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Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt's Piece "At the Opera" defied the norm of paintings in that age. Most paintings during that time, and even today, appeal to the male gaze - meaning that women were depicted in a less powerful light, often looking down or away. This would establish a power imbalance and mae the viewer feel more powerfl than the subject. The subject in this painting is looking directly at something, establishing the woman on equal grounds with the viewer. -
Nina Allender
Female artists emerged at cartoonists, advocating for women's rights to vote. At the time, cartoonist work was seen as a manly job because it was aggressive, political, and not decorative. Female artists woring as cartoonists opened more opportunities for women in the art world. This image was created by suffragist cartoonist, Nina Allender, who worked against misogynist stereotypes. She believed that women could use their natural maternal qualities to purify politics. -
Tamara de Lempicka
De Lempicka was an artist during the 20's and 30's who was best known for her portraiture art. However, she also created many pieces which appealed to social and political and social issues, such as Breastfeeding and The Refugees. She depicted women as strong and seuxally empowered, often painting them nude or breast-feeding. This was unusual during the time and she has been discounted from art history by the general public because of her gender. -
Judy Chicago
Chicago was one of the most famous leaders of fthe sixties feminist art movement. Her most famous piece was "The Dinner Table", a "ceremonial banquet" which is a large traingular table laden with 39 symbloic place settings. It is supposed to honor and symbolize important women throughout history. Her given name was Judy Gerowitz, but she changed it in 1970 as a rejection of the male social dominance which has and continues to impose upon women. -
Joyce Wieland
Wieland was a patriotic Canadian artist. She often promoted sex and romance in her works. She made a film in 1976, called The Far Shore, as an experimintation with film. It is now recognized as an innovative approach to gender. After her marriage ended in the late 70's, she began experimening more in her art with gender, spirituality, and sexuality. -
Cindy Sherman
Sherman's older work of "Untitled Film Stills" were a series which mocked the way women were portrayed during the late seventies and ealy eighties in cinema. These works examined the roles of women society both in the past and present. Her later works were more macabre, an example of which can be seen in her series "Sex Pictures" where she mutilated mannequins to confront art censorship, the AIDS epidemic, and the absurdity of pornography. -
Victoria Van Dyke
Van Dyke was sexually assaulted at the age of 13 by two men, who never went to jail. She committed herself to a mental hospital because of her depression and thoughts of suicide. She began art and poetry as therapy, works which later went on to inspire other sexual assault victims. She often uses her art to advocate for the queer commmunity, works which she describes as personal, sexual, and confusing to both the viewer and herself.
