The five artist I will be presenting are great examples of empowerment and self restraint. Through their work they can encourage people to feel empowered, not be ashamed of themselves, and maintain restraint in troubling times.
The first artist, and likely the greatest embodiment of power and strength is Frida Kahlo. Frida was in a horrible bus accident at a young age which did severe damage to her spine and pelvis. This was the subject of her painting “the Broken Column.” Her body is held up and held together by the straps of what seems to be a brace, but her spine, her internal support, and her internal being is shattered. Frida is broke, physically, and likely emotionally as well. She hasn’t given up though, in the painting she is standing tall in a field of green grass. The setting almost looks like a scene where a war would take place, and I can only assume that is because she is ready to battle her adversities.
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| Frida Kahlo, The Broken Column, 1944 |
Next, Suzanne Valadon. Her Piece “the Blue Room” shows empowerment and self confidence in the best way. The clothes that that subject is wearing are clothes that we all want to wear and enjoy wearing, but yet do not feel comfortable wearing them in front of most people. The confidence it would take to be painted in that outfit is astounding. I long for a day when we, and especially I, felt comfortable presenting to the world what made me feel good, rather than what others want to see. That is what I got from Suzanne Valadon’s piece, that we are all the same, and this is what real people look like. Everything else is a show.
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| Suzanne Valadon, The Blue Room, 1923 |
Betye Saar shows in her piece “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima,” that empowerment is not specific to gender or skin tone. The few artworks that show women empowered, although the trend is changing, are of white or light skinned women. Women of color were trail blazers in women’s rights and minorities rights. They haven’t stopped either, they continue to fight for what is right. This painting shows that. You can see Aunt Jemima, holding a mop and a gun, symbolizing for me the hard work she has done and the fight that is yet to come.
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| Betye Saar, The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, 1972 |
Käthe Kollwitz shows restraint in her piece “Memorial For Karl Liebknecht.” The nation was very upset about the assassination of one of their leaders. Everyone in the crowd showed strength and restraint at a very difficult time. I think this is something we all do, and of course some are better at than others. We have all been in situations where we are upset about one thing or another, but we have to show restraint, keep a straight mind and do what it best for everyone else around you. In Käthe Kollwitz’ piece, everyone is focussed on the death of this person and the loss. They are not talking politics, they are focused on properly mourning his death.
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| Käthe Kollwitz, Memorial For Karl Liebknecht, 1919 |
Last we have Adrian Piper, with her creation and probably my favorite piece of art this semester: “My Calling (Card).” This card to me is the greatest show of power and restraint. Making a scene may be impactful, but there is certainly an immaturity associated with that and people will treat you differently for doing it. This is subtle and no one who is not involved needs to know what has occurred. It is subtle, and it gets the point across. I aspire to handle my problems with this level of maturity.
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| Adrian Piper, My Calling (Card), 1986 |
All of these women show empowerment and restrain, which was a lesson I really needed to see during these challenging times. Things have been very stressful for me lately, with the COVID lockdown, extra work and school stress, and the ending of my long term relationship all in the past month. I have been trying to surround myself with people and art (music, videos, these pieces in this post, etc.) that lift me up and give me the strength to get through these times. Times are hard for everyone right now, and we need Artists like: Frida Kahlo, Suzanne Valadon, Betye Saar, Käthe Kollwitz, and Adrian Piper. They show us that you do not need someone else to give you power, it is within you.
References:
Professor Cacoilo's lectures :)
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