Art Theory - Week 5 Art Critic

Amelia Jones

In my research project my question is how can I normalize the nude female form, using myself and my own sexuality as a model for an oil painting?

Because my question is heavily inspired by feminist ideals and themes  I decided to look at art critic Amelia Jones, who while also is well versed in Performance art she also heavily dabbles in feminist art, representation and self-image.

A significant issue for feminist artists since the 1960s has been the disruption of the binary

opposition associating maleness with the mind and culture, and femaleness with the body and

nature. The binary has been contested by feminists in their efforts to subvert objectifying

conventions and present empowering visual imagery of women, and the results at times have

been vexed. Jones advocates what she calls ‘Parafeminism’ – para meaning both

alongside and beyond, extending but not superseding earlier feminisms. She sees a

progression for feminist artistic practice in ways which include a re-evaluation of past

strategies for their effectiveness in empowering women, while at the same time avoiding

tendencies to binary oppositions and universalisms within earlier feminisms.

Jones (2008) argues that the most significant bequest of feminism is ‘a broader articulation of

a politics of positionality across the field of the visual’ which continues to revolve around the

body. 

Amelia Jones idea's around Feminism and representation have relevance to my work as I aim to use Parafeminisim using elements form the past to empower, things such as the nude female form were of course a popular subject for male artists and still continue to be, and as such their is a lack of conscious or thought to the female figures depicted, often passive and nude for marketing or to fit into the  desires of the male audience. In my work I plan to normalize the female nude and present the female form as not a sexual object but a sexual being, that is clearly visible to the audience.

References

Jones, A. (2006). Self/image: technology, representation and the contemporary subject.

London: Routledge.

Jones, A. (2008). 1970/2007: the return of feminist art. X.TRA Contemporary Art Quarterly,

10(4).

Jones, A. (Ed.). (2003). The feminism and visual culture reader. London Routledge.