust Museum.

Before visiting all of the museums I decided to get a bit of background from the websites in order to prepare myself. I was surprised at the kind of art that was being presented in the National Museum of Women and the Arts and the Hirshhorn because my assumptions were completely different from what was provided through the websites. As I continued to look at the websites, I noticed that the Holocaust Museum’s website had validated some of my assumptions because it did, in fact, present to me the pictures from the Holocaust and actual artifacts that were recovered. I had noticed these websites had basic information to assist me in preparing for my trip to D.C. and they were extremely helpful in doing that.

In examining the National Museum of Women and the Arts, I was somewhat shocked at what I had seen. I walked in expecting to see a space that did not reflect a woman as "girly" because I assumed that is exactly what feminism was against. But I ended up seeing coral marble and a lot of beautiful decoration in the lavish lobby. The main showing that was happening as I was there was the works of Paula Rego, who is an amazing artist with her life-like depictions of past experiences. I saw a lot of portraits that disturbed me and made me realize what the differences between lots of feminist art were. There was one picture in particular that shook me a bit more than most. It was titled Olga and it depicted a manly woman with a black dress and a violin in one hand and the other hand was holding a little girl between her legs. I was shaken by this piece in fear, but at the same time, I could not look away from it. Although this piece was mind blowing, it caused me to think a lot about my assumptions about feminism regarding what they are versus how this specific experience of expressive art will change them. It made me realize that while women have a specific image in society towards men, they themselves can also flip the tables once or twice. However I did understand a lot more about feminist art through a number of pieces in her collection. My favorite would have to be the family portrait as the women in the family attempt to wake their father as another looks on. This painting reminded me a lot of what the specific role of the woman is in a typical family is and what it should be in contrast. I analyzed the painting for a long period of time before walking away because I wanted to understand my own thoughts about what this painting reminded me of either in my own life, or something I had experienced. It made me think a lot about what society views the average mom as, and through this picture, it was clearly the mother who had been the motivator of the family and the hidden strength of who they were as a whole unit. But, besides the exhibition on Paula Rego, there was also a display of books made of different substances titled Book is Art. This was an eye-opening experience also because of the issues that were confronted in these pieces. The two pieces that moved me the most were about recycling and September 11^th, making me think a lot about our country and our environment. With the September 11^th piece, I felt a lot of empathy for all families involved due to the images and words that were on this “book.” The book that encountered our country’s issue with recycling was made entirely of soda cans, which displayed the many ways in which we could reuse these items.

Visiting this museum was refreshing to me in a way because I was not used to seeing art displayed so strongly, confronting important issues about the feminist movement and other social/political issues. From my visit to this museum alone, I could see a lot of what feminist art was really about. I had a lot of assumptions about what I was going to see that were completely changed when I saw the main exhibition. I had imagined walking in and seeing a lot of art that did not involve women in the pictures. I expected a lot of abstract art displaying dull colors symbolizing the male in the female. But when I had seen a lot of Paula Rego’s collection and the Book is Art collection, I knew that feminist art could not have a particular style or feel to it; that it is indeed, universal. I now know that each feminist artist is different in what they believe in and what they would create.

After visiting the National Museum of Women and the Arts, I went to the Hirshhorn to discover a new perspective. By looking at the rounded building, I did not imagine that it would present such an amazing art experience inside. I had assumed that it would present a more modern twist on what I had seen at the National Museum of Women and the Arts. In seeing the lamp in the lobby, right away I knew it would be just the art I enjoy looking at: abstract. The pieces in the Hirshhorn involved such vibrant colors and different shapes, causing me to enjoy this museum a lot more than I had thought I would. I saw a touch of feminist art as I was looking at some pieces by Ana Mendieta, who uses blood as a main component in some of her art. The museum was streaming a video on the wall of her bathing herself in blood in a wooded area and rolling on the ground in feathers. This piece was interesting in many ways to me because I could not figure out how it made me feel. It was a shocking piece that was disturbing to me, but at the same time, I enjoyed it A lot of her work presented at the museum involved blood and/or nudity. This artist shocked me in her usage of her naked body and blood because I had never imagined a feminist artist such as herself to be rolling in the mud naked. By analyzing her work I had assumed that she wanted to be closer to nature through her body and blood, the component of life.

The rest of the Hirshhorn involved particular shapes and colors that had caught my eye. My favorite painting in the museum was titled Bedroom Painting No. 38 by Tom Wesselmann. The styling of this was smooth and the colors were clear and vibrant. The picture was a close-up of two women; one seemed to be unaware of the other’s presence. This contemporary painting involved the one woman who had had her eyes closed and head tilted back, who also seemed to be in some type of ecstasy; while the other woman was peering through a window observing. I’m not sure whether it was the loud colors or the situation in the painting that drew me to it, but I absolutely loved it and the mixed messages it was presenting. This painting, along with many others, made me think a lot more about my previous assumptions about feminism and how wrong they might have been because of the true beauty I had found from only two museums presenting this type of art.

