Identity in Art- Women Only!!!

Lecture by Wendy Meakins

"One was not born a woman, one becomes a woman." Simone DeBeauvoir

On that day we talked about art and women, following the theme of identity.

Identity in art is very present, and a lot of artist use their identity or their story in their work( is it sometimes a bit therapeutic?).

Can we say that the environment you are brought up in , determines your identity?

I think that it does, recently in the news it was the horrid story of those two boys who tortured two other boys , apparently, there had a toxic home life and watched many horror and pornographic movies and their parents were violent, would have they done what they have done if they had live a different life style? I think so. I do not believe in the murderer, psychopath gene.

Now in terms of female and male identity, is it an environmental thing or a genetic thing that girls like to play with dolls and wear jewellery and little boys like cars and Bob the builder?

I think that society has given us a model and that if a girl doesn't wear pretty pink dresses she will be called a tomboy, and boys playing with dolls might be criticised...

Maybe there is a little percentage of genetics but most of the identity is created by the society and environment we live in.

the following artists are women who used or played with identity in their art.

ORLAN 1947 France

She used her own body and self-performed plastic surgery on her face and body and recorded it.

Self-hybridization

Even though her way of playing with identity is strange and probably pretty dangerous it make me think that she pushes the boundaries of plastic surgery, does what she do is really different than what Michael Jackson or Silvester Stallone do? does she look worst?

MADONNA 1958 USA

Madonna during all her career played with sexuality, female and male issues very controversially.

her SEX book is a way she used.

what space does she really inhabits?

she seems to be more of an object that anything else.

CLAUDE CAHUN 1894-1954 France

Born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob she intentionally choose a sexually ambigous name.

Claude Cahun in a series of photographs plays very much with male and female identity, teh viewer can really be confused if it is a man or a women.

her work was really political and personal.

The other artist that is very controversial and plays with her identity is TRACEY EMIN, she is touching women issues in a very interesting and powerful way e.g. the bed and Everyone I have ever slept with 1963- 1995.

it is very interesting to notice that women seem to always have self referential work, is it because we need to prove something? or are we more able and more sensitive to play a with ourself and our histories?

Some other artists and writers that are interesting to look at:

SUSAN SONNTAG 1933- 2004 USA

BARBARA KRUGER 1944 USA

VIRGINIA WOLF 188201941 England

LISA LYONS 1953 USA ( body-builder)