Gendered art critique - Midterm essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Gendered art critique - Midterm - Essay Example In this piece of art, the artistic talks about the Chibinda Ilunga sculpture, being a composition of the Chokwe people of Central Africa. The sculpture is a depiction of a legendary leader that was a masterful hunter, a successful king, and one that was a descendant of a deity. Gender refers to a person’s sense of self and inner identity, unlike sex that biologically defines feminism or masculinity of an individual. Gender cuts across all the social aspects of life including art. The kind of male-dominated culture that existed before and now its effect remains in various issues in the current society. In arts, many artists have tried to explore, reinforce and challenge the gender distinctions promoted by the traditions. Many artists through presenting their personal experiences on historical and political agenda encourage us to question the assumptions commonly made about gender. The differences in gender considerations manifest in various artworks done by various artists. The artworks depicted men as always possessing the powerful body and great leadership skills. From a different perspective, the artworks depict females as passive, eroticized subjects meant for the viewer’s pleasure. For example by looking at Chibinda Ilunga sculpture below , it shows a reflection of a powerful person as he wears a leadership hat, holding a stick, and a horn. The male nude is one of the artworks one will hardly find in the general art exhibitions. Most of the artists lack the urge of using male nudes as a subject matter to their art productions. The male nude is an artwork written and drawn by the artist and author Kyra Belan. It follows her interest in the exploration of the male nude in the field of art. The understanding of freedom of art fuels my analysis of Belan’s work. Belan narrates about her challenges in exhibiting her images of the male nude in the public and the associated criticism. The display of male nude