Postmodern Art

Civil Rights. Women’s Rights.

Aids.

ReviewThelasttwoweeks--important:1.  Psychologicalsupportfor

genderdiscrimina<on.2.  A?tudestowardimmigrants.3.  Ashcanschooland

immigra<on.4.  HarlemRenaissance5.  NewYorkArtaGerWWII6.  AmericanaGerWWII7.  Popartandsexuality.8.  CivilRightsmovement.

RoyLichtenstein,Liveammo,1965SelmatoMontgomerymarch1965

Background TheCivilRightsMovementofthe1950sand60swasastruggleofAfricanAmericanstoachievecivilrightsequaltothoseofwhitesinAmerica.Equalopportunityinemployment,housing,educa<on,vo<ng,useofpublicfacili<esandrighttobefreeofracialdiscrimina<on.Italteredtherela<onsbetweenthefederalgovernmentandthestatesasthefederalgovernmentwasforcedmany<mestoprotecttherightsofAfricanAmericanci<zens.TheCivilRightsActof1964madecivilrightsalawthusoutlawingdiscrimina<oninallpublicplaces.

ThecivilrightsmovementforeverchangedthefaceofU.S.lawandpoli<cs.Itledtolegisla<onthatgavegreaterprotec<ontotherightsofminori<es.ItalsogreatlychangedtheroleofthejudiciaryinU.S.government,astheSupremeCourthadbecomemoreac<veinitsdefenseofindividualrights,oGeninresponsetoli<ga<onanddemonstra<onsini<atedbythoseinthemovement.

Feminism 1960s and 70s Knownassecondwavefeminism,thewomen’slibera<onmovementlearnedfromtheCivilRightsMovement.Organizingandprotes<ngforwomen’srights,themovementbroughta^en<ontoissuessuchasdiscrimina<onintheworkplace,rape,lesbianissuesandsisterhood.OGendismissedbymalejournalistsasnotveryserious,themovementdidleadtotheEqualRightsamendment,abor<onrights,equalityandTitle9.Thefeministmovementprovidedaframeworkforprotestsforgayrights.

Marchforequalrightsforwomenin1970andGayLibera<onmarchinTimesSquare,1969

Feminist Art and Art History In1971,thearthistorian,LindaNochlin,wroteapivotalessayinthehistoryofart--WhyHaveThereBeenNoWomenAr1sts?Inthisessay,Nochlinexplorestheins<tu<onal–asopposedtotheindividual–obstaclesthathavepreventedwomenintheWestfromsucceedinginthearts.Thisessaychangedthewayarthistoriansviewedthepast,inpar<cularasrelatedtogender.Beforeherar<cle,nowomenar<stswerepresentinarthistorybooks.

ThankstoNochlin’sar<cleandtheFeministMovement,wearenowdiscussingwomenar<stsandissuesrelatedtogenderinart.Herearlyar<cleispublishedinthisbook.It’sinourlibrary.

Feminist Art Movement TheFeministartmovementemergedinthe1960samidan<-wardemonstra<onsandcivilrightsandqueerrightsmovements.Feministar<stswantedtorewriteamale-dominatedarthistoryaswellaschangethecontemporaryartworldtomakeaplaceforwomen’sart.Womensoughttoexpandthedefini<onoffineart,andtoincorporateawidervarietyofar<s<cperspec<ves.Some<mesthishadtodowithsubjectma^er.Some<mesbyusingmaterialspreviouslyconsidered‘women’swork’likesewing,embroidery,fabric,etc.

HarmonyHammond,BagXI,1971,BrooklynMuseumHammondassertsthattradi<onallyfemininequali<esareworthwhilear<s<csubjectsandmeansforar<s<ccrea<on.Tothisend,forexample,shecreatedsculpturesintheearly1970sfeaturingswathsoffabric,atradi<onallyfemininematerial,asaprimarymaterial.

Feminist Art Movement Widely regarded as the defining feminist artwork, The Dinner Party, functions as a symbolic history of women in Western civilization. Designed to commemorate the achievements of women in history such as O’Keefee, Virginia Wolfe and Queen Hatshepsut, the plates are decorated with vaginal references because it is common to all women.39 place settings are dedicated to a particular women and on the floor there are 999 more names.

Made with traditional female crafts such as china painting embroidery, needle point, etc.

