This project examines how representations of the main female characters from a select group of fa... more This project examines how representations of the main female characters from a select group of fairy tales from the seventeenth century change over time. The tales studied are significant stories classified as tales of Magical Reward and Punishment for Good and Bad Girls. Instead of a single snapshot of a fairy tale re-imagined, my project captures an evolution of female representation by historically analyzing the fairy tales and reproducing the changes witnessed across the tales in the form of three original paintings. The artwork produced in my study creates new forms of knowledge that explore the validity and complexity of the fairy tale genre, reveal the underestimated power of gender representation, and challenge the audience to think critically about fairy tales not just as stories for children, but as important historical sources. iii
This is a project I produced in my undergrad for the first half of the class “Women in Europe,” t... more This is a project I produced in my undergrad for the first half of the class “Women in Europe,” taught by Dr. Dana Wessell Lightfoot, which looked at the time period 1300 to 1880. The final assignment for the class provided the option of making an artistic representation, so I chose to do a recreation of Artemisia Gentileschi’s famous painting “Judith Beheading Holofernes.”
The motives that inspired Gentileschi's paintings continue to be debated, examined and interpreted through her art. The subject matter and themes of her artwork have most often been attributed to the rape she suffered in her late teens. This one instance in her life has been the primary focus for her inspiration for painting strong, independent and powerful women. However, recent debates suggest that this one life experience should not be counted on to define every piece that she has created. Doing so oversimplifies Gentileschi as an artist and does not account for historic, cultural and social realities that would affect how she coped or responded to this unfortunate act.
Despite these debates, Gentileschi did often chose female biblical figures as subjects of her art pieces and addressed controversial topics. In this case, Gentileschi depicts the story of Judith from the Old Testament, who promised to free the Israelites from the hands of the Assyrians. Judith adorns herself with jewelry and finery then approaches the Assyrian camp and asks to speak with the Assyrian general Holofernes to impart on him the truth about God. He is enamored and moved by her wisdom and invites her to his chamber. However, after ensuring that Holofornes is thoroughly intoxicated and drowsy, Judith preforms the promised act to free her people. Taking his hair in her hand she “smote twice upon his neck with all her might and took away his head from him."
This is a project I produced for the second half of “Women in Europe" from 1800 to the present, t... more This is a project I produced for the second half of “Women in Europe" from 1800 to the present, taught by Dr. Dana Wessell Lightfoot. The final assignment provided the option of doing an artistic representation of some aspect of women’s lives in Europe from 1800-2000. I chose to do an abstract painting that examined Germaine De Staël’s novel Corinne, or Italy as a symbolic work that reflected De Staël as a significant person in history whose writings had enormous impact on women’s lives and on the history of the Napoleonic period. Both Corinne and De Staël navigate within their societies as contradictory individuals, simultaneously conforming to and resisting the prescribed gender norms that existed in their societies. They put on hold the ‘natural’ stages of life prescribed to them, sacrificing rank, family, marriage and country in order to cultivate their talents. Yet, they remained defined by their feminine attributes.
The description of the crowd and the reception of Corrine in Rome was a crucial inspiration for this painting. “Everywhere she went people lavishly threw perfumes into the air; everyone looked out of their windows to see her… everyone shouted, long live Corinne! Long live genius! Long live beauty!” This description made me think of a rock concert full of laser lights and colour, highlighting the enthusiasm that Corinne inspires in her audiences. However, the ceremony in the book was still a formal event. This brought to mind high-class interests, namely orchestrated music. So, along with a crowd of regular spectators an orchestra plays lost in the jumble with a passionate conductor leading the crowd. The mixture of the orchestra and motley crowd is made to present contradicting ideas of the character Corinne as both wild and free, but immersed in high society.
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The motives that inspired Gentileschi's paintings continue to be debated, examined and interpreted through her art. The subject matter and themes of her artwork have most often been attributed to the rape she suffered in her late teens. This one instance in her life has been the primary focus for her inspiration for painting strong, independent and powerful women. However, recent debates suggest that this one life experience should not be counted on to define every piece that she has created. Doing so oversimplifies Gentileschi as an artist and does not account for historic, cultural and social realities that would affect how she coped or responded to this unfortunate act.
Despite these debates, Gentileschi did often chose female biblical figures as subjects of her art pieces and addressed controversial topics. In this case, Gentileschi depicts the story of Judith from the Old Testament, who promised to free the Israelites from the hands of the Assyrians. Judith adorns herself with jewelry and finery then approaches the Assyrian camp and asks to speak with the Assyrian general Holofernes to impart on him the truth about God. He is enamored and moved by her wisdom and invites her to his chamber. However, after ensuring that Holofornes is thoroughly intoxicated and drowsy, Judith preforms the promised act to free her people. Taking his hair in her hand she “smote twice upon his neck with all her might and took away his head from him."
The description of the crowd and the reception of Corrine in Rome was a crucial inspiration for this painting. “Everywhere she went people lavishly threw perfumes into the air; everyone looked out of their windows to see her… everyone shouted, long live Corinne! Long live genius! Long live beauty!” This description made me think of a rock concert full of laser lights and colour, highlighting the enthusiasm that Corinne inspires in her audiences. However, the ceremony in the book was still a formal event. This brought to mind high-class interests, namely orchestrated music. So, along with a crowd of regular spectators an orchestra plays lost in the jumble with a passionate conductor leading the crowd. The mixture of the orchestra and motley crowd is made to present contradicting ideas of the character Corinne as both wild and free, but immersed in high society.