Curatorial Rationale

This collection of artwork divulges into the harsh struggles women faced in society and the expectations that are held above them. Overtime, women have tackled every problem and act of prejudice against them and proceeded to achieve great things with determination. Their perseverance is what has inspired me to create the works for this exhibition. I explore this progress through the pieces and show the battle that women fought to create their own identities and establish their future. 

 

Color is a significant element in my pieces, since it sets the tone to the viewer. For instance, my first works are brighter with more color which subtly juxtaposes the work’s message. Ms. Amy includes many vivid colors since it was inspired by the art of the pop art movement, but the message is of ones’ confusion of their identity. The subject finds herself torn between being herself or acting the way society believes she should be. The use of techniques such as stippling and cross hatching were new to me and were inspired by Roy Lichtenstein’s works that I had studied. Likewise, The Voices conveys the whispers and ideas of others of certain expectations. The use of many vibrant colors and repeated images in the piece show this chaotic atmosphere that the subject is mentally embedded. 

 

Contrasting the first two works that convey the struggle of identity a woman faces in society, the bright colors in Homemade correspond with the positive tone that emits towards the audience. For many years, people have viewed the job of being a housewife as minimal and a mandatory job for women. In reality, it is very important because these women are mothers, teachers, role models, caregivers, etc. The fact that a mother has the power to gather the family through food is powerful. Pies are a staple in American culture and is usually made by a female in the family, which is why I chose to paint them as the focus of this piece. A lot of layering of color was used to create the texture on the pies, in addition to techniques such as dry brush and loaded brush strokes. In What Makes You Beautiful, I focused on the different aspects of beauty by incorporating variety through the use of multiple focal points in the piece. The fragmented images and some of the facial features being exaggerated such as the plump lips or long eyelashes shows that the media portrays a certain image of women being beautiful when she has makeup on. However the image of the girl with freckles reveals that having no make up on makes you just as beautiful and there is no reason to hide these “imperfections”. 

 

Following the first three works, Black Widow is to be placed next and it shows a drastic change in art style and form. I used more realistic features through the careful inclusion of shadows and lights in the face of the subject. The aim was to show that although female celebrities look ideally perfect, the media also harms them and this affects their mental health. The broken doll cracks on the face and spider are elements used to add more black into the piece to reveal a hollowness to the subject. 

 

A shift in power is displayed after through the making of I Serve You. This piece includes a lot of variety, due to the use of images from newspapers and magazines. In contrast to the first works, I Serve You contains large amounts of dark and dominant colors such as red and black. This artwork aims to show that the typical man in a suit and tie that used to believe that a woman’s place is at home serving her husband now praises the women who serve our country  in other amazing fields of work. 

 

The last three pieces are a series which show a dynamic change in the way that women are to be perceived by society. All three pieces are connected through the use of black, white and red and the focal points are different body parts: an eye, a hand and a leg. Crave demonstrates how a woman was seen to be controlled by money and the men who have it. Next, Opening Act is a shift to show what if a woman would be able to manipulate the feelings of a man. Lastly, The Woman’s Empire shows the future of successful women taking charge of their lives and futures.