JUDYCHICAGO,TheDinnerParty,1974-79.Mul<media,includingceramicsands<tchery,48’x48’x48’installed

Feminist Art Movement The piece was made by many different people, even though Chicago is given credit. This collaboration was made in 1979 but it was just recently permanently installed in the Brooklyn Museum. Go see it.

JUDYCHICAGO,TheDinnerParty,1974-79.Mul<media,includingceramicsands<tchery,48’x48’x48’installed.Seealltheplateshere:www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollec<on/objects/5167/The_Dinner_Party

Feminist Art Movement Itmaybedifficulttounderstandthispiece.It’salargetriangleshapedsculpturethatisdesignedasadinnertable.Thetriangleshapemeansthereisnoheadofthetablebutyoumayalsorememberthetriangleinprehistoric<meswasasymbolforthefemale.JudyChicagousedceramicandembroiderybecausetheywereconsidered‘women’swork’nothighartlikepain<ngandsculpture.Shealsomadetheplateswiththefemalevaginatorefertoearlierartandbringa^en<ontotheimportanceandroleofthefemalebody.

Youmayrememberseeingthisworkthesecondweekoftheclass.Thisplacese?ng,dedicatedtotheprimordialgoddess.Chicagowascelebra<ngwomenwhoupun<lthat<me,hadbeeneliminatedfromhistory.Thegoddesswasoneofthese.

Feminist Art Movement Asaresultofthemovement,wri<ngsandawarenessofpatriarchalhistory,femalear<stsbeganmakingworkthatpushedback.Youareallawareoftheimageoftherecliningfemalenude.Hereareafewmadebyfemalear<stsinresponse.Howaretheydifferenttotheirsources?Yasumasa Morimura, Reclining Nude, 1988

Kickalene Thomas, A Little Taste Outside of Love, 2007 Sylvia Sleigh, Imperial Nude Paul Roaano,

Yasumasa Morimura, Portrait (Futago), 1988, photograph. Jan Banning, Danae Olympia, from National Identities series, 2012.

Youmightrememberthisslide.Itwasinthefirstlecture.Hopeitmakesmoresensenow.Thispagecontainsworkbyfemalear<stswhoa^empttosubvertthetradi<onindifferentways.SylviaSleigh,PhilipGolubReclining,1971,oiloncanvas.

Feminist Art Movement Evenbeforethemovement,ar<stsofcolorandfemalear<stswereawareoftheobjec<fica<onofthefemalebody.Theseimageswereearlier.ButbothJohnson,anAfricanAmericanmalear<st,respondedasdidPaulaModersonBecker,afemale.WilliamJohnson,FemaleNude,1939

PaulaModersonBecker,RecliningNudewithChild,1906ModersonBeckerwaspartoftheExpressionistmovement.Herpain<ngofmotherandchildbringsthefemalerecliningnudeintothemotherandchildcontextwehavebeenstudying.

Feminist Art Movement GuerrillaGirlsareananonymousgroupoffeminist,femalear<stsdevotedtofigh<ngsexismandracismwithintheartworld.TheycreatedpostersthatwerepostedguerrillastylearoundthecityofNY.ThegroupformedinNewYorkCityin1985withthemissionofbringinggenderandracialinequalitywithinthefineartstolight.Membersareknownforthegorillamaskstheyweartoremainanonymous.

GUERRILLAGIRLS,TheAdvantagesofBeingAWomanAr<st,1988.Poster.

Feminist Art Movement originallyinterestedinbringinga<en=ontowomenintheartworld,theireffortsmovedtosocialissuesandthoseofwomenofcolor.

GUERRILLAGIRLS,TheAdvantagesofBeingAWomanAr1st,1988.Poster.Anironicstatementthatbringsa^en<ontotherealityofbeingafemalear<st.PopQuiz,1987

Feminist Art and Race TheFeministArtmovementonlylastedun<lthe1980swhenabacklashinbothcultureandartdiminishedit’srole.However,themovementsetthestageforques<oningtheartworld,arthistoryandwhywomenandwomen’sissues,andthenpeopleofcolor,havebeenleGout.Issuesrelatedtogenderexpandedtothoseofiden<tyingeneralinpar<cular--Race.Ar<stslikeAdrienPiper,ablackfemalear<st,madeartworksrelatedtoherreality.

Dressing up as a man in, Mythic Being performances 1975, she walked New York’s streets to see how black males were made into objects of racism.

