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Amerikalı Feminist Sanatçılar: Görsel Sanatlarda Kadın Bedenini Yeniden Anlamlandırma

Year 2025, Issue: 64, 67 - 81, 30.12.2025

Abstract

Bu çalışma, görsel sanatlardaki kadın çıplaklığı geleneğini inceleyerek, bu geleneğin toplumsal cinsiyet değerlerini pekiştiren ataerkil bir anlamlandırma sistemi içindeki işlevine odaklanmaktadır. Amerikan feminist sanatçıların, kadın bedenini geri kazanmak ve yeniden anlamlandırmak amacıyla bu temsillere nasıl eleştirel yaklaşıp onları altüst ettikleri araştırılmaktadır. Tartışma, sanat ve gerçeklik arasındaki ilişkiye değinerek, kadın bedeninin sanatta tasvirinin toplumsal algılar ve günlük yaşam üzerindeki etkisini vurgulamaktadır. Seçili eserlerin analiziyle, tasvir edilen kadın bedeninin özne konumu, geleneksel sanat anlayışlarındaki ideolojik önemi ve özellikle erkek bakışını pekiştiren izleyicinin rolü incelenmektedir. Çalışma, erkek ve kadın sanatçıların kadın çıplaklığını tasvir etme biçimlerindeki farklılıklara dikkat çekerek, eserlerde tekrar eden ideolojik temaları ve motifleri ele almaktadır. Son olarak, feminist sanatçıların sanat ve estetikteki ataerkil yapıları sorgulamak ve tersine çevirmek için kullandıkları stratejiler incelenmektedir. Bu sanatçılar, kadınlığı ve kadın olgusunu yeniden tasvir eden alternatif görsel anlatılar sunarak yerleşik normları bozmakta ve sanat tarihine yerleşmiş kültürel ve ideolojik normlara meydan okumaktadır.

References

  • Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. 1911. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Christian Classics, 1981.
  • Aristotle. The Generation of Animals. Translated by Arthur Platt, The Complete Works of Aristotle, edited by Jonathan Barnes, vol. 8, Princeton UP, 1984.
  • Barthes, Roland. Elements of Semiology. Translated by Annette Lavers and Colin Smith, Hill and Wang, 1968.
  • Bartky, Sandra Lee. Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression. Routledge, 1990.
  • Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. Penguin Books, 1972.
  • Bordo, Susan. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body. U of California P, 1993.
  • Butler, Judith. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” Theatre Journal, vol. 40, no. 4, 1988, pp. 519–31.
  • Caputi, Jane. Goddesses and Monsters: Women, Myth, Power, and Popular Culture. U of Wisconsin P, 2004.
  • Cixous, Hélène, et al. “The Laugh of the Medusa.” Signs, vol. 1, no. 4, 1976, pp. 875–93.
  • Dalí, Salvador. Nude in a Landscape. c. 1923. Artchive, www.artchive.com/artwork/nude-in-a-landscape- salvador-dali-c-1922-c-1923/.
  • Duncan, Carol. “Virility and Domination in Early Twentieth-Century Vanguard Painting.” Feminism and Art History: Questioning the Litany, edited by Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard, Routledge, 1982, pp. 292–313.
  • Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction. Translated by Robert Hurley, Pantheon Books, 1978.
  • Goldberg, Roselee. Performance: Live Art Since the 1960s. Thames and Hudson, 1988.
