The Deconstructive Impulse - Women Artists Reconfigure the Signs of Power 1973-1991

The Deconstructive Impulse - Women Artists Reconfigure the Signs of Power 1973-1991.

The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston in Houston, TX

During spring break, I went to The Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston. It was a small museum compared to other national arts museums, but the exhibit was great. Especially the topic of the exhibit of women images in media worked by women artists, so I was glad of this becuase I am taking women studies class in this semester. I want to introduce some works of art of that exhibit. Before I expalin my experience, the following paragraph is the official introduction in the website of the museum. 

http://www.camh.org/exhibitions/deconstructive-impulse-women-artists-reconfigure-signs-power-1973-1991

The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is pleased to present The Deconstructive Impulse: Women Artists Reconfigure the Signs of Power, 1973-1991, a survey of leading women artists that examines the crucial feminist contribution to the development of deconstructivism in the 1970s and ’80s. As the term suggests, deconstructivism involved taking apart and examining source material, generally borrowed from the mass media, to expose the ways commercial images reveal the mechanisms of power. Women had a particularly high stake in this kind of examination and were disproportionately represented among artists who practiced it. This exhibition is organized by Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York.

As I said, even though most works of art were excellent, I would like to introduce some them. I could take pictures of these works of art under the permission.

Anonymous Artists

Do Women Have to be Naked to Get into the Met. Museum? 1989 (Poster)

The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist, 1988 (Poster)

Top Ten Signs that You’re an Art World Token, 1995 (Poster)

 

The first arts piece of art is a series of posters. At first sight, I stopped in front of this. It was really interesting to present a woman as a Guerrilla. The artists asked if women should be treated as a naked object of arts work. This reminded me of the fact that images of women are portrayed as naked or exaggerated sexual images in works of art even masterpieces. Some say that the reason for using the body shape of women in art is because they are more beautiful than men’s bodies. Well, at first I think that it’s a kind of excuse because some artists just focus on the sexuality to get attention from audiences instead of ‘real beauty.’

Lynn Hershman (American, born 1941)

Seduction from “Phantom Limb,” 1988

TV Legs from Phantom Limb,” 1990

These works by Lynn Hershman show media images of women. According to information from websites about her and her works, Hershman focused on the relationship between human and technology. As their titles, in many media content, women characters allure their audience using their images of bodies. Sometimes, the images exaggerate the body parts such as legs and boobs, and media continue reproduction of these images with variations. As we discussed in the gender class, this segmented women’s body images use in especially advertisings and even television shows.

                                                                                 Lynn Hershman

Deborah Kass (American, born 1952)

Before and Happily Ever After, 1991

I was impressed by this picture. I laughed at this picture at sight. How humorous and witty! Most princesses of fairy tales are beautiful even though sometimes they are in poor positions such as Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Princes fall in love with them at sight, and everything changes. Women’s futures, even in cases of princesses, are up to the princes’ choices and decisions. Of course, their choices come from the beauty of princesses. I want to believe these days are different to the past, unfortunately I cannot be sure about it. Turn on television, and you can look at modern princesses, who will do anything to meet their princes.

As I mentioned above, it was a good experience to see what I learned in classroom through works of art. I would like to recommend to go this exhibit. The good thing is that it is free.

Female Korean-American Characters in TV Series

Asian-American Characters in TV series in the US are rarely showed. These days, some Asian-Americans have appeared as supporting characters in multiracial series or investigational series. Moreover, female characters are smaller in number than male characters. In some dramas, they have been shown as victims of sexual violence and family problems. In addition, among Asian nationality, especially eastern Asian nationality, Koreans or Korean Americans sometimes starred as another nationality such as Chinese and Japanese. I would like to introduce two TV shows which female Korean-American characters appeared.

Lost – Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yoon-Jin Kim)

Lost is a TV series that aired in ABC from 2004 to 2010 for 6 seasons. Lost was created as a multiracial drama, so many racial and ethnic groups appeared. Among them, Korean Actress Yoon-Jin Kim starred as Sun-Hwa Kwon, the daughter of a powerful Korean businessman and mobster. In her filmography, she has acted as a strong woman such as a spy and a warrior, but in Lost, she acted submissive to her husband. They were shown the subservient relationship even though they were a couple. Many researchers pointed out that the stereotypes of Asian women are represented as passive characters and submissive to thier spouses. Many people watch television shows in their routine livies, and they get used to familiar to the characters of television shows. Sometimes, the minority characters in television shows represent the racial stereotypes, and audience accetp the image of them as a reality. Of course, in late part of this show, she changed her attitude to her husband. However, I doubt the change influence to audience's perception about Korean women.

Grey's Anatomy – Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh)

Grey's Anatomy is a popular medical TV series that is still airing on ABC from 2005 and is in its 9th season. Sandra Oh is acting as Cristina Yang, a Korean-American doctor. She won a Golden Globe Award as this character. Her character represent one of stereotypes of Asian Americans, model minority. She is a doctor, and has a responsibility. Sometimes, she think her job and work more importantly than making a family. Even she is one of main character in this multiracial medical drama, her character also meet common misunderstanding. In one episode, her colleague asked her to translate Chinese when Chinese patients came to the hospital. She said she was Korean so she could not speak Chinese. This situation is a common misunderstanding in the United States. To Korean actors and actresses, introducing their nationality in the show is a basic step.

I love watching U.S. television shows than korean television shows because I can see various life-styles of multiracail groups. Various characters in shows represent their unique cultures and sometimes the way to live with other racial groups. I wish more many Korean characters appear in US television shows. It would be a exciting development for me and Korean American populations.

Would you like to drink with me?

People watch hundreds of advertising on television and newspapers and billboards. In general, beauty, beast, and baby in advertisings are known as powerful subjects to increase concentration. Of course, preference for each subjects are different between cultures and countries. For example, I think that preference for beast in the United States is higher than South Korea. On the other hand, Korea advertisers prefer beauty than other subjects.

Many researchers pointed out that the portrayal of women in advertising is sexy subjects. Women appearing in advertising are young, sexy, and pure. Not only do advertising models, but also most of celebrities, have those images, and advertisers want to maximize those women’s images in their advertisements. For example, I want to introduce some advertising of Korean distilled spirits, Soju. Soju is a kind of strong and very popular liquor in Korea. People enjoy drinking Soju with their friends and co-workers after work. The interesting thing is that various advertisements of Soju bands are all similar to each other.

http://cfs13.tistory.com/image/15/tistory/2009/02/19/09/56/499cae32ec614

http://www.koreabaseballfansite.com/files/attach/images/127/519/004/%EC%9C%A0%EC%9D%B42_~1.JPG

http://cfs14.tistory.com/image/19/tistory/2008/12/02/22/02/493531d4a557a

http://hbbsimg.imgcss.com/newsbbs/cnt_star/200802/cnt_star080213171724530.jpg

Every advertising image is exactly the same, isn’t it? Even though you cannot read Korean letters, I believe you can understand the meaning of those images. Simply, would you like to drink with me? In most Korean bars, those kinds of big posters are hung up on the walls. Can you recognize the strategies of these advertisings? I believe you can.

Advertisers are expecting the effects on their target consumer, men. Although women in Korea drink Soju, still men are the majority of consumers to drink the strong liquor. Therefore, advertisers use ‘the young, sexy, and pure celebrities’ images in their advertisements. The result is that all images of different advertising are similar to each other. Moreover, the advertisers are continuing their strategies for several years. Every single year and season, just the faces of advertisings change to new models.

As a result, men are not consuming liquor but the images of young celebrities in bars. I like to drink Soju with my male friends, but sometimes I dislike watching those advertisements with them.