Gender and Art

Paper Summary:

Artistic representations, depending on how they are read, often reveal through their texts ideas about sexuality and/or gender. Discussed here are three works, all of which can be read through the lenses of various topics. Allie Eagle's "This Woman Died: I Care" (died trying to abort herself) involves the politics of protest, Carole Shepherd has worked against specific traditions with her photo-collage, "John", and George Elgar Hick's "Woman's Mission: Companion of Manhood" deals closely with gender identity.

From the Paper:

"Protest instantly becomes political within the context of an image, due to the viewer's prior preconceptions regarding the issue under scrutiny. Opinions are challenged, and important questions consequently raised. "This Woman died: I care (died trying to abort herself)", by Allie Eagle (New Zealander) in1978, is an image from which a clear form of political protest can be easily identified. The image can be read in a way that distinctly illustrates an objection against the (suggested) violence forced upon women by society's codes of behavior. It can also be read as a reaction to the question of the legality of abortion, which at the time was under review in New Zealand. In itself the title influences the viewer's interpretation of the image, whilst its visual features serve to demonstrate Eagle's lamentation."

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