Holzer was involved in the Feminist Art Movement in the States emerged in 1980s. She broke the rules of fashion, and emphasized a new way of self—expression. During this period, the artist compiled a collection of rhetorical statements to create her best—known…
How do the works of Yasumasa Morimura, Julie Rrap and Anne Zahalka challenge conventional ways in which gender has been depicted historically in the visual arts?…
With the advents of technology, advertisements depict women as desirable commodities this has poisoned the minds of many young women ultimately morphing values and beliefs. Women are shown in subordinate, submissive, and male pleasing roles. Media and advertisement representation reflects and reinforces sexism in society today. The social standards of beauty and feminism are set by Hollywood’s greatest celebrities. They do this by alluring women into buying cosmetic products affirming the concept of female beauty. Companies such as “bebe”, apply the same technique to persuade women in buying their apparel. In the ad “bebe”, the company portrays a woman holding a bright red lipstick getting off a taxi while flaunting a revealing dress. On the other side, she is shown obeying all rules, in bed with black revealing lingerie with an enticing text, “9pm to 5am obey all the rules, you miss all the fun”. The ad amplifies its message and allures its audience to disobey all the rules if they want to become “the bad girl” by purchasing “bebe’s” apparel.…
Whereas the objects found in Oldenburg’s store once symbolized the mystique of the Kennedy era, they now are more representational of American poverty and incompetence, at least in Vincent’s comparative analysis and criticisms. This is, no doubt, what Oldenburg hoped to accomplish with his comical, yet contemplative interpretations of mass-produced consumer goods and products. Take for example, Pepsi-Cola Sign (1961). Painted in the same red, white and blue as the American flag, painted expressively with industrial enamel that could be bought in a hardware store; a practice he attributes to Jackson Pollock’s use of “direct - real paint” (152).There is a level of patriotism behind his imitation that he both affectionately portrays and mocks. With one symbol, he effectively exposes the contradictions and ambiguities of our modern society.…
One specific type of propaganda used by the Nazis in WWII was the propaganda “fear”. The Nazis used this to persuade the Germans and everyone else if they don’t get rid of the jews no they will overpower and eventually destroy what they had accomplished. The Nazis would use “fear” by making posters, books, speeches, etc. saying if they don’t eliminate the jews the jews would eliminate them. The United States used the propaganda “fear” as well by claiming if they did not lock away the Japanese-Americans we would all be killed because they were “spies”. The United states used the propaganda fear to have the Japanese-Americans incarcerated and to have fellow people believe they were spies. As you see from history the propaganda fear that was…
Attempting to change social and political conditions, activist art has recently been a popular subject among artists and art critics alike. Those most active within the art market have much criticism for activist and political art. Activists however, don’t seem to be too concerned as their main priority is the activism rather than the physical, which is where most criticism is based. Critics believe activist art cannot be considered true art because it is leaning on a notion of morality. They also believe it is lacking a certain quality of art and because it serves a function, it cannot fit in with traditional fine arts. Activist art also, in a way, distances itself from traditional fine arts by sometimes presenting itself as unappealing as…
Shepard Fairey’s practice disrupts the difference between fine and commercial art. Through the distribution of posters, stickers, and murals, related to his Obey Giant campaign, which yielded an international cultural phenomenon. Summarizes a number of frequent concerns in the artist’s work, including propaganda, portraiture, and political power. Fairey said “I want to encourage positive attributes of humanity; compassion, scrutiny of abuse of authority, peacefulness”.…
Cindy Sherman was one of the well known and most respected photographers in the late twentieth century. Rather than doing self portraits for her photographs, Sherman depicted herself in the roles of B- movie actresses. On one level, Sherman’s work appears to be subversively linked to ‘low’ art characterized by ‘b-grade’ film and photography, on another level, her work is regarded as the modernist ideal of the ‘high' art object. Sherman has raised challenging and important questions about the role and representation of women in society, the media and the nature of the creation of art. Sherman has been acclaimed as the subversive feminist that has boldly confronted issues concerning the female body. Even though some critics look at Cindy’s works as demining the women and exposing the women into low standards through her photographs, Cindy had a strong message for the viewers. In 1992 Sherman embarked on a series of photographs now referred to as "Sex Pictures." Sherman is not in any of these photographs for the first time in her career as an artist, yet she uses dolls and prosthetic body parts posed in highly sexual poses. She chose to often photograph up close and in color both female and male body parts which were purposely meant to shock the viewers. Sherman continued to work on these photographs for some time and continued to experiment with the use of dolls and other replacements for what had previously been herself. Critiques imply that the viewer is guilty for the negative readings of Sherman’s images. In a way Sherman’s constructed image of woman is innocent, and the way we interpret it is based on our social and cultural knowledge. Referring to the reaction of a gallery visitor who criticized Sherman for presenting women as sex objects, I would say that the visitor’s anger comes from a sense of his own involvement because the images speak not only to him but from him. Critiques depicted Sherman as a whore for producing such photographs but…