  • Hanisch, Carol. “The Personal Is Political.” Notes from the Second Year: Women’s Liberation, edited by Shulamith Firestone and Anne Koedt, New York Radical Women, 1970, pp. 76–78.
  • Jakobson, Roman. “Linguistics and Poetics.” Style in Language, edited by Thomas A. Sebeok, The Technology Press of MIT and John Wiley & Sons, 1960, pp. 350–77.
  • Kristeva, Julia. Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Translated by Leon S. Roudiez, Columbia UP, 1982.
  • Lacan, Jacques. The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis. Edited by Jacques-Alain Miller, translated by Alan Sheridan, W. W. Norton & Company, 1978.
  • Langton, Rae. Sexual Solipsism: Philosophical Essays on Pornography and Objectification. Oxford UP, 2009.
  • Matisse, Henri. The Blue Nude (Souvenir de Biskra). 1907. MoMA, www.moma.org/audio/ playlist/246/3167.
  • Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. Phenomenology of Perception. 1945. Translated by Donald A. Landes, Routledge, 2012.
  • Modigliani, Amedeo. Reclining Nude with Loose Hair. 1917. MET, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/486847.
  • Moreau, Serge Henry. Young Woman Sleeping. 1924. Artsper, www.artsper.com/gb/contemporary- artworks/painting/1458003/young-woman-sleeping-early-20th-century-modern-nude-portrait- serge-henry-moreau.
  • Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” 1975. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, edited by Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen, Oxford UP, 1999, pp. 833–44.
  • Nietzsche, Friedrich. Beyond Good and Evil. Translated by Walter Kaufmann, Vintage Books, 1966.
  • Nochlin, Linda. “Eroticism and Female Imagery in Nineteenth-Century Art.” Women, Art, and Power and Other Essays, Routledge, 1988, pp. 136–60.
  • ---. “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Art and Sexual Politics: Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists, edited by Thomas B. Hess and Elizabeth C. Baker, Macmillan, 1971, pp. 1–39.
  • Nussbaum, Martha C. “Objectification.” Philosophy & Public Affairs, vol. 24, no. 4, 1995, pp. 249–91.
  • Ono, Yoko. CUT PIECE. Performance, 1964. YouTube, uploaded by robcat2075, 22 May 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sa1y-PAAzE.
  • Picasso, Pablo. Lying Naked Woman II. 1955. Fine Art America, www.fineartamerica.com/featured/lying- naked-woman-ii-by-pablo-picasso-1955-pablo-picasso.html.
  • Plato. Timaeus. Translated by Donald J. Zeyl, Hackett Publishing, 2000.
  • Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. Schocken Books, 1995.
  • Ray, Man. Pisces. 1938. TATE, www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/man-ray-pisces-t00324.
  • Saussure, Ferdinand de. Course in General Linguistics. Edited by Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye, translated by Wade Baskin, Philosophical Library, 1959.
  • Schneemann, Carolee. Interior Scroll. 1975. Artsy, www.artsy.net/artwork/carolee-schneemann-interior- scroll-6.
  • Wilke, Hannah. S.O.S.– Starification Object Series. 1974. MoMA, www.moma.org/collection/ works/102432.