In visiting the National Museum of the American Indian, I had discovered a different approach to women as a whole. In previously visiting this museum, I knew a lot about the Native American culture and how much respect they had placed upon the women of their tribes. I did not think a lot about the feminist art that I had seen while I was in this museum because it was a completely different vibe. The previous museums, to me, had been all about being different and setting women aside in difference and understanding of who they were. However, in Native American culture, the women are respected very highly because of the strength they bring to their families and their abilities to craft with the natural resources around them. My main interest in this museum was the jewelry and headdresses that were worn by Native Americans during ceremonies. This brought a lot of realization to my mind about how regular Americans regard factory-made jewelry versus what Native American women to in order to prepare a ceremony of honor involving the detailed jewelry that was used. The amount of turquoise and stone astounded me because of how intricately it was placed on garments and necklaces. This is apart of the reason why I believe that the Native Americans are a model as to how women should be seen in society because of the high place women hold in theirs. This museum was inspiring to me not only because it stepped outside of the box regarding feminism, but it presented an equal front between men and women.

When thinking about feminism, I never thought that I would link it to the Holocaust museum because of the vast differences between the two. But I began to see a lot of connections between the feminist art that was in the National Museum of Women and the Arts and some of the pictures of the terror that had occurred during the Holocaust. As I ventured through the permanent exhibit, I noticed the gruesome display videos about the medical experiments that had gone on at the time by Dr. Mengle. I thought a lot about the relation of feminism to the “scientific” experiments that were conducted upon Jewish women. After seeing all of the horrifying pictures, I had finally realized that the women in those pictures had a lot in common with modern feminists because their rights were blocked by the higher authorities, much like some of the prohibition that has happened to some feminist artists. I also had noticed a lot of art from the ghetto camp of Theresienstadt. This camp was for gifted and talented Jewish children. A lot of the art and poems that were recovered from the camp brought tears to my eyes because of how much pain was expressed in their craft. This camp usually advertised itself as a “specialty school” for those in the arts, but when these children would arrive, it would be different. The art was so colorful and most of it spoke of home and family, which was another way for me to think about art in these children’s eyes versus the use of feminist art. After examining this part of the museum, I wanted to make connections from Daniel’s Story to feminism through the real-life exhibit. While in this exhibit, I had gotten chills a number of times due to the events that Daniel had written about in his diary. His family and their rights were taken away without any justification. I had found his story chilling yet, inspiring as well because he rose above the hatred and survived. This is another way in which I see the Holocaust can relate to feminism because of its relations in rising above hatred or any other criticism that has come along. This museum is an inspiring way in which to set aside your differences with others, and come together as one people.

When I visited the National Gallery of Art, I had no idea what I was going to see. I had assumed a million different things before walking in because, being a plainly stated gallery of art, I had assumed it would be a compilation of all of the other forms of art I had seen at the other museums. And because of this assumption, I had also thought that there would be fewer pieces by women on display because of its vague title. I had expected to see a lot of floral, warm colors in the little women pieces that this museum might present to its viewers. But what I hadn’t realized was that it did indeed spread all over the art world in presenting equal amounts of numerous artists. My favorite kind of art, besides abstract, would have to be photography, so when I had seen the pieces by Julia Margaret Cameron, I was in a daze. My assumptions about this specific museum had disappeared because of her picture titled The Mountain Nymph, Sweet Liberty. This picture, originally taken of a painting, was captivating to me in numerous ways. It had given me so many different feelings because of what it represented. The woman in the photograph, to me, seems to be fairly independent and proud. But, simultaneously, she seems to have some kind of secret to hide. It was such a moving piece and I think it was the main impact upon my new ideas of what feminist art is and what its place in society really is.

Through using the resources around the campus and visiting five museums, I believe I have completely altered the way I look at feminism, art, and feminist art. I feel that my assumptions may have been too commercial because of how standard they had become due to what I was seeing in our world today. But I know see feminist art as a liberating experience that is growing and impacting society, waking it to new issues that we need to face together. I belie these museums helped me to shape my ideas to become more open-minded about my surroundings and feminist in itself. I hope that this class will offer me the ability to critically analyze why these assumptions about feminist art and feminism are so common, and what I alone can do to change them.

Assumptions about Museums, Feminism, Art, and Feminist Art

National Museum of Women & the Arts

-I assumed the museum would involve a lot of dull colors

-I assumed this museum would be very “anti-girly”

-I assumed a majority of the art would be painted portraits of famous women in history

-I assumed I would not enjoy this museum

Hirshhorn

-I did not know what to expect from this museum because of its odd title

-But I did assume I would see a lot of vibrant colors simply from its name and how odd it is

National Museum of the American Indian

-I assumed there would be a lot of artifacts

-I assumed to mainly learn about the different tribes, not the women involved

-I assumed to see a lot of weaponry and traditional headdresses/ jewelery/clothing

National Gallery of Art

-I assumed to see a lot of different/cultural art

-I assumed there would be little women’s art in showcase

-I assumed the art would vary and be very smashed together because of the museum’s vague title

Holocaust Museum

-I assumed I would not be able to link this museum to feminist art

-I assumed to see a lot of artifacts and photographs from this tragic event

-I assumed I would see a lot of maps and over-head photos of Europe during this time

-I assumed to see a lot of insight about the chronological order of happenings

-I did not expect to see art.

Feminism

-I assumed feminism was all about making a commotion

-I assumed it was mainly associated with independence and bra-burning

Feminist Art

-I assumed this would involve a lot f different things that were against the “girly” image of women

-I assumed it would be very offensive and outspoken

-I assumed it would involve a lot of politics and social issues that we are afraid to confront