Abstract This paper examines the political origins of feminist art in the 1960's and addresses the social climate that brought on the birth of the art movement. It describes the divisive nature of the feminist versus universal art debate. The paper argues that the civil rights movement in companion with feminist art has ceased to be a ?movement?. In addition, the paper describes art works of well know female artists of this era.
From the Paper "Feminist art as a named movement evolved in the context of the late 1960's early 1970's political climate. The movement contextually cannot be separated from larger civil rights movements and specifically those relating to women; like the sexual revolution, the women's liberation movement, and the formation and growth of groups like the National Organization for Women. Strictly speaking there can be no real separation of the feminist art movement from the civil rights movements in its context because so much of art of the era acted as the voice and vision of the messages of the movements as a whole. Though there are of coarse exceptions to this rule, art as a whole during this period was a demonstrative agent for social change and feminist art is definitely included in that context."
Tags: Carolee Scheerman, Cindy Sherman, Mimi Smith, AnaMendietaJudyChicagoCivil rights WomensMovement
Abstract This paper reviews the life of JudyChicago, born Judy Cohen in Chicago in 1939, and gained fame through her art, her writing, and her feminist activities. Her most famous piece of art is The Dinner Party, created in 1974 to 1979. (Lucie-Smith) According to the paper, it was created with the help of hundreds of volunteers. It is a most unusual work, comprising of a large triangular table, with ceramic plates representing thirty-nine feminist guests of honour. This paper discusses this piece arguing that - like most of Chicago's art - it weds Chicago's two greatest passions: art and feminism.
Abstract This paper discusses the life and art of JudyChicago and her struggle to help women break out in the art world, and a detailed look at her work, "The Dinner Party", and its sexual and feminist meanings.
Awakening of Feminism
The Role of JudyChicago in Feminism
The Role of JudyChicago's "Dinner Party" in Feminism
The Dinner Party
Conclusion
From the Paper Judy Chicago and her Dinner Party bears some significant historical meaning for the world of feminism, the world of art history, and the world that ordinary people like you and me live. In contrast to the modernists/modernism and abstract expressionists/abstract expressionism that require artwork to be a production from solitary beings, Chicago used a total of 400 or so collective powers to constitute her piece of history. In contrast to the passive roles of feminine figures in the history of art, Chicago not only accepted the female figures but also blatantly integrated the female genitals into The Dinner Party.
Abstract This paper presents a biographical history of AnaMendieta, who was born in Havana, Cuba in 1948. The paper describes how Mendieta came to the United States as part of Operation Peter Pan. The paper contends that Mendieta has been considered a performance artist, a land/earth artist, and even a body artist. The paper describes her Silueta series. In creating the Silueta series, she is performing using the land and her body. Unlike the other land artists of her time, she did not aggressively shape or change the land; she just simply united with what was there.
From the Paper "Freud has said that there are two sensations of home, one that signifies home but more over belonging, familiarity, intimacy and an overall sense of comfort. The other is of privacy or of something that is kept from sight. Mendeita's removal from her country had a colossal impact on her work as an artist. She had a deep sense of loss for her home and her culture and this is shown clearly in the Silueta (silhouette) series. In order to maintain a sense of home in the cornfields of the Midwest, Ana immersed herself in her native culture to make an identity for herself, to keep a sense of home and to regain what she lost."
Abstract This paper explains that JudyChicago applies vulvar representations to her works with the same frequency that penile representations were applied to male statuary from time immemorial; however, Chicago creates female genitalia not to portray realism, as the male genitalia on Greek, Roman, Renaissance or any other heroic statuary, but rather to make a feminist statement. The author describes "The Dinner Party" installation as a triangular banquet table, with each side 48 feet long, sitting on a ceramic floor inscribed with the names of 999 notable women of history, both ancient and modern and at each of the 39 places is a plate, with some version of female genitalia on it and a porcelain chalice. The paper relates that "The Dinner Party" belongs to the genre of conceptual art; Chicago, along with Duchamp and Christo is deemed to be a valuable modern minimalist.
Table of Contents
The Meaning of "The Dinner Party"
"The Dinner Party": Global Derivation
"The Dinner Party": Place in Modern Art
Chicago History
Growing into Her Own
The Art Works (Illustrations)
From the Paper "The vulvar ornamentation of "The Dinner Party" places Judy Chicago firmly in a long line of sculptors who represented this essential aspect of female-ness across cultures. Sheila-na-gigs "closely resembled the yonic statues of Kali which still appear at the doorways of Hindu temples, where visitors lick a finger and touch the yoni 'for luck.' Some of the older figures have deep holes worn in their yonis from much touching." This also imitates the death goddess Kalika "evidently remembered in Ireland as the Caillech or 'Old Woman,' who was also the Creatress and gave birth to all the races of men." Whether or not Chicago was conversant with the totality of this world-order of female genitalia and its meaning and importance, she conveyed it just as firmly as had the abundant sheila-na-gigs of Ireland."
