Postmodern Feminism

Barbra Kruger is an artist that uses found photographs from existing sources and layers them with terse text that tugs the viewer into a dialogue of power and struggle with the artwork. In her work she poses questions for the viewer about “feminism, classicism, consumerism, and the individual autonomy and desire, although her black-and-white images are culled from the mainstream magazines that sell the very ideas she is disputing” (barbrakruger.com). In you are not yourself,  done in New York 1981, it is as if a woman was looking in the mirror at herself but then the words in black and white “you are not yourself” directly contradict that she is actually looking at her true “self”. The answer to why she is not herself is that she is a product, like the material used in the collage, created and formed for a particular consumer purpose. The consumer message is clear with the usage of the magazine-like image and text. Next there is the fact that it is a woman in the picture that suggests the feminist theme that women are seen by the consumer society as objects. The broken mirror aspect of the work suggests that the individual woman is not only an object but also a fragile one that is easily broken. When transformed into objects woman are no longer their self but something else.Similarly, in your body is a battleground, done in New York 1989, there is a face of a woman who appears to have been part of a magazine but her image is cut in half. The division of the woman’s face references the “battleground” with opposing forces. The forces at war are the social ideologies that make women into objects opposed to the woman who wants to be seen as an individual. Ironically, Kruger’s message is being portrayed through scraps from the very society that she is challenging. This raises the question of whether anyone or any woman can actually escape social pressures if the Kruger can’t herself. Lastly Love for Sale, done in New York as a cover for her book in 1996, shows a black and white photograph of hands with fingernails that are polished, looks like they were part of an advertisement. The hands are touching but open which gives the impression of bondage meaning that this “sale” is not by choice. It is a parody of how society views a valuable woman or a woman worth being in love with. Love is no longer an emotional connection that is based on the subject but an economic evaluation of an object. Kruger uses her art to ask her viewers what kind of ideologies they are playing into and how that affects their self as individuals.

There is another female artist who addresses feminist issues in postmodern art named Cindy Sherman. Cindy Sherman is a photographer who also uses her work to ask viewers questions about themselves and the society they are living in. In most of her work she uses herself as a subject yet she does not consider these photos as self-portraits because she is not showing anything about her character. She “uses herself as a vehicle for commentary on a variety of issues of the modern world: the role of the woman, the role of the artist and many more” (CindySherman.com). Untitled #93, done in New York 1981, is a picture of herself as the typical whimsical B-movie actress filling playing a role in a film. This picture is one of many that “questions…the role and representation of women in society, the media and the nature of the creation of art” (CindySherman.com).

It is the role of the actress that turns her into an object to be admired or disgusted by, this objectification of women on screen translates to the objectification of women within society. She plays roles that mimic those of archetypal women in society and the media. In this particular piece she shows the actresses role as a sex symbol or object that is to be admired and striven for. In Untitled Film Still #58, done in New York in the 1980’s, she is playing another acting role of a women who seems to be looking for something and not necessarily a sex object like the first work shown. Her recognizable look and situation defeats her as an individual and categorizes her like she is an object. Untitled #468, done in New York 2008, Sherman not only focuses on the roles of actresses but of women within society who appear to beplaying archetypal roles society has given them. In this photograph she addresses the very rich who groom themselves into these images that they think are attractive but they still cannot hide their true self, which is not so attractive. The fear of being an individual makes them look absurd because they are trying to fit a mold that is ill fitting. Sherman uses her art as a parody of societal roles for women.

Both Sherman and Kruger use everyday images and put them in a context in which their meanings and messages are turned against the initial intention of their creation. Kruger uses advertisements that are trying to persuade people to consume in order to degrade the consumer society. Sherman uses archetypal women in order to demean those roles women play. I am drawn to this kind of feminist and anti-consumer art because although it skews reality it also reveals something about everyday occurrences that one could have easily ignored.

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