A Word a Day: Feminism

According to NBC news America, fine art happens to be the most pointless major to have. Which is why I am obviously pursuing it at degree level! Not to mention the uncomfortable look of people who ask what I will do with this degree, what job I'll get and then follow on to joke about me being the next Van Gogh. No disrespect Vincent, but it's not exactly what I had in mind.
In my next chapter of the art foundation course, I chose the fine art pathway with the brief title 'A Word a Day'. Initially, I was very apprehensive because I have never and have never intended to use words in my artwork. It's something very foreign to me and I even find it a little bit patronising because I had always held the belief that great pieces of artwork don't need the meaning or emphasis of words in order for them to have an impact; in fact this could sometimes take away from the beauty of the piece itself. However daunting this challenge of incorporating words may be, I tried not to over think it at this stage and began my research.
My next thoughts were, that most artworks that use words in the work are controversial and it would be foolish to choose a subject that wasn't going to pick at my brain. I wanted this to be personal, yet relatable on a large scale.

Like many people today, I would call myself a feminist, however it's recently become clear to me how many people don't actually know what this means. Some people think it's women obsessing over oppression that occurred years ago, something that has been dealt with and no longer an issue - Nope. Some people think that it's about women who think that they deserve more rights than men - No, wrong again.

A feminist : "a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes"

As Queen B says herself. And yes it does give me great pleasure to be able to quote Bey in my work! I feel really inclined to express through my project the true meaning of feminism, being that so many people today don't know what it means, believe a false definition and this is why it has grown to get a bad name. People are so hesitant to use the term feminist or feminism, as if this could be deemed offensive or over dramatic. A few weeks ago, I was telling my mum about how excited I was to hand stitch my 'raised by feminist' badge made by the Luna Women's' foundation on to my denim jacket. To my surprise, her first reaction was to warn me NOT to, because I might get bullied! I know Mums' are protective over their young, but do you not find this completely bizarre? Mother, I'm not supporting the execution of innocent people, I am simply promoting the importance of equal rights for both sexes!
What people aren't aware of is that it's still an issue today: women still don't get equal pay, women are still sexualised by men and women are still made to conform to gender roles in society, being deemed as weaker, hormonal and more irrational than men. Still, I'm seeing and experiencing men pomping the car horn at women on the street, still we get touched up in clubs without giving any consent? Ariana Grande takes matters to Twitter in fury after being sexually objectified by a young boy; if speaking about women in a derogatory way is seen as the norm for young people, what hope have we for the future?

Popstar Ariana Grande takes a stand against the objectification of women. 28th of December 2016.

It would be wrong of me not to acknowledge that there are pressures on men, just as there are on women, in society and I'm not disputing this. Many young males will have experienced the pressure of the media telling them they have to look a certain way, they have to be masculine, they have to conform to stereotypical gender roles. I've chosen to focus on women because I am one and I find it more relatable and tangible.

'Giant Woman on Empire State' Anita Steckel

Anita Steckel

New York artist, Anita Steckel was my first line of research for feminist art inspiration. Steckel was the founder member of "The Fight Censorship Group" organisation. Steckel was a feminist artist interested in raising awareness for the equality of women through the artworld. She creates large montages of ginormous women reclining nude over sky scrapers, contradicting this view of women being submissive back in the 1960s when she exhibited, which would have been incredibly controversial. Steckel believed that women were almost out growing their roles in society: we don't have to be mothers, wifes, carers - women can be bread winners in the family, women can be outspoken, we can have large personalities, we can be sexual beings in the same way as men.

Skyline Series

"If the erect penis is not wholesome enough to go into museums, it should not be considered wholesome enough to go into women" says Anita Steckel,

New York Skyline Series

defending her series of works concerning the men's penises. She says "And since the woman has traditionally been exposed in her full nakedness and sexuality in all the great museums of the world, so should the male be uncovered, as sexually on display as the woman; the erect penis therefore, as it is part of life, will no longer be prevented from being part of art."

As much as I want my artwork to be shocking and thought provoking, you won't be seeing me sculpting penis' as of yet. However, I do love her determination despite local authorities trying to close her show. I agree with her: the human body is something we should celebrate it is truly remarkable, and this doesn't just mean celebrating the bodies of women in robes, or their breasts, this means every aspect of our bodies, including penis', nipples, fat rolls, cellulite, stretch marks, hair. It's a celebration of everything we are, not just the things that are 'socially' accepted. It's time to step out of this bubble and stop sexualising and shaming body parts that are natural. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/feminist_art_base/anita-steckel

Apply as Needed, Self portrait

Kit King
Kit King is not only one of the artists I'm really inspired by for my project, but one of my favourite artists at the moment. I discovered King on Instagram and was initially intrigued by her incredible talent as an oil painter, but beneath the precision and beauty of her work is more than that; Kit's work is "an examination of femininity, sexuality and ego within the social and technological constructs" http://www.kitkingart.com/about

Equilibrium

King is interested in our roles in society and what femininity, masculinity and sexuality mean to us in modern society. She challenges the view of women as "humble obedient muses" and occasionally reverses the stereotypes, shifting the idea of power between the sexes.
Like Steckel, King's work is deemed 'offensive' to the public eye, and King's work is often taken down from her Instagram page for displaying 'inappropriate content'. What I want to know is why girls are allowed to pose in next to no clothes at all on page 4 of the Sun but as soon as an artist paints a woman's nipples for the purpose of celebrating the female form, this isn't ok. Free the nipple! I'm tired of women constantly being sexualised as if it's all our bodies were made for, we are worth more than that.