Gendered Art Critique - Essay Example

Gendered Art Critique Gendered Art Critique Sylvan Barnet’s artwork brings to the forefront one of the most imperative concern globally with regard to the dynamics of gender and how they affect the society will live in. According to Sylvan, like the world, the artist field is a male dominated filed. As such, over eighty-five of the artwork is from male artists (Barnet, 2005). Sylvan postulates that the under representation of women in art has resulted in the under representation of a female artistic perspective, in particular, how art depicts women. The male artistic perspective of various matters has become universal which in effect devalues the contribution of female artists who may have a different perspective. In most men’s artistic work, women are objectified as creatures for men to lust after. By contrast, most women have taken a restrained approach to feminism, which begs the question, are there female artists whose artwork has veered from this approach? Germaine Bennett whose work is on display at Karin Clarke gallery has surprisingly adopted a perspective that would not be expected of a woman. Women should reveal feminism in a more sober manner as compared to men who are inclined to nudity. Her artwork reveals the modern lifestyle of a free, empowered and liberal woman with regard to her finances, mannerism and dressing (Bennett, 2014). Bennett’s artwork depicts various scenes of women in recreational places. Their dressing is an indication of their able means and liberalism. However, some of her work may also depict prostitution, as several women are bare-chested. Prostitution is a largely female problem which Bennett’s addresses in her work. The women dress seductively as a way to attract customers. In addition, they also have to adopt mannerisms, though destructive, but suitable to their form of occupation. In one of her pieces of art, she depicts a scene in a brothel where there is a woman in a nun’s dressing. The above artwork is a reflection of a perspective commonly expected of men. It therefore proves that not all women will have a restrained and a sober approach when depicting women. Bennett’s artwork may also point out the fact she has also bought into the men’s universally accepted artistic perspective centred on nudity as a way of representing women in art. Any of the above explanations on why Bennett’s work has gone against the grain will depend on the interpretation of her work. Bennett’s work under reference reveals the modern trends where women do not shy from immorality (Bennett, 2014). From her work, she seems to detest women using their body as sexual enterprises. By contrast, Tallmadge Doyle’s work has not only shifted away from nudity but also feminism, which is a common theme for female artists. Her work has focussed entirely on natural beauty of the environment. In relation to the subject matter, Tallmadge Work has veered off from the common themes expected from a woman’s artworks (Doyle, 2014). However, her work also reveals the nature of a woman as gentle. From the surface of it, she seem to have veered of completely from what is expected of a woman, but a deeper analysis reveals that her work is the representation of the nature of woman. Conversely, Sylvan views traits such gentleness, widely associated with women, are not innate but are the culmination of social programming. In light of such views, it is imperative to note that according to Sylvan’s approach such traits are not a depiction of any gender but a society’s perceptions. Therefore, Tallmadge Doyle’s work provides insight on how the society has constructed a woman’s behaviour or tendencies (Doyle, 2014). Doyle’s artworks have embraced the common themes that are expected or a woman indirectly. Doyle’s work has employed very few colours with white and barge being the dominant colours. In most of her artwork, the object in focus may be an animal or plant, which blends, or camouflages into the environment. Most of the work is painted using short brush strokes that enable the artist to ensure that small details in the painting are portrayed to the required precision. By contrast, Bennett employs longer brush strokes, which signify an artist’s skills. Nonetheless, longer brush strokes favours Bennett’s work since most of the objects in the paintings are large. The disparity in painting reveals that Bennett is willing to tackle taboo subjects such as women’s approach to art, and how men project femininity thorough their artwork. Bennett is a carefree individual, as her work seems lack the acute level of attention to detail that is evident in Doyle’s work. Overall, Doyle’s work avoids addressing the underrepresentation of a female perspective in art. Bennett’s work brings to the forefront contemporary issues that have elicited debated such as materialism and class. In her work, the women are clothed extravagantly as a way of looking appealing but the artwork also reveals the immoral nature of their work (Bennett, 2014). There is a wide spread use of colour black which only emphasize that prostitution is immoral. Despite the superficial feeling of contentment and freedom, there is an underlying theme of hopelessness. In her painting, women’s bodily feature such as breasts, thighs and buttocks are over-emphasized as a way of pointing out to the viewer how prostitutes attract their customers or such bodily parts are their tools of trade. Sylvan poses the question, “do women have to be nude to appear in the art gallery? (Barnet, 2005)” The query aims at starting a debate on various issues relating to art and women. To understand the above concern it is vital to mull over other questions such as; is art inherently inclined towards objectifying women as sexual objects? Has the lack of a female perspective contributed to the erosion of feminism? Bennett’s work does not provide answers to any of the above queries as it seem to regurgitate the perspective men’s artwork has propagated over the years. Bennett’s artwork lacks sentimentality that has been a tool towards resisting the status quo established by many male artists with regard to women. Ultimately, Bennett’s artwork has sided with the status quo that may be an indication that the male perspective on women, feminism and nudity has become innate or imprinted in the psychology of both female and male artists (Dutton, 2002). To reverse the above state of affair, education on how to appreciate art should he enhanced. Such education should enable the public to fight the negative the portrayal of women in artwork, which has become accepted as a social norm. Doyle’s work evades tackling the underrepresentation of female perspective in art. It reveals the gentle nature women which artist have overlooked as they thrilled about objectifying women as sexual objects. The attention to detail and use of small brush strokes seeks to challenges the stereotypes exposed by Sylvan with regard to the artistic capacity of women. Doyle work seeks to assert that women are equally talented. Bennett’s work has challenged the assertion that female artists will have a sober approach towards feminism by avoiding portraying women as sexual objects. She adopted the status quo perspective typical of artwork created by men. Her motivation to do so seems to stem from the fact she is tackling an issue in the society, which erodes the status of women. Therefore, Bennett’s paintings do not evade from the realities of prostitution. Bennett’s work also underscores the role of art as a reflection the society while also inculcating artistic instincts such as creativity. On the other hand, Doyle indirectly reflects the notion that female artists have a sober approach on how to depict women. However, Doyle does so through revealing the qualities, which are widely associated to women that include gentleness. Her works also serves as an appreciation of the environment. Conclusively, not all female have embraced a sentimental approach with regard to how women are depicted by art. References Barnet, S. (2005). A short Guide towards Writing about Art. New Jersey, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Bennett, G. (2014). Germaine Bennett. Retrieved on May 17, 2014 from http://www.karinclarkegallery.com/Nora-s-Bar.html   Doyle, T. (2014).  Tallmadge Doyle. Retrieved on May 17, 2014 from http://www.karinclarkegallery.com/Tallmadge-Doyle.html   Dutton, D. (2002). The Art Instinct. Beauty, Pleasure and Human evolution. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Press. Taylor, A. (2007). He’s Gotta Be Strong, and He’s Gotta Be Fast, and He’s Gotta Be Larger Than Life’’: Investigating the Engendered Superhero Body. The Journal of Popular Culture, 40(2), 344-359. Read More