Both feminist artists, Judy Chicago and Lorna Simpson, have taken
on the image of the woman’s vulnerability in different ways. The role of women within society is a
very objectified one; her role is traditionally to back up the man and these
two artists display this idea and argue against this tradition.
The photography of Lorna Simpson, particularly in the piece,
You’re Fine, explores that role of
women in society. She has removed
her from the home, a gender role greatly assumed of women; however, the woman
is still figured as below the man. Taken in 1988, this picture is of a
vulnerable woman’s silhouette laid out on what looks like a medical exam table. This piece is powerful in how it speaks
to the greatly diminished role of women in society. Even though they were becoming more prominent in the work
place at this time, it was still in secretarial positions, and this artwork
makes one question what women are hired for, their brains or their bodies? “While the numbers of employed women
and women in active public life have increased, many spatial stereotypes and
patterns of behavior remain” (Hayden, 226). Simpson’s piece invokes social commentary and angers the
viewer in the realization of how society thinks.
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Women in terms of urban society are much more accepted
today; however, there is still a stigma associated with women in positions over
men. “The working woman was no one
urban man’s property (her father or husband had failed to keep her at home)”
(Hayden, 226). The role of women
in urban society is a complex one. Professionals try and equate themselves with
men, whereas others use their sex to their advantage, creating a double
standard. In order to overcome
this double standard, “gender stereotypes must be eliminated form architecture,
urban design, and graphic design in public space” (Hayden, 228). One can see the gender stereotypes and
difficulty to overcome them in Hyde’s, Running
the Gauntlet.
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| Place setting of Georgia O'Keeffe in Judy Chicago's, The Dinner Party |
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| The Dinner Party, 1974-1979, Judy Chicago |
On the other hand the artist Judy Chicago also explores the
vulnerability of the woman but in a very different way in her artwork, The Dinner Party, which was created
between 1974 and 1979. This
complex piece speaks to the strength of women but also to their defenselessness
and their traditional roles in the home.
She presents to the viewer a “dinner table,” with a different setting
for thirty-nine women of importance throughout history. Each setting is made up of a chalice,
utensils, a tablecloth with their name, and most importantly, a plate, each
bearing the artistic form of a vagina.
These plates display exposure in their naked form but then strength in
that too. By displaying
historically prominent women, does the opposite from Simpson’s piece. She shows the woman in a full and open
way, not hiding her. The strength
of women, as displayed by Chicago, is also greatly seen in active protests
during the feminist movement. “The
Women’s Strike for Equality… nationwide demonstrations were the largest since
the suffrage movement. Fifty
thousand marchers moved down Fifth Avenue in New York City, demanding day care,
abortion rights, equal jobs, and equal access to education” (Hayden, 243). The unity and strength of women is
displayed below in a photograph from the August 1971, Women’s March for
Equality.
Picture captured at Women's March for Equality, 1971
Both Loran Simpson and Judy Chicago create great social
commentary in relation to the gender roles created in society by making the
woman vulnerable and in the case of Chicago also making her strong. Both of these works challenge the roles
of women within society. “No country has yet created an urban fabric and an
urban culture to support men and women on equal terms as citizens and workers”
(Hayden, 245). The below video
captures the strength of women in the navy, but at no time are they seen with
men and the advertisement is constantly aiming to feminize this profession. This leaves to question the ability of
society to overcome the double standards present.
Works Cited
The Dinner Table. N.d. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2012. <http://autostraddle.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/JudyChicagoTheDinnerParty-708371.jpeg>.
The Dinner Table- Georgia O’Keeffe. N.d. The Brooklyn Museum, New York. Brooklyn Museum. Web. 3 May 2012. <http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/wiki/images/39.718.jpg>.
Hayden, Dolores. Redesigning The American Dream. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2002. Print.
Hyde, J N. Running the Gauntlet. 1874. The Lost Museum. The Lost Museum. Web. 3 May 2012. <http://www.lostmuseum.cuny.edu/images/gauntlet.gif>.
Simpson, Lorna. You’re Fine. 1988. Lorna Simpson Studio, New York. Lorna Simpson Studio. Web. 3 May 2012. <http://lsimpsonstudio.com/photographicworks03.html>.
United States Navy. Women (re)defined- Megan, Erica, and Jessica. YouTube. N.p., 2010. Web. 3 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedStatesNavy?v=aGcthQE4lR4&lr=1>.
Woman Power- Women’s March for Equality. N.d. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2012. <http://www.vfa.us/NY%20MARCH%2008%2026%201971.jpg>.
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