Evolving Bodies: Female Self Image and Body Shame in Contemporary Art

Details

Title: Evolving Bodies: Female Self Image and Body Shame in Contemporary Art
Creator
Subject
Description: Contemporary female artists have wrestled with female body image and society's dictation, criticism, and fetishism of the female form. My body of artwork, titled Evolving Bodies, seeks to expand into the commentary that these artists have already begun by creating paintings and sculptures that express and discuss societal criticism of the female body, its damage to the female psyche and her self image, and the resulting commodification of the female body. Art is an avenue to voice our concerns: that women's bodies are not a commodity, that she needs not conform to any particular shape, and to silence her oppressive critics. Art history is important in our exploration and understanding of what came before, what already exists, and how contemporary work fits in as new or expanding. My most unexpected learning experience as an undergraduate art student has been how the study of art history has impacted my view of art and how I approach and present my own work. My research of artwork by contemporary artists includes contemporaries such as Jenny Saville, Maggi Hambling, Elise Sigel, Ashley Cecil, David Jay, Sarah Baird, and others, as well as feminist literature by renowned writers such as Laura Mulvey, Helene Cixous, John Berger, Gill Saunders, Carla Rice, and Valerie Steele. For my exhibition exploring these topics, I created six new works exploring society's criticism of the female body, how these social modes damage the female psyche and self view, and the resulting commodity and money made off of women trying to fix their bodies to appease society's strict and unrealistic standards. Four of the works are in my favored medium of acrylic paint on canvas, and two of the works are in a new 3D medium I had never worked with before - soft body sculptures., Honors Thesis Advisor : Dr. Cynthia Persinger, PhD.
Publisher
Contributor: Oplinger, Stephanie A. (Author), California University of Pennsylvania. Honors Program.
Date: 2022-04-20
Type: Text
Format
Identifier: cali:2262
Source
Language
Relation
Coverage
Rights