Feminist art refers to works created during the era of the feminist movement, which began in the late 1960s and flourished in the early 1970s. Feminist art emphasizes the social and political disparities that women face. The value of this work lies in its potential to promote global understanding and tolerance, with the ultimate goal of fostering social justice and emancipation. The artists here work in a wide variety of mediums, from the tried-and-true paintbrush to the more experimental video, cinema, fiber art, and a host of others. Feminist art has been a pioneering force in redefining what constitutes art by using new technologies and fresh viewpoints. Young activists encounter a number of challenges in the digital sphere. Misogynistic comments are kinds of sexism women face on social media. There is also the subtler form of institutionalized sexism faced by women. There has been a pervasive culture of consumerism on internet platforms that are a direct replication of deeply rooted patriarchal institutions and practices. This Paper will talk about how art activism accelerated feminism and the role social media played in it.
Art Activism and Feminism
Humans have been using art as a tool for societal transformation for thousands of years. Additionally, the tremendous rise of activism over the past few years has only served to further strain the already tense relationship between the two. As a result of the growth of social media, movements that used to start in secret spaces like basements and back rooms are now widely disseminated online (Jouet 136). From the Black Lives Matter movement to the March for Our Lives, hashtags and Facebook pages have been quickly commodified, converting into full-fledged enterprises (Millner et al. 90). The activism accomplished through the arts has not been an exception; similarly, artists rarely release work without addressing issues of originality, ownership, and the capitalist market.
Art and activism are usually combined to a term called artivism. Nearly half a century ago, feminist artists paved the way for the shift from modernist to postmodernist cultural practices with their ground-breaking criticism (Hickey-Moody et al. 264). They gave attention to areas of expertise, themes, mediums, and design principles that had been overlooked by late modernism’s focus on formalism (Millner et al. 96). By using video, performance, interventions in public space, mixed media, installation and collage, these artists sought to reach a wider audience and critique the concept that art existed in a vacuum, above politics and power (Jouet 133). Key themes of contemporary art that are part of the feminist legacy, yet are rarely acknowledged as such, include questioning the hierarchies of high art and ‘lowly’ craft. Feminism, despite its transformational power, has been historically ignored by the visual arts establishment.
The online world presents several difficulties for young campaigners. One may encounter many of these on social media, including but not limited to sexist comments and institutionalized patriarchy. The internet perpetuates deeply rooted patriarchal structures and norms and is loaded with advertising (Jouet 139). Even while Facebook presents itself as a free-speech haven, it has a long history of suppressing discussions about sexual and reproductive health rights and women’s bodies. Many times individuals Instagram account has been shadow banned due to the content they share there (Hickey-Moody et al. 264). Disabling personal actions, causing engagement rates to plummet, and drastically altering how many people can see posts.
Women Creating Culture through Art
Numerous women defied the norms of their time or the stereotypes society placed upon them to make significant cultural contributions. Society has been hesitant to recognize their contributions, but they are finally being acknowledged for the ways in which they have advanced women’s rights and made space for women’s culture around the world (Millner et al. 98). Women having to break the rules and be themselves to make space for femininity in the world and the arts. Even in traditionally male-dominated fields, women are beginning to find a place for themselves. This disparity persists into the modern day, with women still lacking equal access to and representation in the arts (Jouet 140). In order to free themselves to think and create as they pleased, some women revolted, while others conformed.
There is a consistent thread throughout history linking artistic expression to broader societal shifts. One can expect to have an effect on the other. This pattern is especially evident in the work of contemporary female artists (Reckitt 125). Society and gender roles affected the lives and the creativity of women from varied classes and backgrounds, even as their contributions to culture were crucial to their era and the eras that followed (Hickey-Moody et al. 264). There are three ladies in particular who made significant cultural contributions in the Western hemisphere. This trio of ladies consists of Properzia de’ Rossi, Katherine Anne Porter, and Judy Chicago.
There are several areas in which women have made significant contributions to both the art and society at large. All aspects of society have been profoundly influenced by women. Brave women have been fighting for equality for hundreds of years. Even if there have been a lot of progress as a society, there still have a way to go (Millner et al. 100). While women can now vote and work without facing discrimination, the push for gender equality continues. Women’s lives have also been shaped by societal forces. Some of the most celebrated female artists, including Judy Chicago, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Gaspara Stampa, have not received the same level of public acclaim as their male contemporaries.
Role of Social Media in Feminism Artivism
Social media domain has become a feminism artivism battleground for a long time. Feminist artivists have existed from the beginning of time, and they persist and even thrive now, especially on social media. Feminist philosophy emerged after many years of women feeling they were not adequately represented or that their voices were being ignored. In order to increase women’s political representation, feminist philosophy is applied to the development of language that accurately portrays women (Butler 340). Throughout the modern Western world, discussions on the topic of identity have persisted.
Because of the proliferation of social media tools, young women who oppose sexism, inequality, and violence are increasingly vocal online (Jackson 32). The feminist activists and philosophers of the twenty-first century have benefited greatly from the unparalleled visibility afforded them by social media. The new generation of new feminist faces that has emerged because to the internet and social media embraces women from a wide range of cultural, social, sexual, and ethnic backgrounds. Despite women’s vital role in society, they have been unfairly excluded from opportunities to make meaningful contributions. Through tyranny, rape, violence, and the general perception of weakness, women have suffered the most in capitalist society (Jackson 34). When compared to their predecessors, modern feminist activists wield significantly more influence thanks to the proliferation of social media platforms.