Postmodernism EventssinceWorldWarII(liketheCivilRightsMovement,theVietnamWarandFeminism),andthepercep<onofthoseevents,gaverisetotheno<onthattheWesternHumanisttradi<onwasflawedandcorrupt,evenoppressive.Peoplebegantorealizehowracistandmisogynis<cideasgavesomepeoplepoweroverothers.Artandculturalideasbegantochange.ThenamegiventhisnewperiodisPostmodernism.Postmodernismembraceseverything…commonculture,pastartstyles,everything.

"Pluralismanddiversity"areotherdefiningfeatures.Ques<onsofiden=tyandembracingallformsasequallyvalid.Femalear<sts,ar<stsofcolorandotherspreviouslyoutsidethemainstreamofart,addressedissuesofiden<tyandsocialcri<que.

Barbara Kruger,Untitled: We have received orders not to move, 1982

Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Your body is a battleground), 1989

Rememberthisone?Yousawitweek1.ContemporaryAr<stsrealizethishistoryandmakeworktobringa^en<ontothereali<esofrepresenta<onandpower.Femalear<stsrecognizehowartandadver<singpresentwomenwhorepresentthe‘ideal’asdefinedbymen.Manycontemporaryfemalear<stsaddressthisrealityintheirwork.Thismethodofanalyzingartfallswithinthe‘FeministMethod.’MorediscussionofCri<calMethodstocome.

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Usingimagesandtac<csfromadver<sing,BarbaraKrugercreatedboldstatementsaboutfemalestereotypesandmarke<ngtechniques,basedonartandculturalhistory. BARBARAKRUGER,Un1tled(YourGazeHitstheSideofMyFace),1983.Photostat,redpaintedframe,6’1”x4’1”.CourtesyofMaryBooneGallery,NewYork.

Black Identity Faith Ringgold is an African American artist and author who became famous for innovative, quilted narrations and paintings that communicate her political beliefs. Taking inspiration from artist Jacob Lawrence and writer James Baldwin, Ringgold painted her first political collection named the American People Series in 1963. It portrays the American lifestyle in relation to the Civil Rights Movement and illustrates these racial interactions from a woman’s point of view. Sheisbestknownforherquiltsdepic<ngAfricanAmericanlifeandherchildren’sbook,TarBeach.

FaithRinggold,TheFlagisBleeding,1967QuiltedIllustra<onFromTarBeach,1980s

Betye Saar, The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, 1972

Thisonewasalsoinweek1.Inaddi<onAfricanAmericanAr<sts,likeBetyeSaar,madeartthatbringsa^en<ontowaysimagesfunc<onedtodehumanizeanen<rerace.Inthiscase,SaarremindsusthattheimageofAuntJemimaexistedtotameandcontrol–createastereotype–ofAfricanAmericanwomenascaretakerandpassive.Someonewhoneednotbefeared.Iremovedtheques<onsthatwereontheoriginalslide.

Race and History The background of The Liberation of Aunt Jemima is covered with Aunt Jemima advertisements while the foreground is dominated by a larger Aunt Jemima notepad holder with a picture of a mammy figure and a white baby inside. The larger Aunt Jemima holds a broom in one hand and a rifle in the other, transforming her from a happy servant and caregiver to a proud militant. A large, clenched fist symbolizing black power stands before the notepad holder, cotton balls litter the ground below.

BetyeSaar,TheLibera1onofAuntJemima,1972

Race and History Aunt Jemima is transformed from a passive domestic into a symbol of black power. She has liberated herself from both a history of white oppression and traditional gender roles. Through the use of the mammy and Aunt Jemima figures, Saar reconfigures the meaning of these stereotypical figures to ones that demand power and agency within society.

BetyeSaar,TheLibera1onofAuntJemima,1972

TheoriginalAuntJemima,usedtosellpancakemixandsyrup.

Race and History Carrie Mae Weems is a socially motivated artist whose works invite contemplation of race, gender, and class. Increasingly, she has broadened her view to include global struggles for equality and justice. Herseries,MirrorMirror,fromtheAin’tJokin’Series,isaseriesof5photographsofWeemslookingvulnerableinherslipaskingthefairytaleques<on,“MirrorMirror,onthewall,who’sthefairestofthemall?Theanswerbluntly:“SnowWhite,youblackbitch,anddon’tyouforgetit!”Feministissuesareaddressedbyapersonofcolorinastatementaboutbothraceandgender.

