WMNST 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Jenny Saville, Zanele Muholi, 3 Women
Document Summary
Art has always had a way of impacting societal judgments and opinions. For the topics of sexuality and gender, this is especially true. Many of the social norms that exist in society deal with sexual preferences and personal appearance it is actually funny when you think about it; personal appearances are a matter of public concern. Art, traditionally, tends to stay in line with what the community sees as ideal. Muholi"s collection faces and phases is particularly interesting to me for this reason. The women in her portraits stay far from the norm; many with short or even shaved hair, masculine clothing and a stern face. Race also comes into play with the depiction of women in muholi"s artwork. The typical definition for a beautiful woman, defined both consciously and unconsciously by society, involves white women who most likely possess shiny blonde hair. Muholi"s subjects are almost exclusively women of color.
