A female artist that I believe addresses a cultural, social, or political issues is Mary Beth Edelson; she was one of the first that fought for feminists and for feminism within art. Born in 1933, in East Chicago, Indiana, Mary Beth Edelson is perhaps one of the most famous artists and activists involved in the Feminist Art Movement. Along with being an artist, she is also an author, painter, and a photographer along with others. She studied at Depauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, from 1951 to 1955, along with studying at the School of The Art Instistute of Chicago from 1953 to 1954. Edelson became interested in art and activism from an early time in her life. I decided to choose Mary Beth Edelson because she was involved in the fight of feminism from the late 1950s.
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| Mary Beth Edelson: Some Living Women Artists/ Last Supper (1972) |
As an artist, many of her works have highlighted women in a way that portrays them in powerful like positions. Such as the painting above, she has taken Leonardo da Vinci's original of the Last Supper and she has replaced all of the men's bodies with faces of other famous women artists from around the 1970s. By doing this, Edelson has challenged the past social norm of not including women in art and she has created buzz around all of the artists that have been included in this piece of art. I believe that through this piece, she is empowering all of the artists and that they are just as important as the men included in the original art by da Vinci.
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| Mary Beth Edelson: Burning Bright (1974) |
Another famous piece of work from Edelson is the Burning Bright one shown above; she used different faces all around. Like the previous painting, she used the faces of only women artists from around that period. By doing this, Edelson is highlighting another set of women artists that she believe are important to this painting. Her works have helped feminists make an impact in art and she has made women a figure with power. Edelson's works are displayed in many museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis to name a few. Mary Beth Edelson is one female artist that addresses a cultural, social or political issue; she decided to address feminism through many of her art pieces that she had created and she has made other women artists feel empowered.
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