Carrie Mae Weems, Mirror, Mirror from the Ain’t Jokin’ series, 1987-88 Theworkadressesthepressureonwomenforphysicalperfec<onandinpar<cularforwomenofcolorwhoareexcludedfromWesternstandardsoffemalebeauty.

KERRYJAMESMARSHALLMarshall is an African American artist whose paintings, installations, and public projects are often drawn from African-American popular culture. They are also rooted in the geography of his upbringing. He said, “You can’t be born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1955 and grow up in South Central [Los Angeles] near the Black Panthers headquarters, and not feel like you’ve got some kind of social responsibility.”

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ManyMansions,1994Thisisthefirstinaseriesofpain<ngsMarshalldiddepic<ngpublichousingprojects.Thinkingit‘ironic’thatmanywerecalled‘Gardens’thispain<ngisfilledwiththecontradic<onsoflivinginpublichousing.

KERRYJAMESMARSHALL

His works address issues of race, juxtaposing images from the history of Blacks and Whites in America. In this painting, images of black children playing in an upper class neighborhood, with houses that resemble plantation style are juxtaposed with cotton fields.

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OURTOWN,1994Inthiswork,ablackboyandgirlplayinanupperclassneighborhood.Withreferencestoplanta<ons,co^onfieldsandurbangraffi<,theworkbringstogethermanycontradictoryimagesreferringtotherealityofsocialrela<onsandhistory.

Aids Crisis OnJune5,1981theU.S.CentersforDiseaseControlandPreven<on(CDC)publishedaMorbi<tyandMortalityWeeklyReportdescribingcasesofararelunginfec<on,Pneumocys<scariniipneumonia,infiveyoung,previouslyhealthy,gaymeninLosAngeles.Allthemenhaveotherunusualinfec<onsaswell,indica<ngthattheirimmunesystemsarenotworking:twohavealreadydiedbythe<methereportispublished.Thisedi<onoftheMMWRmarksthefirstofficialrepor<ngofwhatwillbecomeknownastheAIDSepidemic.

Aposterwiththenamesandfacesofsomemenwhodiedofaidsinthe1980s.

The Aids Decade 1982-92 Bytheendofthe1970ssocialandpoli<calcampaignstostrengthengayandlesbiancommuni<eschallengedearlierideasthathomosexualitywasapathologybycelebra<ngtheseiden<<esasalternatewaysoflivingandbeing.Theexhibi<on,ExtendedSensibili1es1982,attheNewMuseuminNewYorkwasthefirstmuseumshowtofocusonsexualiden<tyandthefirsttointegrateartbygaymenandlesbians.Manyar<stswhoshouldhavebeenintheshowwerenotbecausetheyrefusedto‘comeout’fearingthecontext.

Aids Decade By1992,10yearsaGertheExtendedSensibili<esshow,50,00AIDScaseshadbeenreportedintheUSalone.By1995aquarterofthemenwhoexhibitedintheshowhaddied,includingmanyotherswhowerenotincluded.TheeffectsofAIDSbecamethedominantissueinart.italteredhowart,homosexualityandtherela<onshipbetweenthemwasunderstood.

FelixGonzalez-Torres,Un1tled(PortraitofRossinL.A.),1991Cellophane-wrappedcandiesareusedtostand-inforthebodyofhisloverRosswhohaddiedofAIDS.Specifiedtobeinstalledandmaintainedattheweightofhislover,gallerygoersareencouragedtotakethecandyandeatit.

Aids and Art FelixGonzalez-TorreswasaCubanar<stwhodiedofAIDS-relatedcomplica<onsin1996.Butbeforehediedhisextensivebodyofworkcommentedonthefragilityoflifeandthebeliefthateverythingdoes,andshouldchange.Hewasinterestedinhowthepublicandprivateareintertwinedanduseseverydayobjectsascomplexmetaphorforhumanexperience.Employingsimple,everydaymaterialslike,stacksofpaper,puzzles,candy,stringsoflights,beads,headdressesthemessuchasloveandloss,sicknessandrejuvena<on,genderandsexuality.

Otherevery-dayobjectsliketwoclockssetatthesame<me,weremetaphorsforlife,deathandlove.Inevitably,oneclockba^erywoulddiebeforetheother,withoneclockslowingdownandthenstopping.Eventually,bothwouldstop.