Abstract The Progressive Era saw the beginning of women wanting more from their lives. This paper discusses the development of women's roles in society throughout history. It details how women began to develop careers and campaign for their right to vote. It tells of the hardships that American women had to face when taking on "male" professions such as: doctors, lawyers and managers.
From the Paper "Events during the Progressive Era altered the role of women in the United States. In the late nineteenth century women began to emerge into society with a strong voice. They began to enter into professional careers and launched a campaign for women's suffrage. American women often found themselves excluded from most of the emerging professions in the late nineteenth century by custom, law, and by prejudice. However, there was a noticeable number of middle - class women from new women's colleges and coeducational state universities that began to enter into the professional world. Very few women were able to establish themselves as physicians, lawyers, and corporate managers. Most women turned to professions that society deemed "suitable" for women. These were careers such as teaching and nursing. These careers were known as "helping professions". It was this characteristic that made women's professions distinctive from male dominated professions and it was these so-called women's professions that altered the pay scale for men and women also. "
Tags: rights, suffrage, women, movement, professions, Progressive, Era
Abstract This paper presents an in-depth study of the changing roles of Spanish speaking females over the last thirty years in their native nations. The author examines womenmovements and changes in Mexico and Latin America over the past three decades and discusses what has changed and what has remained constant.
From the Paper "During the last 30 years the women's movement in the United States of America revolutionized the way women were treated. Women get more pay, they get more rights, and they are moving into careers that were formally reserved for men. While the world watched the American movement other movements began to take place. Hispanic women have historically been treated like second-class citizens in many areas of life. In Latin nations as well as Mexico the females have been given a different set of rules to abide by both socially and economically. The last thirty years in these nations have tested the very core of the value systems that have been in place for hundreds and thousands of years. The systems have been supported and founded in the belief that men are somehow better than women and that women are there for the comfort of men. This is not to say that they were not treated with kindness and appreciation, they were, they were just not treated as equals in many areas of their societies."
Abstract This paper discusses the issue of whether or not modern art and architecture consider spirituality in their themes. The paper contends that the work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and artists Mary Cassatt and JudyChicago contain a fundamentally spiritual dimension that speaks to the persistence of the human spirit and the linkage of that spirit to nature and to society.
From the Paper "Despite the fact that clearly identifiable religious imagery began to disappear in the course of the modern era many if not precisely most of the major artists and architects of the nineteenth and twentieth century have been ..."
Tags: art, architecture, spirituality, Mary Cassatt, Frank Lloyd Wright, JudyChicago
This paper chronicles the civil and women's rights movements of the United States, taking note of significant events and accomplishments for both fronts, as well as identifying the most influential figures in each of the movements and their contributions.
Abstract This paper outlines both the women's and civil rights movements, including their origins and evolution. Included in the discussion of the civil rights movement are momentus events like A. Philip Randolph's famous threat to protest in 1941, the many freedom rides conducted by CORE, Martin Luher King Jr.'s famous speeches, etc. The women's rights movement is covered thouroughly as well, including the influence of the Betty Friedan founded NOW organization, and legislation such as the pay act of 1963 and momentus court decisions such as the 1973 Roe vs. Wade case. Both movements are traced from their origins up to the current time.
From the Paper "As World War II commenced, African Americans and women in the United States were not much better off than they were in the late 1800?s. Blacks were no longer slaves, but the same was true by 1890. Women had gained the right to vote nationwide with the passage of the nineteenth amendment in 1920, but they still were not anywhere close to having the rights that white men did. Starting with the World War II period, women and African Americans began to organize massive movements for their rights, and these movements have effected great change in American Society. Today, women and blacks have more rights than they ever had before, and today's society has been greatly influenced by both the civil rights and women's movements."
Tags: 1960, america, demonstration, friedan, march, parks, protest, rosa, society
Abstract This paper examines the Women's civil rights movement in 1960s, USA. It looks at the different motivations held by women taking part. Discusses the internal divisions and different groups within the movement and the goals and different motivations for protest.
From the Paper "There was a great deal of variation in the causes and preoccupations of the women's movement. Initially, the women's rights movement emerged from the involvement of women in general civil rights protests. However, there are background causes that can be traced back to long before the civil rights movement. Protest stemmed from the place that women had in society at the start of the 60?s. The women's movement was riddled with internal divisions and different groups within the movement had different motivations for protest and different goals.
The woman's rights movement was very much tied up in the rest of the protest movement on the 60?s. It is often argued that the women's movement originated from the involvement of women in race protests. This is the line of argument taken by Sara Evans in her writing that concentrates on the link between the woman's movement and the black movement: ?the struggle for racial equality has been midwife for the feminist movement.? The argument runs that the movement started because of the experiences of white middle class women in the non violent protests about race. The argument runs that sparks of new protest in the women's movement were ignited by the race movement in two main ways. Firstly, the women who participated gained a new kind of confidence. The protestation empowered them and they learnt that non-violent action could affect change. They also gained practical experience of protest and learnt ideas about the organisation and mobilisation that were vital for effective protest. Evans also claims that white women were inspired and spurred on by the strength of character of black women who they encountered. She suggests that there was a particular breed of black women who were particularly strong and resilient who played a role in the racial protest and that their unique sort of femininity was greatly admired by the white women."
