Femininity and the Body An Installation Concerning Social Alienation
Date of Award
2008
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Freedland, Barry
Keywords
Installation Art, Gender, Alienation
Area of Concentration
Art
Abstract
Installation art has the ability to distance the art object from its sacred status and require the viewer to interact with it as a space in a more intimate manner. This project entails the construction of a landscape that symbolically addresses psychological and social issues of alienation via the body ego and societal projections upon it. Using signifiers of femininity (such as panties, the fabric arts, mirrors, etc.) and elements of the body (hearts, fingers) within an artificial natural landscape, I am commenting on normative gender roles as prescribed by society and their ability to distance us from one another. Issues concerning nature (historically tied to the feminine sphere) versus nurture or culture (tied to the masculine) are at the forefront of the piece, stressing the idealistic desire for the former to overcome the latter. References to childhood abound within the piece, pointing to the developmental stages of the body ego, namely the mirror stage in which the infant chooses to identify with the disembodied whole vision of self rather than the fragmented reality of experience. This objectification of the body is continued and encouraged within mainstream society, leading to further separation between individuals and even recognition of self-as-other. Wallowing within this image of myself and inviting others to do the same, I am exploiting my own narcissism and voyeurism.
Recommended Citation
Kielich, Melanie, "Femininity and the Body An Installation Concerning Social Alienation" (2008). Theses & ETDs. 3971.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3971
Rights
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