American Feminist Artists: Re-signifying the Female Body in Visual Arts

Year 2025, Issue: 64, 67 - 81, 30.12.2025

Abstract

This study examines the tradition of the female nude in visual art, focusing on its function within a patriarchal signifying system that perpetuates gendered values. It explores how American feminist artists have critiqued and subverted these representations to reclaim and re-signify the female body. The discussion begins by addressing the relationship between art and reality, emphasizing the influence of artistic depictions of the female body on societal perceptions and everyday life. Through analyses of selected works, the research scrutinizes the subject position of the depicted female body, its ideological significance within traditional art conventions, and the viewer’s role, particularly in reinforcing the male gaze. The study also highlights the differences in male and female artists’ portrayals of the female nude, examining recurring ideological themes and motifs in their works. Finally, it investigates the strategies employed by feminist artists to challenge and reverse the patriarchal frameworks of art and aesthetics, offering alternative portrayals of femininity and womanhood that disrupt established conventions. By reclaiming the female body, these artists create a transformative visual language that contests the cultural and ideological norms embedded in the history of art.

References

  • Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. 1911. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Christian Classics, 1981.
  • Aristotle. The Generation of Animals. Translated by Arthur Platt, The Complete Works of Aristotle, edited by Jonathan Barnes, vol. 8, Princeton UP, 1984.
  • Barthes, Roland. Elements of Semiology. Translated by Annette Lavers and Colin Smith, Hill and Wang, 1968.
  • Bartky, Sandra Lee. Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression. Routledge, 1990.
  • Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. Penguin Books, 1972.
  • Bordo, Susan. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body. U of California P, 1993.
  • Butler, Judith. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” Theatre Journal, vol. 40, no. 4, 1988, pp. 519–31.
  • Caputi, Jane. Goddesses and Monsters: Women, Myth, Power, and Popular Culture. U of Wisconsin P, 2004.
  • Cixous, Hélène, et al. “The Laugh of the Medusa.” Signs, vol. 1, no. 4, 1976, pp. 875–93.
  • Dalí, Salvador. Nude in a Landscape. c. 1923. Artchive, www.artchive.com/artwork/nude-in-a-landscape- salvador-dali-c-1922-c-1923/.
  • Duncan, Carol. “Virility and Domination in Early Twentieth-Century Vanguard Painting.” Feminism and Art History: Questioning the Litany, edited by Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard, Routledge, 1982, pp. 292–313.
  • Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction. Translated by Robert Hurley, Pantheon Books, 1978.
  • Goldberg, Roselee. Performance: Live Art Since the 1960s. Thames and Hudson, 1988.
  • Hanisch, Carol. “The Personal Is Political.” Notes from the Second Year: Women’s Liberation, edited by Shulamith Firestone and Anne Koedt, New York Radical Women, 1970, pp. 76–78.
  • Jakobson, Roman. “Linguistics and Poetics.” Style in Language, edited by Thomas A. Sebeok, The Technology Press of MIT and John Wiley & Sons, 1960, pp. 350–77.
  • Kristeva, Julia. Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Translated by Leon S. Roudiez, Columbia UP, 1982.
  • Lacan, Jacques. The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis. Edited by Jacques-Alain Miller, translated by Alan Sheridan, W. W. Norton & Company, 1978.
  • Langton, Rae. Sexual Solipsism: Philosophical Essays on Pornography and Objectification. Oxford UP, 2009.
  • Matisse, Henri. The Blue Nude (Souvenir de Biskra). 1907. MoMA, www.moma.org/audio/ playlist/246/3167.
  • Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. Phenomenology of Perception. 1945. Translated by Donald A. Landes, Routledge, 2012.
  • Modigliani, Amedeo. Reclining Nude with Loose Hair. 1917. MET, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/ search/486847.
  • Moreau, Serge Henry. Young Woman Sleeping. 1924. Artsper, www.artsper.com/gb/contemporary- artworks/painting/1458003/young-woman-sleeping-early-20th-century-modern-nude-portrait- serge-henry-moreau.
  • Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” 1975. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, edited by Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen, Oxford UP, 1999, pp. 833–44.
  • Nietzsche, Friedrich. Beyond Good and Evil. Translated by Walter Kaufmann, Vintage Books, 1966.
  • Nochlin, Linda. “Eroticism and Female Imagery in Nineteenth-Century Art.” Women, Art, and Power and Other Essays, Routledge, 1988, pp. 136–60.
  • ---. “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Art and Sexual Politics: Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists, edited by Thomas B. Hess and Elizabeth C. Baker, Macmillan, 1971, pp. 1–39.
  • Nussbaum, Martha C. “Objectification.” Philosophy & Public Affairs, vol. 24, no. 4, 1995, pp. 249–91.
  • Ono, Yoko. CUT PIECE. Performance, 1964. YouTube, uploaded by robcat2075, 22 May 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sa1y-PAAzE.
  • Picasso, Pablo. Lying Naked Woman II. 1955. Fine Art America, www.fineartamerica.com/featured/lying- naked-woman-ii-by-pablo-picasso-1955-pablo-picasso.html.
  • Plato. Timaeus. Translated by Donald J. Zeyl, Hackett Publishing, 2000.
  • Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. Schocken Books, 1995.
  • Ray, Man. Pisces. 1938. TATE, www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/man-ray-pisces-t00324.
  • Saussure, Ferdinand de. Course in General Linguistics. Edited by Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye, translated by Wade Baskin, Philosophical Library, 1959.
  • Schneemann, Carolee. Interior Scroll. 1975. Artsy, www.artsy.net/artwork/carolee-schneemann-interior- scroll-6.
  • Wilke, Hannah. S.O.S.– Starification Object Series. 1974. MoMA, www.moma.org/collection/ works/102432.
There are 35 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects North American Language, Literature and Culture, Women's Studies
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Henrieta Krupa 0000-0003-3066-8813

Submission Date December 14, 2024
Acceptance Date June 24, 2025
Publication Date December 30, 2025
Published in Issue Year 2025 Issue: 64

Cite

MLA Krupa, Henrieta. “American Feminist Artists: Re-Signifying the Female Body in Visual Arts”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, no. 64, 2025, pp. 67-81.

JAST - Journal of American Studies of Turkey