Jean Kilbourne is perhaps best known for her videos that are based on her lectures. She is a former magazine editor and her ‘Killing Us Softly” video series on sexism in advertising was inspired by the numerous advertisements she reviewed. According to Ridnor, Kilbourne argues that the portrayal of women in advertising is not only negative, but also related to violence against females.…
"Keep this Horror from Your Home," an American propaganda poster produced during World War II, uses many visual and textual elements to encourage Americans to buy war bonds by portraying the Japanese as rapists. The author of the piece is unknown, but it is obvious that the creator of the poster carefully chooses the color, patterns, scale, text, and representation of the piece to send a very strong social and political message. There is little doubt that the underlying message was directed towards all Americans during World War II, and not towards a single community or group of people. The viewer does not need an art background or even the slightest political awareness to understand the meaning of the poster. Rather, the poster is simple and straightforward. The central focus of the poster is on the Japanese man, whose facial features are clearly exaggerated to instill fear and disgust in the eyes of the viewer. In contrast, the frightened and vulnerable expression of the American woman, who is helpless in the grasp of the Japanese soldier, fuels the viewer's hatred for the Japanese even more. Its message is palpable to the extent of the quickest glance, yet there is more evidence hidden beyond the surface of the poster. Its full visual potential can be realized only after analyzing the various visual and textual elements in exacting detail.…
Barbra Kruger is a revolutionary feminist artist that has been shaking modern society for decades. Kruger was born in 1945 in Newark, New Jersey. Currently, she is teaching at the University of California at Los Angeles and resides in the United States in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles is not the only place she resides, she is known to travel between New York City and Los Angels often (Art 21). Barbra Kruger’s education came about unconventionally by gaining much of her skills through natural talent. She did not take a traditional path and never thought she would become an artist; she considered being a fashion editor early on, but never an artist recognized for her work (Blazwick). According to Art History, Kruger took a year of classes at the Syracuse University in 1964, where she evolved an interest in graphic design and art. The following year, she enrolled in the Parson School of Design. There she studied with many well-known photographers who introduced her to…
There are many contemporary artists in the world that provoke conversation on controversial topics. Keith Haring, Francis Bacon and Barbara Kruger are a few examples of artists with a message. These artists have all created works that "evoke a sense of struggle 'against the system.'" Not all of these outspoken artists share the same vision, but they have fought their own personal battles to get their message out to the public.…
“The expropriation and appropriation of Sarah Baartman by the colonial and capitalist gaze has lasted long enough. It is not a good idea to create new images of her, because each new image repeats and continues the past exploitation and humiliation of her body.”…
Barbara Kruger is by any bar one of the most unique and celebrated artists of the 21st Century. Her style of employing popular culture both as a tool and subject in her artistic works to critique common norms and values has changed the way we think about postmodern life. The questions and ideas brought forth by her work traverses consumerism, race, autonomy and economics. Her ability to use few words and an image to create an instant connection between the artist, the message and the viewer is a show of her artistic genius. Her oeuvre of applying catchy phrases in contemporary publications, magazines and graphic designs creates a fusion with the façade that is graphic design. Her work does not go outright to market a product to the consumer,…
In her essay “In, Around, and Afterthoughts”, Martha Rosler points out that, “Documentary, as we know it, carries (old information) about a group of powerless people to another group addressed as socially powerful (263). This statement is important to helping understand how documentary photos can make history. They are only able to do this when the images they express have enough power to call the audience to action to make a change. For example, in Rosemarie Garland Thomson’s “Seeing the Disabled”, she describes the Breast Cancer Fund documenting women daringly showing off their mastectomy scars in a set of advertisements called “Obsessed with Breasts” that imitated sexualized images of women in advertisements and publications such as Victoria’s Secret catalogs and Cosmopolitan magazine. In turn, the advertisements created controversy and opened a dialogue about breast cancer and the reality of women’s breasts compared to the way they were normally portrayed in the media (Thomson 365-367). This is a time where a documentary image created history, because it changed the rhetoric surrounding mastectomies and breast cancer. This is just a small example of the history documentary photography can…