The Mid Modern Era - Women's Journey to Equality

It is painful to acknowledge that the subject of diversity took this long to come to light throughout Art History. Diversity and representation were barren from the petroglyphs of the Middle Paleolithic Era (250,000 to 30,000 years ago) until the Mid-Modern Era. The successful artists of past periods seem to fit a similar pattern: caucasian males. Like many things, the world of Art was male-dominated. The woman-made art that would come to light would be ridiculed and picked apart, and often refused access to exhibitions solely because of their gender.

Throughout history, women were expected to fit into the societal expectations created by men. Cook, wife, mother, homemaker. Women would not work, could not vote, lacked access to education, and an opportunity for growth was unavailable. It was a cookie-cutter lifestyle going into the 1900s. 

With the United States joining World War ll in December of 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, men were sent off to fight alongside their allies in hopes of coming out victorious. Any man capable of fighting in the war would be sent away, leaving behind their wives and children. The lack of men in the United States left a significant gap in the workforce, thus, for the first time, women had an acceptable and encouraged reason to function outside of the domestic sphere.

J. Howard Miller, born in 1918, grew up during the escalation of World War ll and the Unites States' increased involvement in it. The demand for working women was clear as the successes of the war effort depended on their actions. Miller, working for Westinghouse War Production as a coordinating committee artist, was tasked to create posters that would encourage women to fill the factory jobs and keep the front lines moving. 

We Can Do It!, 1942.

The creation of Miller's, We Can Do It! (1942) poster became a statement throughout the remainder of WWll. There is a sense of strength depicted in the figure that previously has never been connected with women. Rather than the form rendering a delicate, dainty, fragile figure, the woman is confident. Her hair is concealed by the red bandana, hiding a prevalent feminine feature, further focusing on the "masculine and strong" characteristics. The woman is dressed in a typical factory worker uniform, covering up the curves that would normally be highlighted in the depiction of women. The colors of the piece are bold. With shades of reds, yellows, and blues making up most of the work, associating the woman with primary colors symbolizes that she is primary and predominant in the fight against nations. Lines create letters above her head, forming the words "We can do it!'. The statement is striking and valiant, with an assertion that underlines to all women that they are capable of doing what was once only permitted for men. 

Propaganda posters blossomed throughout the war. This form of communication was essential in persuading women to further the agenda of succession. Miller continued to produce propaganda as his We Can Do It! poster spread across the nation. Regardless of the power behind Rosie the Riveter, it was not enough as many women would go on strikes to demand higher pay, leaving gaps in the factories once more. 

It's a Tradition with Us, Mister!, 1943.

J. Howard Miller and his propaganda poster, It's a Tradition with Us, Mister! connects the working women of the 1940s to the working women of the American Revolutionary War in the late 1770s to early 1780s. Just as women are filling the spots of men on the factory line during WWll, women were conducting similar actions during the Revolutionary War as the women above are illustrated cleaning the rifles that the men would utilize in battle. The space of the piece being filled with women of two separate periods, working behind the scenes to allow men to focus on the war at hand, allows the audience to see that working women is nothing new. The form of the figures highlights their hard work as the audience can take away that the women are actively participating in the war efforts. Once again, Miller utilizes lines to connect the visual to an even more powerful slogan, as the lines spell out words that remind the world that women have always been the backbone during the conflict, and have always been just as capable of working as men are. 

While the changes in lifestyle for women during World War ll highlighted a drastic shift in the capabilities of women, many felt as though the only reason for the openness of women in the workforce was that it was necessary for success. Ultimately, this idea was only proven with the conclusion of the war in 1945. Men began to return to the United States and to the jobs that women worked so hard in filling, ridding women of the workforce yet again. It became clear that women in the workforce were only a temporary adjustment, and just like that, women were thrown back into the expectations of society. 

Willem de Kooning, born in the Netherlands in 1904 and later moved to the United States in 1926, was widely known for his abstract expressionist style of art. Abstraction in art was, and still is, widely abhorred. The style was developed to break away from traditional processes. With anything out of the ordinary that differs from the social norms developed through time, comes strong opinions voiced by harsh critics. The detest of Kooning's work, however, was beyond the fact that it fits the characteristics of abstract expressionism.

Woman with Bicycle, 1952.

Woman with Bicycle (1952) is quite dramatic with slashes of opposing paint colors cascaded across the canvas. The lack of pattern with the smearing of colors gives chaotic energy. The splatters of paint offer an illusion of texture that is asymmetric as it lacks a consistent repetition, only further increasing the chaotic nature. If it was not for the utilization of curvy lines at the top, and middle part of the canvas, it would be nearly impossible to make out the feminine figure within the hectic image. Hidden within the piece are the dramatic, almost chilling facial features of the woman. The smile is quite prominent within the splashes of color crowding it, easily recognizable with the realistic colors of lips and teeth. Just below that, Kooning utilizes thick, dark, curvy lines to illustrate the breasts of a woman. They are boisterous in size, taking up a large amount of canvas. The lack of color in this area only highlights it, making it the focal point of the piece. 

Two Women, 1953.

Kooning was passionate about the subject of women: between 1950 and 1955, women were the sole subject within his art. Producing roughly 200 pieces of work surrounding women, the pieces did not differ much from the others. In Two Women (1953), the dissaray of colors is still very much prevalent. This work, however, seems to lack the faces of the women. Kooning, rather, focuses solely on the curves of lines to depict two women within the work. The breasts act as a spotlight to the audience, as the simple rounded shapes are impossible to not associate with the feminine feature. 

