Modernism is when tradition was something of the past and new rules were put into place. Traditional beliefs were challenged. Modernism is a time when women wanted to be able to vote and be equal and they got that wish. Even though women still wouldn’t outshine their husbands, they were at least able to create artwork. Women artists in Europe influenced the techniques and development of modernism by making art that challenged traditional art. Claude Cahun was a homosexual female during the 20th century that photographed herself and showed that piece of art to society. “Claude’s pictures were a relief from this sometimes monotonous aspect of art history. Instead of presenting herself as a passive object ready to be consumed by a heterosexual male gaze, she defiantly persents herslef as both object and subject of her own sexual fascinations.” (The Guerilla Girls. pg. 63) This shows that Cahun was not your regular artist and she had a lot of criticisms because of her non gender conforming portrait and her sexuality. Cahun showed her true identity which wasn’t that common back then and it was also looked down upon since women had to be submissive to their male counterparts.
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| Claude Cahun self-portrait 1928 |
Another female artist during the modernism era is Georgia O’Keeffe. She too did not fit into the ‘submissive’ female category. She came from a poor family and made it with the ‘big boys’ just by being herself and presenting her artwork without caring what others opinions were. Back then when women showed their sexuality more explicitly then they would be considered nymphomaniacs however if men presented their sexuality in their artwork then it was seen as normal.
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| Georgia O'Keeffe Black Iris |
Hannah Hoch was known to be one of the female artists that lived through dada. Dada was “an art movement that challenged every convention (except male supremacy) and scandalized bourgeois society.” (Guerilla Girls pg. 66) She would have artwork of the ‘modern female’ where it showed a woman's independence. Hoch got into a relationship with a female but when the Nazis took over she ended the relationship and married a man while continuing with her work. She did not post any of her work until after the war had ended. She was then able to show her artwork in society and people appreciated her work since it happened when dada was going on.
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| Hannah Hock Indian dancer from an ethnographic museum |
Artists during modernism wanted to address the patriarchal unfairness that women were being faced with. A lot of abstract art was created during this time period and there was a break from traditional art. Women were creative with their artwork, the way of presenting female nudity and addressing gendered problems during that time.
Postmodernism was basically a reaction to modernism. This is when women and minorities were given more freedom and rights to express themselves and do certain things. Women were able to engage in other hobbies and activities such as sculpting and photography. Feminism came into play during postmodernism.
“Cindy Sherman’s (b. 1954) photographs reveal the instability of gender, and challenge the idea that there might be an innate, unmediated female sexuality.” (Chadwick 383) Sherman uses photos of herself but the photos do not show anything about her and who she is as a person.
| Cindy Sherman- Untitled 1979 |
Postmodernism was the time when sexuality and gender was challenged, identity was questioned along with traditional views. Lousie Bourgeois is a female artist that had a painting called “Femme-Maison” which shows a womans naked body with a house over her head. This shows how women were conflicted on what to do with herself and the house that she has to tend to. This painting depicts how women were confined to a house and couldn’t really do much except be the caregivers. The windows in the house over the woman's head represents her freedom.
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| Louise Bourgeois "Femme-Maison" 1946 |
Modernism consisted of a shift in laws for women. It showed how women were able to vote and have their own artwork and that women had some type of opinion in society, Postmodernism was a time where reality was expressed in a person's artwork versus modernism when abstract ideas were presented in peoples artwork.
Works Cited:
Chadwich, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. 4th edition. United Kingdom: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1990.
The Guerilla Girls. The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin, 1998.
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