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FEMALE SUBJECT’S ABSTRACTION LANGUAGE: MODERNIST EXPRESSION IN GEORGIA O’KEEFFE AND FAHRELNISSA ZEID
Abstract
This article examines how American artist Georgia O’Keeffe and Turkish artist Fahrelnissa Zeid transform modernist abstraction into a feminine visual language shaped by personal experience, embodiment, and alternative modes of perception. Drawing on feminist critiques of the male gaze and the masculine foundations of modernism, it argues that both artists redefine abstraction beyond formalist, universal, and rational ideals. O’Keeffe develops an immanent visual language grounded in bodily perception, sensory engagement with nature, and an intimate relationship with the New Mexico Desert. Zeid, by contrast, articulates a subjective language of transcendence in which colour, emotional intensity, cultural memory, and spiritual energy converge in both large-scale non-figurative compositions and expressionist modes. Through separate analyses of selected works and a comparative reading, the article demonstrates that for both artists, abstraction functions not as an escape from lived experience but as a means of expressing the personal, intuitive, and spiritual dimensions of female subjectivity. Ultimately, O’Keeffe and Zeid challenge the patriarchal limits of modernism and expand the possibilities of abstraction in twentieth-century art.
Keywords
Ethical Statement
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References
- Baudelaire, C. (2010). The painter of modern life. (P. E. Charvet, Trans.). Penguin.
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- Eldredge, C. C. (1987). Georgia O’Keeffe. Smithsonian Institution.
- Fry, R. (1920). Vision and Design. Chatto & Windus.
- Grad, B. L. (1998). Georgia O’Keeffe’s Lawrencian vision. Archives of American Art Journal, 18(3–4), 2–19.
- Grosz, E. A. (1995). Space, time and perversion: Essays on the politics of bodies. Routledge.
- Habermas, J. (1990). The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity -Twelve Lectures. (F. G. Lawrence, Trans.). The MIT, Cambridge.
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Cultural Studies (Other)
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Publication Date
June 15, 2026
Submission Date
February 16, 2026
Acceptance Date
March 27, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 28 Number: 2
APA
Altuğ, Z. A. (2026). FEMALE SUBJECT’S ABSTRACTION LANGUAGE: MODERNIST EXPRESSION IN GEORGIA O’KEEFFE AND FAHRELNISSA ZEID. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 28(2), 935-959. https://doi.org/10.16953/deusosbil.1890455
AMA
1.Altuğ ZA. FEMALE SUBJECT’S ABSTRACTION LANGUAGE: MODERNIST EXPRESSION IN GEORGIA O’KEEFFE AND FAHRELNISSA ZEID. DEU Journal of GSSS. 2026;28(2):935-959. doi:10.16953/deusosbil.1890455
Chicago
Altuğ, Zeynep Asya. 2026. “FEMALE SUBJECT’S ABSTRACTION LANGUAGE: MODERNIST EXPRESSION IN GEORGIA O’KEEFFE AND FAHRELNISSA ZEID”. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 28 (2): 935-59. https://doi.org/10.16953/deusosbil.1890455.
EndNote
Altuğ ZA (June 1, 2026) FEMALE SUBJECT’S ABSTRACTION LANGUAGE: MODERNIST EXPRESSION IN GEORGIA O’KEEFFE AND FAHRELNISSA ZEID. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 28 2 935–959.
IEEE
[1]Z. A. Altuğ, “FEMALE SUBJECT’S ABSTRACTION LANGUAGE: MODERNIST EXPRESSION IN GEORGIA O’KEEFFE AND FAHRELNISSA ZEID”, DEU Journal of GSSS, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 935–959, June 2026, doi: 10.16953/deusosbil.1890455.
ISNAD
Altuğ, Zeynep Asya. “FEMALE SUBJECT’S ABSTRACTION LANGUAGE: MODERNIST EXPRESSION IN GEORGIA O’KEEFFE AND FAHRELNISSA ZEID”. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 28/2 (June 1, 2026): 935-959. https://doi.org/10.16953/deusosbil.1890455.
JAMA
1.Altuğ ZA. FEMALE SUBJECT’S ABSTRACTION LANGUAGE: MODERNIST EXPRESSION IN GEORGIA O’KEEFFE AND FAHRELNISSA ZEID. DEU Journal of GSSS. 2026;28:935–959.
MLA
Altuğ, Zeynep Asya. “FEMALE SUBJECT’S ABSTRACTION LANGUAGE: MODERNIST EXPRESSION IN GEORGIA O’KEEFFE AND FAHRELNISSA ZEID”. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, vol. 28, no. 2, June 2026, pp. 935-59, doi:10.16953/deusosbil.1890455.
Vancouver
1.Zeynep Asya Altuğ. FEMALE SUBJECT’S ABSTRACTION LANGUAGE: MODERNIST EXPRESSION IN GEORGIA O’KEEFFE AND FAHRELNISSA ZEID. DEU Journal of GSSS. 2026 Jun. 1;28(2):935-59. doi:10.16953/deusosbil.1890455