The womanly figures have no names, no faces, almost depicting them as simply objects to gawk at. This is what made his works of women so controversial: all of the progress brought forward towards women from the war seemed to diminish with his representation of a woman's being seen simply in a manner in which women are nothing but a physical body. Just as women were beginning to be considered just as capable as men in the workforce, and in the right direction towards the expansion of women's rights, the artwork was a step back on the path toward a diverse world. While I personally do believe that the works are discriminatory towards women, it is works of art like these that inspired the artists of the Feminist Art movement to fight harder with each prejudiced work of art thrown at them.

Going into the 1960s, the expansion of the rights of women was at a standstill. It has been roughly 40 years since women gained the right to vote in America with the 19th Amendment; however, only caucasian women could vote. It has been roughly 20 years since the end of World War ll, resulting in many women losing their jobs to men returning from war. Women were once again expected to play the role of loving wife, mother, and homemaker. Women who were able to keep jobs would be paid significantly lower than their male counterparts doing the same job. Women of color would get paid even lower and would suffer immense levels of discrimination not only in the workplace but anywhere in the public eye. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 gave women the right to serve on federal juries, but many states disallowed this still at the state level. Transgender women feared for their lives, forcing themselves to conceal their true identities to blend in with the expectations of a homogenous society. Regardless of the many successes and achievements, women still had a long way to go to reconstruct society into an equal, diverse world.

The Feminist Art movement in the United States emerged in the late 1960s amidst the burgeoning gender, civil, and queer rights movements around the world. Like most things, the art world was male-dominated, and women strived to change that statistic. Feminist artists sought to create a dialogue between the viewer and the artwork through the inclusion of women's perspective, something unlike anything seen in the art prior. It was time for a change, and Judy Chicago was just the person for the job. 

Through the Flower, 1973.

When analyzing the title, Through the Flower (1973), one would undoubtedly assume the image is an abstract take of the natural beauty of a flower. This is just the trap that Judy Chicago strived to portray in her art. The female sexual organ is on display unlike it has ever been displayed before in art. The value of the art, in which at the very center there is an "inviting but undefined space" gives the audience themselves being inside the female organ, just out of reach of the opening. The colors of the work offer a sense of feminity with its hues of pink. The space of the piece, which is darker along the edges and more vibrant at the center, completely encapsulates the audience, further enhancing an illusion of being trapped inside the genitalia. This utilization of creating a cage inside the female sexual organ gives the opposite gender a glimpse into what it feels like to be confined to the female gender, succumbing to the discrimination and inequality surrounding it. 

Going into the late 1970s, the rights of women skyrocketed because women refused to give up. Women could now control when they would have children with FDA-certified birth control. A law was signed prohibiting sex-based wage discrimination between men and women performing the same job in the same workplace. No longer could employment discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, or sex. Title IX of the Education Amendments was signed, disallowing discrimination based on sex when participating in any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. The achievements of women were substantial, and yet, the women responsible for these achievements seemed to be forgotten.

The Dinner Party, 1979.

In Judy Chicago's, The Dinner Party (1979), she creates a visual, real-life experience of a dinner party for all of the women who were instrumental in the equality of women. This installation art consists of a large, triangular-shaped banquet table, measuring 48 feet on each side. For Chicago, it was vital to give this artwork a three-dimensional form, as seeing it first-hand would be powerful and give justice to the women responsible for a more diverse nation, and highlight that their actions were real. The shape of the dinner table is that of an equilateral triangle, representing equality for all. The way that it fills the space of the floors of the Brooklyn Museum is powerful in itself. The installation is large, of course, because there needs to be enough space to reserve the spots for 39 of the strongest, most courageous women of the mythical and historical world. On each side of the triangle were the reserved spots of 13 women, the exact amount of individuals in The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci. The difference, however, is that the painting of Da Vinci is all men, while the installation by Chicago is all women. Starting from the first plate for the Primordial Goddess of Greek Mythology, to the very last plate for Georgia O'Keeffe, the mother of American Modernism, the plates start flat and begin to emerge in higher relief toward the end of the chronology, meant to represent modern woman's increasing independence and equality. Along the heritage floor beneath the dinner table are the names of 999 women who contributed to the Women's Rights Movement. Chicago utilized every millimeter of space to remind the population of the names of the women on the threat of being forgotten, reminding the world that we are here, living equally, because of their fearlessness. 

Works Cited

“‘We Can Do It!".” National Museum of American History, https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_538122.

“J. Howard Miller.” The WOW Museum & Gallery, https://www.thewowgallery.org/jhowardmiller.

“Moma Learning.” MoMA, https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/willem-de-kooning-woman-i-1950-52-2/.

“Woman with Bicycle, 1952 by Willem De Kooning.” Willem De Kooning, https://www.willem-de-kooning.org/woman-with-bicycle.jsp.

“Judy Chicago Art, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, https://www.theartstory.org/artist/chicago-judy/.

“Judy Chicago - through the Flower.” Turner Carroll Gallery, 28 Jan. 2022, https://www.turnercarrollgallery.com/product/judy-chicago-through-the-flower-3/.

“The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago.” Brooklyn Museum: The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago, https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party/.