The Art and Nature of Gender - Essay Example

The Art and Nature of Gender The work of art comes from both men and women as expressed in the s of the various artists. Art in itself is a rich and powerful resource through which a society can be understood (Leder & Geger et al. 2-10). Art and gender can be multifariously defined and the meanings given thereof are a product of our interpretation and interaction. Much can be told about cultural assumptions as well as ideas regarding gender through studying art. The sense of expression evoked by art makes it very useful and much can be deciphered about the artist both in the mood as well as in their gender. Pieces of art communicate to the art lovers in different ways but a precise knowledge of the gender of the artist would shed some light on what they wanted to put across. Through art, men could express appreciation of the female figure or shape as well as exploitation of the same while feminists have used art to their advantage to express woman power and their solidarity as women. Gender difference means that gender constitutes a system of meanings consisting two exclusive and opposite categories, which encompass all people. Gender has its basis on cultural interpretations of existing biological differences between men and women and not so much as the differences that exist biologically per se. Gender difference is represented in the physiological features and the appeal that revealing of body parts by women has to men even in advertisement (Leder & Geger et al. 2-10). The man is represented with a flat burst while that of women is protruding in form of breasts. The physical features themselves show a clear difference between the masculine and the feminine. The muscle in the forearms suggests masculinity while curves and hips suggest femininity. Human beings are sensate beings and our interpretation of the world is through our senses (Leder & Geger et al. 2-10). Gender and family are very significant determinants of the physical as well as social environments represented in art. The physical constructions order as well as direct activities, feelings of identity, and relationships in very profound ways. These quite different construct types share a unique mutually determinant relationship with one another. At any specific time in history, ideas concerning family and gender are used in art to determine the physical location and design of open places, places of work, and dwellings including other designed settings. It is these environments that eventually reinforce and support the ideas of gender in art that were used to generate them. The design of environments in the art is translated into physical forms that society expects the kind of activities to be carried out in the spaces created. The physical environments represented in art are in a way gender based as there are certain activities or gender defined roles in society that are symbolized by the environment represented. For instance, the kitchen in a work of art could be simply associated with the female whereas a construction site should have male characters depicted. Gender theory and the whole debate and talk on gender are all triumph of feminism. Without the feminist movement, there could be no discussion of gender. This would be so as there would be no issues raised as depicting the presence of oppression or dominance. The feminist movement is what has necessitated the issue of making art in gender terms due to objections they possess against how art has been used to portray the female figure. The argument is that women have been since time immemorial been used in art as subjects in male artists’ productions. Through history, women have been on display in art as ideal feminine figures as well as objects of desire that have been sexualized. The mass media today has overexploited female sexuality flaunting it on every media channel as a point of sale and attraction for men in advertisements. For example, the one for Obsessions Perfume by Calvin Klein that poses a nude woman lying on her back. The women became tired of being overlooked as serious artists and misrepresentation as objects in art (Leder & Geger et al. 2-10). The women artists began depicting the female body as powerful and their agenda of fighting the social constructs of gender was portrayed in their art. The gender of an artist as well as their sexuality actually counts in their choice of media, imagery, subject matter, color, shape, as well as size. However, this is not the case always but these factors count substantially. Art psychology forms one of the interdisciplinary fields, which look at the perception of art as well as its characteristics and cognition even in terms of production. Gender differences are attributed to the choice of color are based on the stereotype in society that men are generally color blind and that by looking at the color schemes of a piece of work one can tell the gender of the artist. All these stereotypes in society can find some justification in art but not all artists conform to them which renders some illogical. The psychology of art especially in perception is to a large extent affected by gender or sexuality. The way a man and a woman may interpret a particular work of art is indeed affected by sex especially where the work of art involves depiction of both or one of the sexes. Male perception, psyche and sight is attracted to the female figure especially where such is outlined in detail (which is purely sexual) but not attracted to the male body representation in any form. Female perception is more appreciative of both female and of the male representation in art. Art should however be taken as a subjective field where one views and composes artwork in ways which are unique reflecting their emotions, knowledge, preference, and experience. Gender should not be the most important criteria used to value and categorize art but sure does play a role in individual pieces of art. Definition of some arts as craft and some as fine is dependent on the professional. The valuable should be the aesthetic value of the piece of art regardless of the gender implications and intonations. Work cited: Leder, H.; G. Gerger, S. G. Dressler, and A. Schabmann. "How art is appreciated". Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts 6 (1) (2012): 2–10. Read More