Feminism Is For Everybody

Here are a few images to think about how they relate to the Bell Hooks reading we discussed. These first set are by Nan Goldin whose photographs were first published in a book based on a traveling slide show she was always changing called The Balled of Sexual Dependency. Nan photographed her intimate circle of friends and included herself in some of the images. Coming out as these images did in the 1980's, they were radical for their subjective perspective, color snapshot aesthetic, and for their controversial subject matter that illuminated Goldin's belief in the addictive/destructive nature of sexual relationships.

This second set of images are by Cindy Sherman who is often heralded as one of the original post-modern photographers.  Modernism espoused a value in the purity of artistic mediums, be they painting, sculpture, or photography (et al).  As a result, there was a narrow definition of who could be an "artist" leading to a heterosexual white male dominated field because they most often had the privilege to obtain the correct schooling needed for a particular media.  Post modernism championed artists from all walks of society that didn't work within the traditional definitions of media, but instead brought a fresh energy and multi-media approach to the arts that revolutionized the field.  Cindy Sherman was not trained as a photographer, was not concerned about "fine arts" prints, but instead brought an actressly approach to image-making that addressed the ways in which women's images are used in media.  These images are some of her early works, both B&W and then a little later in color.