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Lorna Simpson

Lorna Simpson was born in 1960 in Brooklyn, New York where she had also attended the School of Visual Arts. 

“The work of Lorna Simpson provides a fertile and productive access to such issues of artistic practice that cross-pollinates issues of race, gender, and social identity with a rigorous body of work. Spanning almost two decades, Simpson’s emphatic work, and its uncompromising intelligence, leaves one in doubt as to her position as a contemporary artist of first rank. In her photo-text work, I was taken not only by the monumentality of her artistic acumen, by her conceptual and visionary brilliance, but also by her ability to elaborate so eloquently, in a few photographic fragments and even less text”. https://doi.org/10.1080/09528829608576609

I think this piece examines sexual harassment or sexual assault. It also confronts the idea that although a woman can bare no scars from an incident, that does not mean nothing happened.

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Carrie Mae Weems

Carrie Mae Weems was born in Portland, Oregon in 1953. Graduating from the California Institute of Arts, Weems photography expresses feminism. Her work has been showcased at Savannah College and W.E.B DuBois Institute. 

This series of photos exemplifies the fluidity of roles a woman partakes in: wife, mother, friend and self. All four photos are set in a kitchen which is to be believed where a woman’s place is to be. In the first picture we see the woman with a man who seems to be her partner. There seems to be a lack of chemistry amongst the two, accompanied by drinks and games. It is also important to note the male pictures in the background, significant of the patriarchy. 

In the second picture, we see just the woman-self. I think this picture serves as a highlight as to how many roles woman partake in and are somewhat not fully themselves but rather give a small part of themselves to each role. For example, in this picture, she seems strong, independent and assertive as opposed to the other pictures, where she may seem aloof and unconcerned. 

In the third picture, we see her with touching her face in a way that is somewhat reminiscent of yearning for youth. While she is touching her face, the children surrounding her are unbothered by her. It is also important to note of a blank wall in the background. This picture was the only one to have a blank background. 

The last picture, we see the woman with what seems to be her friends. While the friends are entertained and having fun, the woman seems to be not as entertained. Again, it seems she is only giving just a little bit of herself to each of these roles: friend, mother and wife. But when reserved for just “self” she is empowered. 

https://art21.org/artist/carrie-mae-weems/

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Maria Izquierdo

Maria Izquierdo was born in 1902 in northern Mexico. She had married at the age of 14 and had two children by the age of 21. In 1923, she had moved to Mexico City, which was where art and life was changed. Completely moved by the hippie movement in Mexico City at that moment, she had attended the National Fine Arts School in 1927. After school, she became the first Mexican woman to have a solo exhibition in New York City. 

Her work expresses her roots and traditions in Mexico. There is also a huge Catholic influence in her work as we can see in both pictures, a shrine for Mother Mary and what seems to be a crucifixion. What I found interesting in the second picture, is the obvious, that it is all women. It may just be a female rendition of Jesus’s crucifixion or to represent the death of young women’s aspirations and dreams. I feel the interpretation is open and subjective.  

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/30/arts/painter-on-a-pendulum-swinging-from-innocent-to-elegiac-and-back.html

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Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama was born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Japan. She was one of four children born to less than idyllic parents. Her father was intimidated by her mother’s wealth and had an adulterous marriage. His affairs were witnesses by Kusama resulting in her “mental trauma which caused Kusama to have a permanent aversion to sex and the male body”.

At age 10, she began to have hallucinations and anxiety, which is expressed through her art. One of the most recent examples, is her exhibit in New York, which firmly displays and expresses her anxiety and hallucinations growing up. She creates this enchanting but disorienting feeling by using a ton of colors and mirrors. 

http://www.theartstory.org/artist-kusama-yayoi-artworks.htm#pnt_1

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Renate Eisenegger

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/feminist-artists-1970s_us_5800dfc1e4b06e0475943918

         This piece was created by Renate Eisenegger. She was born in 1949 in West Germany, where she also attended art school. She also has had many galleries and exhibitions in The Photographer Gallery as well as the Hamburger Kunsthalle. 

         At first, this piece did not strike me visually in comparison to Linder’s work but after some research, the analysis behind it gave a different meaning to the picture. According to https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/feminist-artists-1970s_us_5800dfc1e4b06e0475943918, this piece, “Hochhaus”, examines, “the conformity and monotony that prevails in domestic spaces. Additionally, the ironing represents a larger kind of flattening that many women are familiar with ― a flattening of desire, dissent, and individuality.” 

        In other words, many women are familiar to conform to a box that is less than man. Less in ambition, less in wage, less in overall individuality. I also believe the iron represents society as a whole, designed to oppress. Oppress women, but especially women of color. I also, think the iron embodies a lot of platitudes and cliches as to what female and male should be. For example, specific gender colors or gender-specific items, which overall feeds the social construct of gender.