Aids and Art Keith Haring found a thriving alternative art community in New York that was developing outside the gallery and museum system, in the downtown streets, the subways and spaces in clubs and former dance halls.

His first works were chalk drawings in the NY subway.

KeithHaringinNYSubwaysta<on

Aids and Art Throughout his career, Haring devoted much of his time to public works, which often carried social messages. He produced more than 50 public artworks between 1982 and 1989, in dozens of cities around the world, many of which were created for charities, hospitals, children’s day care centers and orphanages. The now famous Crack is Wack mural of 1986 has become a landmark along New York’s FDR Drive.

KeithHaring,CRACKISWACK,FDRDrive

Aids and Art Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. In 1989, he established the Keith Haring Foundation, to provide funding and imagery to AIDS organizations and children’s programs. Haring enlisted his imagery during the last years of his life to speak about his own illness and generate activism and awareness about AIDS.

Artworkandposterstobringa^en<ontoAIDSKeithHaringdiedinFebruary,1990.

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Mapplethorpe’s work work featured an array of subjects including celebrity portraits, still-life images of flowers and a controversial body of work around the variety erotic practices. In each case, the black & white images focus on the iconic and sensuality in photographed images.

RobertMapplethorpe,CallaLily,1988,photographs

Identity Mapplethorpedidaseriesofself-portraitsinvariousstagesofhislife,revealingdifferentaspectsofhispersonality.Asvariouslycostumedcharacters,Mapplethorperesearcheshisowniden<ty,capturinghiscomplexandcontradictorynature.Whetherdepic<nghimselfinaplayful,fierce,orvulnerablestate,thear<st’sexplora<onsareintenselypersonalandself-reflexive.

RobertMapplethorpe,self-portraits,photographs

Identity Itwasnotun<laGerhisdiagnosiswithAIDSin1986thatMapplethorpehonestvulnerablyisrevealedinhisportraits.Takenonlymonthsbeforehispassing,forSelfPortrait(withcane),thear<stisnolongerplayingarole.Mapplethorpefacesthecameradirectly,asifhewerelookingdeathintheface.Theskull-headedcanethatheholdsinhisrighthandactsasamementomori,foreshadowinghisinevitablefate.(fromthepressreleaseSkarstedtGallery.)RobertMapplethorpediedofAIDSrelatedcomplex,March,1989.RobertMapplethorpe,Self-Portrait,1989

Identity Mapplethorpe’s most controversial imagery were those with blatant homoerotic content. The most direct, creating censorship battles over moral and pornographic issues in art.Mapplethorpeneverintendedtheseimagestobemadepublic.Forhimtheywereexplora<onsintohisownsubculture.However,thesearetheimagesthatbecameasourceforhomophobicexploita<on,asMapplethorpe’sphotographsbecameaba^lecryagainsttheNEA(Na<onalEndowmentfortheArts)andagainsthomosexualitybyconserva<vepoli<cians.

RobertMapplethorpe,DenniswithFlowers,1983andLeatherPants,1980.

Gran Fury, Kissing Doesn’t Kill: Greed and Indifference Do, printed on postcards and displayed as billboards and bus posters, 1989.

Thisisalsoaslideyousawthefirstweek.Contemporaryar<stsanddesignersusevisualrepresenta<on(images)toreflecttheideasofour<me.Butcanwealsohave‘blindspots’whenitcomestoseeingandunderstandingdifferences?Maybewecanlearntoseethem.

RobertMapplethorpe,Self-Portrait,1980

IMPORTANTAswemoveintothepostCivilRightsandpostFeministera,thingsarechanginginourcultureandinart.Herearetheques<onsforthisweek:1.  Doyouthinkideasandimagesthat

haveturnedwomenintoobjectsofmaledesirehaveanythingtodowithrecentcircumstancesinthenewsregardingsexualharassmentand/orsexualabuse?Discuss.

2.  DoyouthinkstereotypesregardingpeopleofcolorhaveanythingtodowiththecurrentBlackLivesMa^ermovement?Discuss.

3.  Doyouthinkartand/ormediaimagesaffecthowpeopleseethosewhoaredifferentthanthem?How?

Nextweekwelookatar<stswhocameaGerCivilRights,theFeministMovementandPostmodernideasthatbringa^en<ontothereali<eswe’vebeenstudyingabouthistoryanddifference.