Abstract This paper briefly discusses the rise and growth of feminist movements in Latin America. It shows how these movements were linked to other socialist movements of the 1960's and how they gain strength. It explains how the feminist movements argued for rights for women just as other socialist movements were demanding equal and civil rights for many population groups.
From the Paper "--------------------
The women's movement of Latin America is a comparatively young one. It's seeds were planted in the 1950s and 1960s when socialist revolutionary fervor swept through much of the world. In the face of poverty, inequality and oppression, people's movements rose up in every corner of the Latin world. And in much the same fashion as Civil Rights, Women's Rights and anti-Vietnam sentiments in the United States coalesced into a unified counter-culture movement by the 1960s, broad social revolution proved to be opportune for politically inclined women in Latin America. In these early days of women's liberation, female guerilla combatants and revolutionaries had to contend with all the same concerns as their male counterparts (i.e. dictatorial central governments, unequal distribution of wealth, federal corruption, etc.). But this was compounded by the threat of sexually motivated violence, social subjugation and the general gamut of gender oriented prejudices. (Winn, 397). As such, women's struggles to gain freedom from oppression extended beyond simple political discontent."
Abstract This paper discusses how issues of concern to women have been in the forefront of national debate for more than two decades. It examines how the feminist movement has followed the same general course as the civil rights movement, beginning with organization and passing through various periods of radicalization and retrenchment as obstacles were overcome, successes achieved, and new challenges discovered. It shows how women's rights remain important in the United States and how they are even more important in other areas of the world where women are given second-class status and are still viewed as property and not individual human beings. In much of the world, the fight will be much longer and much harder because of long-standing traditions regarding women and because there is more deference given to tradition, authority, and religion.
From the Paper "The Women's Movement revived as a major force in the 1960s. More and more women had been entering the job market in the years since World War II. This trend was noted by 1960, but the size of the trend was underestimated. By the mid-1970s, women had entered the job market at rates not expected to be reached until the mid-1980s, and it was reported then that nearly 48 percent of American women over sixteen years of age either worked or wanted a job. Numerous reasons were given for this, including a growing number of young single women looking for their first jobs, newly divorced women with little or no income from their former husbands, women whose husbands did not earn enough so that the family needed a second salary, and women from higher income families who had a desire for broader horizons as a primary reason for working."
Tags:civil, rights, feminism, religion, tradition, society
Abstract This paper explains that, over the last 150 years ago, the past seven generations in the United States have witnessed an extraordinary movement by women to attain full civil rights resulting in dramatic social and legal accomplishments. The author details the history of the women suffrage movement leading up to the passage of the female enfranchisement amendment of the United States Constitution. The paper continues to tell about post-suffrage movements such as Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement and the second wave of activism in the 1960s, which led to the Equal Rights Amendment passage in 1972.
From the Paper "Unlike the NWSA, the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) consisted of both women and men. Lucy Stone with the aid of her husband Henry Blackwell, Mary Livermore, Julia Ward Howe, Henry Ward Beecher, and others led it. AWSA endorsed the Fifteenth Amendment while still working for woman suffrage. While the AWSA supported the federal amendment for female enfranchisement, it focused more on developing grass roots support for woman suffrage by forming state level organizations and working through its publication, the "Woman's Journal". They tried to make woman suffrage and other feminist reforms seem less radical and consistent with widely shared American values."
Abstract This paper examines the impact of civil rights on the US by comparing African-American life prior to the 1950s with life following this time. The author examines various other movements in the US, noting in particular the women's movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement. The author believes, however, that the civil rights movement had an even greater impact. Additionally, the paper cites how Blacks were denied basic human rights in the Constitution, through slavery and in education. The paper concludes using the example of notable African-Americans to show how far civil rights have come.
From the Paper " While the struggle for women's rights, the countercultural movement, and other social movements of the 1960s would fundamentally restructure American society and change the way that America looked at itself, nothing altered the landscape of the American political and social landscape as much as the American Civil Rights movement. Before the Women's Rights movement women still worked, although their labor was not always recognized, and great women scholars, authors, and professionals had made their mark upon the American landscape. (Furthermore, one could argue that the movement would have meant very little to Black women, had it succeeded in its objectives, but the Civil Rights movement had not). As for the countercultural movement, old and young people have often been in conflict, and the methods of expression of the countercultural, anti-Vietnam movement such as sit-ins and boycotts were often imitations of the techniques of the Civil Rights movement."
Abstract This paper presents a sociological timeline of the twentieth century that focuses on women's rights, civil rights, and the gay rights movements. The paper discusses the societal issues that motivated, paralleled and accompanied these movements, which include discrimination, segregation, welfare, employment conflicts, unionization, the Depression and government response, and equal opportunity.
From the Paper "The formation of this group by Mary Dreier Rheta Childe Dorr and Leonora O'Reilly represented a grass roots movement by middle and working-class women devoted to unionization a..."
