Curatorial Rationale

My exhibition portrays a range of works that examine human anatomy and portraiture, specifically female figures. I depicted women in my life, as well as myself, illustrating the beauty of women that is achieved when detached from the male gaze. My exhibition follows how beauty is interpreted in other women by a woman, separating female anatomy from objectification. The representation of female anatomy and portraiture in art often utilizes women as beautiful props, rather than fully realized subjects. Rather than examining the female figure on a shallow level, I aimed to create works that did not necessarily comply with social norms. This non-objectifying take is meant to be a fresh breath of air to female viewers as a step back from the exhaustive depersonalization of women in art. To break past this shell of conformity, I separated myself from what would be considered conventionally beautiful by societal standards and illustrated a realness that is welcoming and puts other women at ease. 

 

As we move forward through the exhibition, we become more and more detached from a typical idea of beauty, moving into more abstract depictions of women. The women become more and more distorted, as the definition of beauty begins to shift. This shift is identifiable when looking at the works bleh, Heather, and Blush. The piece bleh portrays a more conventional idea of beauty, using proper proportions and having symmetry, which is highly important from a societal standpoint of what is beautiful. The later works in the exhibition challenge this notion, illustrating a form of beauty that does not conform to symmetry or proportion. In Heather, these proportions are slightly off, visible in the intentionally small eyes and mouth, and long nose. Followed by Blush, the increase in distortion is identifiable as the woman in the portrait has an asymmetrical jaw and her eyes are very large. This contrasts the objective lens that women are usually seen through and developing beauty through “imperfections”.

 

Within the works in my exhibition, the initial works like Posed and Heather are done with more conventional mediums, such as watercolor paint or color pencil. This changes as one views the exhibition, and the materials become more unconventional, and multiple mediums are used conjointly. This takes the audience through a look at the beauty in women by becoming further detached from conventional ideas. In Mirror, I used a combination of multi-colored yarn to illustrate the face and acrylic paint for the background. This variety of mediums was also used in Dolled Up, which had elements of clay, yarn, fabric, etc. This use of unorthodox materials added texture to my pieces as well, further showing the unconventionality that I aim to convey.

 

Each work included vibrant warm colors, and this increased as the images became more distorted. There is an element of red or pink within each work. In Posed and Heather, this aspect of red is worn by the subjects, whereas works like Dolled Up and Mirror included shades of pink in their hair and skin. By societal standards, pink stereotypically represents women and femininity. Though this is harmful, the solution to this negative mindset is not for women to abandon this color, but rather to use it to portray women in a non-stereotypical way. This is accomplished in Roses, as pink is used for the skin. This defies conformity in the sense that it does not outwardly appeal to the male gaze.

 

Additionally, there is repetitive use of floral motifs in my work. This is seen first in Mirror, with a small red flower in the hair. This carries into Blush, where the subject is surrounded by flowers of different sizes. In Roses, the flowers serve as the woman’s eyes. Flowers act as a universal sign of beauty, so I wanted to incorporate that within my artworks. The placement of the flowers is important, as they go from being used as an accessory to being included as a body part in the last sculpture. This symbol of beauty works in collaboration with my depiction of the natural beauty in women, emphasizing the artistry of women when detached from a male perspective. 

 

By putting together my exhibition, I had to understand the importance of separating my art from depictions of women that are objectifying by nature. I had to remove myself from the mindset that is ingrained in our society and value the beauty in individuality.