As feminism activism movement grows, so does the use of social media as a place to record and promote feminist initiatives through traditionally female-oriented forms of media and art. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter play an important role in feminist-led campaigns that use Hashtag trends to reach female-oriented content consumers (Flores 751). Since social media has already proven to be a suitable venue for facilitating conversations about feminist experiences and ideals, this is where we have decided to conduct our research.
Feminists’ resolve to combat cyberbullying using art and advance a more feminist internet is growing as the prevalence of these problems becomes more widely recognized. The APC convened feminist artivists from around the world in 2014 to establish online feminist ideals (Flores 752). According to these guidelines, a feminist internet is one in which feminists and LGBTQ people have full access to the web and the freedom to develop technologies that target prejudice and sexism using artistic tools (Murthy 3). Feminists seek to shift the balance of power online such that women and members of the LGBTQ community are more prominent than men. Since men occupy a disproportionate share of executive positions at Internet giants like Twitter and Facebook, the feminist internet is an initiative to increase the proportion of female employees and executives at these businesses (Flores 754). Messages of sexual and gender identity are another target of the feminist internet.
Feminist online communities provide women the confidence to make their own choices. Because of this, they are entitled to control the information that is made public on their behalf (Murthy 3). Feminists online take seriously the problems of misogynistic trolls and online abuse against women and girls. The feminist movement has benefited more than it has suffered from the proliferation of social media connections and networking opportunities. There are many positive outcomes that have resulted from social media, including but not limited to providing a voice for feminist movements, establishing feminist internet rules to safeguard women (Murthy 3). Other advantages include facilitating faster and more efficient networking among feminists, spawning hash tag activism movements, and elevating the visibility of the LGBTQ community.
Case Studies
Artist and filmmaker Cindy Sherman is a household name in the art world thanks to her ground breaking conceptual portraiture. She has spent her whole career employing media like film, television, publications, and art history to probe questions of self-identity and the nature of representation (Deepwell 28). Sherman frequently serves as her own model, and she has managed to capture herself in a wide variety of roles that are both hilarious and unsettling, distasteful and profound. Sherman has been working as a photographer since the 1970s, and most of her work since then has been a satire of female stereotypes, although she has never identified herself as a feminist artist (Deepwell 28). She had previously been quoted as saying, “The work is what it is and ideally it is recognized as feminist work, or feminist-advised work…” However, her artistic works have not received tremendous appreciation due to lack of medium to be spread. Her fight for feminism has also lacked a backing as she failed to reach many young feminists.
Frida Kahlo, a Mexican artist, used a naive folk art style to investigate identity, gender, class, race, and post-colonialism in her country at a period when the phrase feminist art did not yet exist. Famous for her introspective self-portraits, Kahlo frequently used her own life experiences as inspiration for her artworks (Chadwick 178). In retrospect, her art is viewed as feminist since she paved the way for women to openly discuss and express their innermost feelings and experiences in an effort to get insight into and healing from those feelings (Chadwick 170). As a result of her integrity and natural ability, she has inspired a lot of people. Despite her artistic work inspiring many people, she has failed to utilize social media platforms as a means of accelerating her quest for feminism activism. However, her paintings have continually received physical recognition both at the local and international levels.
Photographer and multimedia artist Lorna Simpson, who was born in 1960, achieved prominence in the ’80s and ’90s. Even as her methods of expression have evolved over the years, the artist has never stopped investigating the connections between sex, identity, ethnicity, culture, history, and memory in her artwork (Deepwell 28). Simpson has gained notoriety for her photo-text installations and photo collages, which generally examine the stereotypes of black women in American society. All of the works featured portraits of women alongside typed words or short statements that posed challenging questions to the viewer (Chadwick 168). This aspect has made it difficult for the artist to use social media as a medium for spreading her quest for feminism.
Judy Chicago is a pioneering female artist who has made significant contributions to the field. Both the feminist movement and the place of women in the arts owe much to her contributions. Bright colors and striking patterns are signatures of Chicago style. She typically employs these colors and patterns to describe situations of violence and oppression against women via social media platforms (Gosling et al., 2018). These social media platforms include Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Snap Chat. The art of Chicago is not only stunning in its aesthetics but also highly political in its content. Her writings have helped bring attention to the struggles women have faced throughout time. As an artist, Chicago wants to “transform the world one person at a time,” she has said (Gosling et al., 2018). It is clear from her writing that she feels strongly about issues of women’s rights and the elimination of violence against them. Through social media, numerous artists have been inspired by Chicago’s work (Gosling et al., 2018). Artistically addressing concerns of social justice is central to Judy Chicago’s guiding ideas. The city of Chicago has faith in the transformative potential of art. What she meant was, if one is going to change the world, they need to start by altering how they see it (Gosling et al., 2018). When it comes to highlighting the predicament of women, Chicago frequently produces work that defies the current quo.
In conclusion, the paper has evidenced that art activism has played a role in accelerating feminism. Many feminist’s artists including Judy Chicago, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Gaspara Stampa have continuously used this platform to advocate for women rights. However, the online world presents several challenges for young women campaigners. They often encounter many of these on social media, including but not limited to sexist comments and institutionalized patriarchy. Taking into account the increased accessibility and networking opportunities, the feminist movement has benefited more than it has suffered from the rise of social media. It has been beneficial in many ways, including providing a stage for feminist movements and fostering the development of feminist internet rules meant to protect women.
Works Cited
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