Femininity in the modern art - Essay Example

Due Modernity and the Spaces of Femininity Introduction Through art, a number of contemporary issues have been expressed by artists. For instance, musicians are able to express various issues that are of much concern in the society to their respective audiences. The ability of these artists to convey a piece of desired information depends on the styles of art that they use. Therefore, the more effective the styles are, the more the possibility of the audience to comprehend the desired information. Cases of audiences misunderstanding some information may lead to certain consequences which may seem to affect both the sender and the receiver of the message. This case implies that incase the audience misquotes the artists, then, both the artist and the audience would be in great problems. A form of art that has been used to portray a number of contemporary issues in the society to its audience is drawing and painting. Various painters have learnt that paintings and drawings tend to express more information to the audience, though the piece of art requires persona internalization (Pollock, 73). The audiences have the role of interpreting the message ion the art correctly. However, there have been cases of readers misunderstanding the intended messages of these pieces of art. Therefore, it is the responsibility of these audiences to fully comprehend the styles of aft used in the paintings so as to derive the intended messages. This paper will examine two paintings assigned by the instructor, the styles used in the paintings, and the message or the contemporary issue that is presented in the painting. Modernity and the Spaces of Femininity For many years, painting has been considered as a form of art that is used for recreational purposes. The modern era, however, uses paintings a form of communication. People now use paintings as a form of expressing their views regarding certain societal issues that are of much concern. These emergences of new uses of paintings are regarded as the modernity of paintings. A good example of issues that have been greatly discussed by the use of paintings is femininity. For instance, Clark argues on the factors that might have been responsible for the options of modernity that eventually became to be regarded as the Manet territory (Pollock, 76). This case proves to the audience that artists have various impressions of their paintings. All that matters is the intended message and the target audience. This case also means that every painter has his or her own target audience. Femininity can be associated with the responsibilities that are often regarded as being directed to women. Therefore, some artistic impressions can be associated to women. Female artists also have a say in the artistic world. For many years, men have been associated with performing various arts, as opposed to women. Therefore, it is time that the women in the society come out and show their ability in almost everything that men seem to outshine them in. good modernity examples that women would address in their pieces of art include modern life, the public modern, the issue of men and women involvement in the private sphere, and women and gaze, among many others. For the purpose of this paper, two paintings will be evaluated, in terms of the issue of modernity and femininity. The Paintings The first painting is an impression of the natural beauty of a particular village. The foreground, that is a nearby tree, can easily be seen, with the outstanding green color suggesting that the trees are healthy and fresh. In the mid ground, a number of houses can be seen, thus, the suggestion that the society is made up of many families living together. In the background, a hill can clearly be seen as it towers in the painting. The hill is a clear presentation of the sovereignty of the society in the painting. In the painting, it is evident that the people of this society are probably farmers since a number of large tracks of land can easily be seen. In the foreground of the second painting, some people can be seen in a dhow as they sail in a given water body. The mid ground of the painting shows the extension of the water body, showing how far it has reached. The background clearly shows the sun which is just about to set for the evening. This is an indication that the activities in the painting occurred most probably in the evening. Modernity in the Paintings The activities of the painting show a small extent of modernity in them. For instance, the first painting shows the essence of people living together. From the painting, it is evident that the natural features of that particular community have equally been shared amongst the people living in the community. The green color suggests the healthy state of the plants ad crops in that society. Therefore, the modernity in the painting is that coordination during resources sharing is a key aspect to societal development. In the second painting, it is crystal clear that the people are in the process of moving from one destination to another by the use of a dhow, which is one of the earliest modes of water transport. The modernity in this case is that the people are still making use of olden means of transport to move themselves, together with their goods from one place to another. At the same time, it is quite evident that the people may be in the process of fishing. Fishing is one of the most important aspects of the economic development of people all over the world. As it can be seen in the portrait, the people are out on water at very odd times of the day; in the evening. The mid ground of the portrait suggests that the people would be there for a longer time and most probably, the whole night. This case shows how the people are modernized in such a way that they would opt to spend the night at sea so as to make a living, despite the harsh conditions that are out there in the sea. Femininity in the Portraits In the first portrait, the aspect of femininity can be seen through the nature of the land. The green coloring of the plants can be accredited to the women in that particular society. In the traditional society, women and children were often treated as a source of labor to the society. Women in the families had the responsibility of organizing how they would cultivate their lands. Therefore, the yields of these farms could be linked to the efforts of the women in the communities. This portrait, therefore, shows how the women of this particular society have played their role in ensuring that the resources are well taken care of. The second portrait also shows some aspects of femininity in it. The fact that the painting does not clearly show whether the people on board are women or men, it can be assumed, out of the benefit of doubt, that the people are all men. The reason behind this assumption is that men are always associated with heavy and risky activities, such as fishing at night. The aspect of femininity comes out, in that, the men Had to be prepared by their wives from home. For instance their wives would have the responsibility of ensuring that the men are well fed, and their clothing is alright, before the men can leave for fishing at night. Relationship between Modernity and Femininity in the Paintings As seen in the sections above, the aspect of modernity can be linked to the issue of femininity. For instance, the aspect of societal roles in the portraits can be accredited to the issue of modernity and femininity. The first portrait, for instance, shows an environment that has been well taken care of. This case shows that contemporary issue of environmental conservation has been well presented in the painting. As seen earlier, women in the society can be associated with activities such as farming and the preservation of the environment. The second portrait also shows the interrelation between modernity and femininity, in that the people are in the process of finding for themselves and their families, while their wives are at home, waiting for their return home with some fish, which they would then exchange for money and other basic commodities. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that artists often perform their works with the main intention of expressing their views to their audiences. For instance, they would use art to publicize various contemporary issues that exist in the society. Paintings and drawings, as good examples of this art, have also been accredited to this purpose. Therefore, it is important to fully internalize a particular painting, so as to get the desired piece of information that it relays (Pollock, 175). The issues of modernity and femininity have well been expressed in the two portraits that the instructor provided. Basing this argument on the contents of the portraits, it is evident that some of the pieces of information that the artists intended to relay to the audience is femininity and modernity in the contemporary society. Work Cited Pollock Griselda, Vision and Difference: Feminism, Femininity and the Histories of art. Read More